Water, water everywhere, but no real need for it. Why do people not believe this?

[ElderLemon]

The evidence is clear that unless we are elderly, we can just drink when thirsty and be absolutely fine. The need for x litres per day is just made up bollocks. But I know from multiple threads over many years that many, if not most, people on here will down right refuse to believe this. Is it just that people don't like science? I don't know why it annoys me so much, live and let live etc. But when I see all the health and beauty articles repeating it I get enraged, I really do. Anyone else? www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/dec/09/is-it-true-that-we-should-all-drink-more-water?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

The days when I don't drink, regularly throughout the day, I end up with a horrible headache. So I'll carry on drinking enough I think.

Weirdly I'm like this too. I seem not to get that 'I'm really thirsty' trigger until I'm a bit dehydrated. I agree that we don't all need as much water as we've often been told but I still try and drink a bottle in the morning, a bottle in the afternoon and a bottle in the evening.

If I don’t drink at least 2l in a day I get headaches and feel lethargic. If I don’t drink enough over a few days my skin becomes dry and dull.

You may not believe it OP and it might not be the same for everyone but my body is definitely happiest and healthiest on around 3l a day.

Shouldn't we all be enraged by bad science being taken as gospel and repeated as such?

OP isn't mad at people for drinking water, do keep up. She's correctly mad at the fact that people are still banging about needing to drink 2litres a day which is totally untrue.

Wouldn't mn be nicer if people actually read an op and answered that, instead of whatever you've decided the OP says after half reading it?

I'm not engaged by how much people drink. I'm annoyed by the fact that there are false ideas circulated and believed of how much people should drink, when the evidence is clearly to the contrary.

It's fairly common. Guess you're not as much of a woman of science as you think.

I’m worried about people getting stressed about inconsequential things. That’s a major health risk too tbh. But again, crack on! As will I 💦

Many people have been trained out of the "I'm thirsty" reflex.

It's common as a child to be trained to eat and drink at specific meal times. Many teens (and adults for that matter) aren't sure if they are hungry or thirsty.

Obviously if they are VERY hungry or thirsty they recognise it.

I don't really see the harm in encouraging people to drink more water.

I don’t think that the human species would have survived for very long if they needed to constantly sip water every 10 mins…

From the article I linked to, by someone who unlike me is an expert:
"So, how do we know if we’re drinking enough? “Drink when you’re thirsty,” Halsey says, rather than aiming to hit a certain target. His one exception is elderly people: “Typically, they have a reduced sensation of thirst, and so they’re more vulnerable to chronic dehydration.”

One thing he says we all definitely shouldn’t feel obliged to do is constantly sip water throughout the day. “The body is absolutely fine at dealing with intermittent bursts of water ingestion,” Halsey says."

But he clearly did as he got a bad head. If you’re drinking energy drinks and coffee then that could technically quench your thirst but it isn’t hydrating you. What a strange thread.

Exactly. That's what thirst is for, to tell us when to drink.

I have been checked out. Not unusual at all it seems. There are many other people who don't always recognise thirst. I also struggle to identify when my bladder is full. Surely you have come across people who aren't great at identifying when they are hungry or indeed full? It's the same as that. The signs aren't strong enough for me to pick up on. The brain body connection differs person to person.

I do agree with you that the water obsession is a bit much but I just thought I'd share that for me, I'll only remember to drink if water is right infront of me because the sensation of thirst isn't enough of a trigger.

I agree with you OP, it’s total cobblers. It’s happened because of bullshit science sponsored by bottled water companies.

The recommendations for how much water to drink are based on nothing at all.

Seeing grown adults walking around clutching large bottles of water does make me laugh. How on earth did humans survive before!

I would go all day at work and have 1 glass of water, not feel thirsty. I became quite unwell, to the point where I was having headaches all the time, felt faint and really unwell, zero energy, was having to take naps after work on an afternoon. Had blood tests the lot nothing wrong with me. A friend suggested I wasn't drinking enough fluids, I sounded dehydrated.

Bought myself a 2 ltr water bottle to put on my desk - detest water so on a morning I fill it with 2ltr water and some juice. I make sure i drink it all before I finish my shift. I have another of the same bottle at home and try and drink the same at home, but doesn't matter if i don't finish this one. Anyway, 6 months down the line, no headaches, full of energy, lost weight, no nana naps on an afternoon, never felt better.

Coffee and energy drinks do hydrate you.

Yes he says we don't need to sip water every few minutes, that's correct. But not the same as saying you can necessarily just rely on thirst. And yeah, not just the elderly. Inability to notice thirst /hunger/cold etc is a common feature of neuro diversity for instance.

I don't think it's that strange. It's a chat forum, I wondered why people disbelieve the science, and started a thread to discuss it.

Meanwhile a lot of people should drink more water, they 'fuel' their body with junk food, sugary drinks and caffeine and wonder why they feel like crap. I don't get the fascination with people carrying around huge water bottles, but out of all of the advice encouraging people to drink a reasonable amount of water seems a weird one to get annoyed about.

You’ll hate me then op. I feel exponentially better since I started reaching for my water bottle when I feel cranky, frustrated, sluggish, craving, tired. I don’t really register the feeling of thirst - not everyone has the same types of introspective experience.

I judge my thirst by how much water I drink when I reach for the bottle- I’m not forcing myself to consume an amount. But most days I drink 1.5-2.5 litres. If I start a workout and I haven’t had water before hand, it’s so much harder. Hydration levels affect the workings of your bowels - which impacts everything else in the body.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

Good recommendations here

I’m entirely with you! We managed to grow up entirely healthily without chugging water every few minutes. It cracks me up seeing people at work attached to their water bottles like it’s their life support system. Bizarrely water can give me indigestion. I can only take a few small sips while exercising because it upsets my stomach. I exist on gallons of weak tea!

But coffee and energy drinks DO hydrate, that's another myth that they don't. The water content totally outweighs the diuretic effects of the caffeine. More bad science
And he could have had a headache for any reason.