To think that a lot of people don't drink enough water?

[Chocolatefreak]

Not the most riveting subject but I think it unknowingly causes a lot of health problems, particularly in the older generation. For example, I know several people of my parent's age who have had kidney issues; repeated infections, cystitis, stones, etc. Spending time with people of my parents' and grandparents' generation I've noticed the tiny amount of water they drink compared to the amount younger generations do. My grandmother used to avoid drinking water to avoid needing the loo and unsurprisingly often felt dizzy and sick in the morning. When I remind them, my parents reluctantly serve water with meals (in almost shot-sized glasses!) and consider it to be a chore, when they'd much rather get stuck straight into the wine. My mother hydrates exclusively on tea, coffee and alcohol. As a child I had incredibly dry hair and skin which I'm wondering now was probably due to constant dehydration.

Has anyone else noticed this and why are we drinking more water now? Is it because it's been successfully marketed (mineral water and reusable drinking bottles) or because people are more aware of the benefits? If so, why only in the last few years? I rarely go out without water.

Just remembered another thing; my parents also consider beer to be hydrating and a sensible thing to drink on a hot day in lieu of water😂

I get that tea, coffee, fizzy drinks etc all have water in them but surely this doesn't make them equally good at hydrating as water? Or are they? Sports drinks and rehydration drinks have sugar and salt in them...

Most adults take in enough fluids for their needs. It doesn’t have to be water. Some people need a lot more than others to feel comfortable. For younger children who need plenty of fluids to feel ok it’s probably a lot easier growing up now than it was in the 80s and 90s. They’re encouraged to have water bottles.

For those older people who don’t drink much and are quite rigid in what they drink and when, it’s easy to get dehydrated when something like a fairly minor illness interrupts their routine. If they have one coffee and two cups of tea a day, a day feeling sick means they don’t eat or drink. That makes them more likely to fall. It can escalate fast.

I think I drink enough. I don’t drink anything other than water (and alcohol! But I mean I don’t like tea/coffee/squash/juice/fizzy).
Probably one water bottle full in the morning, refill at lunch for the afternoon and then around 4 glasses of an evening. I am quite active (walk a lot, gym, spin) so do tend to feel thirsty quite a lot.
my dear old grandad used to make one small tumbler of water last him all day and still not finish it. And constantly took medication to battle constipation 🙈

Go look up ‘hydrating’.

This. It doesn't have to be plain water to hydrate you.

Absolutely. When I visit my grandparents they only have very tiny glasses. I am forever getting up to refill it (usually have pint glasses full of water at home), whilst theirs lasts all day!

Beer IS hydrating. You really should stop while you are behind.....

I don’t drink much water between meals. I drink loads of tea, and some coffee. But I don’t need a water bottle on hand constantly. I’m fine! I get annoyed with the instant peeing if I try to drink more.

My DH, OTOH, gets anxious if he doesn’t have access to fluids (suffers from migraines) and will go nowhere without a water bottle and he easily drinks twice or more the fluids I do in a day. He’s adapted to this, in the way that I have adapted to drinking less.

YAB a bit U because most humans drink enough fluids across a day naturally, without needing to hit a specific amount or a specific type of beverage.

Just to say, many elderly people find their UTIs are due to a narrowing of passages, adding more water won't neccessarily help.

I only have one cup of coffee a day first thing in the morning, my doctor warned me to cut down when I started on high blood pressure tablets. I don’t like tea at all but as I’ve always drank tap water, it’s not a problem for me.

I am one of those people who always has a glass of water or a refillable bottle by my side as I do like to sip frequently - my daughter says it’s because I talk so much! But at my latest dental checkup, the dentist said my mouth was dry and that I should sip water frequently as a dry mouth can affect the enamel in my teeth. I had to reassure him that I do drink a lot of water but my mouth was dry because I am so nervous when sat in his chair!

I try not to buy bottled water though as I don’t want to contribute to plastic waste and resent paying silly prices.

Yes I totally agree. My mam gets very annoyed when I suggest her drinking more water - she argues she drinks 8 cups of tea a day and that is mostly water!

I do think though we've made over pushed it with the younger generations who seem unable to manage 20 minutes without a drink!

I get that tea, coffee, fizzy drinks etc all have water in them but surely this doesn't make them equally good at hydrating as water? Or are they?

Your body filters out what it needs during the digestion process. Think about it: you're not pouring pure H2O straight into your blood stream. Everything you eat and drink ends up in a giant mush in your stomach and passes through the intestines, where the essential elements are absorbed. (There's probably proper biological terminology for that but I have no idea what it is...) So even if you drink plain water, it's not going to be plain water by the time you digest it.

She's right, you're wrong, you should apologise to her.

For the elderly it’s a real Catch22 - don’t drink and they end up dehydrated, UTIs, dizzy, have falls. Do drink and they fall going to the loo, or have to wear pads that they struggle to change and so end up with infections.

For the rest of us - there is so much bogus marketing and unsubstantiated Hype. I hate plain water, thank goodness there are more interesting things to keep me hydrated.

Milk is amazing.

Milk and water together make up 80% of what I drink in a day.

Sometimes I get vicious headaches that make me vomit and when water isn't helping, milk does.

I think it is because it contains magnesium or something like that.

she argues she drinks 8 cups of tea a day and that is mostly water!

She's right

Don't you drink tea or coffee either?

I would get a headache if I didn't drink anything all day.

I'd love someone who thinks this nonsense to explain to us all how they think putting a tea bag in a cup of water makes it not water anymore.
Anyone?

To clarify I realise tea is mostly water and I realise tea is also hydrating her. I do think replacing water with 8 cups of tea isn't in her best interests - I've suggested water to help with headaches and dizziness.

Indeed she is. But health wise replacing some of the tea with water would be very beneficial.

And as for debunking the myths, I remember hearing a doctor in a radio item saying that if you were so dehydrated that there was a noticeable effect on your skin, you'd be less concerned about that because you'd be in Intensive Care being treated for far more serious consequences.

It definitely doesn't. It does add caffeine etc too though so in large quantities isn't as good for you as water.

Feel I maybe shouldn't have written my tea comment now - I realise I perhaps sounded like I was suggesting tea wasn't water!

Why?

Unless you're putting sugar in it or using it to wash down your iron tablets, tea has health benefits not found in water.

You don't seem to like your parents very much.

that aside i only drink water when I'm taking tablets - I drink herbal tea, normal tea and wine

i also don't think it's essential to eat and drink at the same time

furthermore I am capable of going shopping/commuting/flying short haul without a drink

lastly stop trying to make people feel guilty Mrs I Work for Evian