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

There’s an argument that our sense of thirst decreases if ignored. Some people drink nothing but a few cups of tea all day. Or just sugary soft drinks.

I agree with the OP. People do not need to drink pints and pints of water daily

Where to start.

Safely drinking enough has always been difficult for human beings (and still is for many). Drinking water is scarce in certain regions, and dangerous in most (all those waterborne diseases).Porting it, storing it and treating it to make it safe to drink all cost a considerable expenditure in energy. So yes, historically, I think humans are evolved to exist in a stare of less than ideal state of hydration. And, again, we weren't designed to last very long.
I think human beings can cope with a whole range of deleterious conditions eg malnutrition for a number of years. Doesn't make it ideal.
As for having evolved alongside water, well humans evolved alongside food and one quick glance around you will tell you that our natural abilities around that haven't been optimised.

I made a conscious decision to start drinking more water, it didn't make me less hungry like I hoped it might, no change to my (quite oily) skin, no extra energy, the only thing that I noticed was significantly different was needing a wee, way more often.
I drink water on holiday when it's hot, when exercising or between alcoholic drinks if out for a meal/drinks. I rarely add salt to food at home and i notice i need extra water if ive been out for a meal that is more salty than usual. Otherwise I have about 300-500ml a day. (And that's more than my 3 work colleagues - we're all over 40 if that makes a difference!)

Everyone is different. If I don't drink at least 1.5 litres, I feel really lethargic the next day and often wake up early with a horrific migraine.

We don't need gallons but we do need a certain amount of fluids a day from something. Partly you can get it from food and part from drinks.

It doesn't have to be gallons of water, but it is, you know, literally on tap, so you might as well make a good proportion of your fluid intake actual water.

When I was a kid I never drank tap water but would have coffee, tea, Coke and squash. Water would have been much better for me than those things. We never had water bottles at school and I remember being really thirsty at times.

I used to have headaches a lot at secondary school and I was probably just dehydrated.

I've never quite understood this either. You wouldn't eat several hours before you were hungry,or try to go to sleep hours before you were tired,just in case!

@Porcuporpoise ,

So, do you think all animals are chronically dehydrated too?

I agree with you somewhat. The obsession with drinking water all day is just that, an obsession. Certainly one should take drinks at intervals - which is why we have tea breaks! (You don't have to drink tea.)
In schools in particular this water-drinking obsession can cause discipline problems as children want constantly to urinate.

It's important to learn to both control fluid intake and visits to the loo - it's not always possible, after all - e.g. the teacher cannot leave the classroom for a pee but is expected to allow disruption of a lesson by a constant stream (sorry) of children doing so.
You can drink too much fluid, btw, and you may not recognise the symptoms of having flooded your body with water - a very dangerous situation.

I know I don’t drink enough. Problem is I have a bladder disorder and if I drink even a glass of water, I can’t stop peeing. I’m talking needing to go about every four minutes for a full pee. I have a condition where I don’t absorb enough fluid and so it all just pees out.
I’ll take the headache over the disruption to my daily life caused by constantly needing the toilet.

My DH’s kidney stones that are likely caused by a lack of fluid intake (he’s obviously since corrected this) would beg to differ.

It is interesting to discuss hydration and how much we might actually need/ how much of a priority it should be.

It's a strange thing to be 'enraged' about, though.

It's not harmful for people to drink a bit more water than they need - the body just gets rid of excess. It's better to drink too much water than too little.

If you're worried about water conservation then it would be much better for people not to waste so much water with hosepipes etc.

I drink about 3 litres of fluid a day.

Not deliberately. That's just how much I've worked out I have. It's a combination of squash, fizzy, tea, hot chocolate, sometimes plain water, etc.

Thirst can be mistaken for hunger.

I don't know why you've got your knickers in a twist. Keep an eye on your pee. If it's dark then get a ruddy drink. It's not a big deal.

Well the OP states unless we’re elderly we only need to drink when we feel thirsty which is absolute untrue. Feeling thirst is the body’s way of telling us it doesn’t have a sufficient level of water in it as an evolutionary tell. As rightly pointed out by others it’s a well known fact that the human body can misinterpret thirst for hunger meaning that people can actually be over eating and under drinking instead of consuming the right amount of water our bodies need.

If she had said actually that everyone needs X amount of water per day is actually probably not factually correct then I’d agree absolutely. Just like consumed calories different people will need slightly different depending on a number of factors including weight, height and daily activity levels. Consuming too many calories per day can lead to weight gain very quickly but drinking 2 litres of water per day which is a recommendation is not going to have a negative affect of the body.

@biscuitsandbooks but my point is that thirst is a feeling, an internal drive, whereas what you’re describing is knowledge, “even though I don’t have any particular desire to drink this glass of water I know from experience it will make me feel better.”
Anyway I don’t think you will agree with me about the definition of the word!

I don't drink no where near that amount in a day unless I'm hungover from the night before 😂

The human body is imperfect in lots of ways.

Just because you have a natural instinct to drink, doesn't mean it is getting your body the ideal amount of hydration.

Our biological systems are not perfect, they are there for survival. Surviving is not the same as thriving.

Absolutely 100% correct. 👏

Is there a dry paper bag you can breathe into, calm down its only water

someone upthread said they don't drink water but do drink tea. Tea, even with milk and sugar added is probably over 90% water so they ARE drinking water. As are people drinking coffee/herb teas/squash/milk/soup etc.

All liquids contain water, that's what makes them liquid not solid!

Indeed, and things like the Eat Well plate are minimum nutrition standards to survive, not optimum nutrition.

Everyone is told to drink more water, then what? How many public loos have been shut since Covid, and not re opened.

I really do laugh in my head about the amount of Stanley’s at the office - that’s more than likely due to the fact they cost £45 more than people drinking water…I counted 26 the other week!

I drink copious amounts of coffee which I have started to switch to water so decreasing my caffeine intake.

I don’t drink litres but aim for a couple of glasses twice a day with ice and maybe a slice of lemon. It can be quite refreshing.

No skin improvements 🤣 and no changes to the hunger feelings I get - still wee a lot

Some of us don't feel hunger and thirst like others because we have poor interoception. So hunger and thirst aren't really sufficient indicators for everyone.