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

My dad was like this

"Oh I just drink when thirsty", barely drank water, always said it was fine because he was drinking juice, coffee etc.

A couple of year ago he ended up with very bad kidneys because he wasn't drinking enough. I drink 3-4 Stanley's a day. That's where I feel happiest and hydrated. Nothing wrong with it.

We need to take in fluids somehow and many of us confuse thirst with hunger as we get older, so we eat but should be drinking. I also know that dehydration, in those of us in our later years, can cause symptoms like dementia - a relative just thought she could cut back on eatting and drinking and ended up in hospital with symptoms of confusion, which was sorted in a day! It is a habit I've encouraged in my DH, as dehydration can trigger his migraines and I always ask for glasses of tap water in restaurants, coffee shops and serve one with our meals. It is a habit that I think is a good one to develop.

What we don't need is to carry around drink flasks, that are going to contribute to shoulder injuries!

I’m sure my dh’s brain used to interpret thirst as hunger. And probably still does.
It’s only since (as per my pp) that he ended up in hospital through failing to drink enough, and medics stressed the need for it, that he’s made a point of drinking a lot more during the day.

I don't believe that thirst means we "should have drunk something a while ago". That would be a really stupid biological mechanism if so.

I've lived and been active in a hot climate. You get extremely thirsty and drink accordingly. You then also tend to crave salty food.

Being sedentary in a UK winter, you won't feel much thirst by comparison because you won't need anything like the same amount of water. By all means drink your two litres a day but all it'll guarantee is pissing a lot.

It's to avoid Dehydration.

It does help lower blood pressure.
A lot of people don't drink enough at all and then complain of headaches.
It does have a lot of health benefits.
I'm not saying you have to definitely drink 8 glasses a day . But it is sensible to drink water daily

I love my Stanley and I'll stand by it, it's amazing at keeping drinks cold and houses a huge amount of water.

I was told that the easy check is if you pee runs clear or nearly so.
which is easy for me of course.🙂

Genuine question: how many times do you need to visit the toilet each day?

I have had to up my water intake as I was suffering with low blood pressure and ended up in hospital with a nasty kidney infection. Before this I drank a lot of tea and coffee. Must admit, my body feels much better now I’m drinking more water, so I’ll stick to this routine.

I had to track my water intake and urine output to check my bladder for a women's health physio after childbirth injury and I drink around 3l a day (water, tea and coffee). I go 8-10 times a day; she told me that 6-8 toilet trips a day is normal. So, I was slightly higher but not enough for it to be a concern.

Being sedentary in a UK winter, you won't feel much thirst by comparison because you won't need anything like the same amount of water. By all means drink your two litres a day but all it'll guarantee is pissing a lot.

Mind you, if we're sedentary then drinking rather more than you need with consequent peeing may be good for ensuring we get out of our chairs regularly.

I have never counted but would estimate roughly every 3 hours maybe? Went when I got up at 7.15 this morning but haven’t been since.

@LostittoBostik I drink 4-4.5l a day and wee about every other hour! You do get used to kt

Medical advice is that by the time you feel thirsty, you're already dehydrated.

I guess I just see them all as the same thing - one might be a physical urge to drink water but they all mean that you're thirsty.

Are you my husband, op? He’s constantly raging about people having to take a bottle of water everywhere they go (“like a worm that might only make it half way across the pavement before shrivelling up” 😂)

(Fwiw I agree that a lot of this came from bottled water advertising.)

Caffeine is infamous for dehydrating you.

I've always liked drinking water. Even when I was a child when I'd never read about how much you were supposed to drink.

I prefer it to other soft drinks.

What science are people ignoring? You’ve posted one article.

In fact this is the quote that stood out for me “We are set up to have quite a high water turnover rate: we sweat it out to keep cool, and we therefore need to recover those fluids.”

So we all interpret information in different ways. If I don’t drink enough, I get UTIs. And the way modern society is, we may even miss our thirst cues. Some science for you https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2467458/ what I take from it is that we are all different and should so what suits us individually.

I drink two or three pints before I leave for work and another 4 or 5 before going to bed. One of them has an electrolyte tablet too.

It's an attempt to make my bowels as frequent and soft as possible. It also stops me feeling so faint when I stand up.

Horses for courses.

I had a UTI last week and it is recommended you drink lots of water. Water is good for you for many reasons.

Caffeine is infamous for dehydrating you.-

The benefits of the water in tea/coffee/coke outweigh the negatives of the caffeine though - someone who is thirsty and has a mug of tea isn't going to be more dehydrated afterwards.

I went through a stressful period once where I basically lived off coffee...I felt dreadful and suddenly realised I hadn't drunk any liquid for days that wasn't coffee.

😂