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.

I agree about people not drinking enough. I also read somewhere that constantly sipping on a bottle of water, rather than having a bigger drink all at ice is suing bladder issues as it's not getting full properly. Makes sense but not sure if there is any evidence for it.

I think lots of us don't recognise these signs any more.

I have never drunk water except in utter desperation. I drink loads of almost water though

Don't other drinks have to be processed by the body unlike water?

I don't drink nearly enough water, it often makes me feel sick when I drink it. I do like squash though.

My grandmother has serious kidney disease. I think it's connected to the fact that she basically drinks just a couple of cups of tea and coffee and has never drink enough wattt

Sometimes that can be beneficial though.

Red milk is more hydrating than water for basically that reason.

Nothing wrong with hydrating on coffee and wine😂

It’s almost impossible to get my elderly father to drink water. He has orange juice and coffee at breakfast, a coffee at 11, wine or beer with lunch and supper, cup of tea at 4.pm. He doesn’t drink much alcohol at once, he just doesn’t drink much at all.

He ended up in hospital with dehydration which triggered heart arrhythmia and got a telling off from both his consultant and GP - and still refused to drink any more water!

Elderly people are much more prone to dehydration as have a decrease in total body fluid and their kidneys don’t work so efficiently.

Better to push more juice and tea that he might actually drink on him than water which you know he won't.

It’s a physiological thing; with age our thirst impulses are reduced (don’t remember why), so many older people drink SIGNIFICANTLY less water than they should.

About younger people, I don’t think it’s just marketing. I never drink bottled water but have become much happier since I started carrying a water with me. In the 90s I would be in school for 6-7h without a drink!!

@EatYourVegetables

Why no drink? I went to school in the 90s. Milk for breakfast at home, followed by more milk at school in the morning time. Lunch was usually a carton of ribena. On hot days we had access to a water fountain but other than that we didn’t bring our bottles in and I can’t remember feeling thirsty or any of my friends complaining of it.

Yes, we had access to water fountains all the time, canteen was open for buying drinks at break, lunchtime there was water on the table or you could bring your own with your lunch or buy another drink.

Then it's only 2 hours till home time. I really don't get the need for carrying round a water bottle on top of that.

Tbf I'm 27 and most people my age always have their emotional support water bottle on them 😂

We all go through gallons of the stuff. I know older folks sometimes only drink water with meals which often isn't enough.

But tea, juice etc all still counts towards their water intake.

I know older folks sometimes only drink water with meals which often isn't enough.

Enough for what? A high proportion of our daily water needs comes from the solid food we eat, not what we drink.

That’s quite funny as the one time I do go for non water drinks, and don’t like plain still water so much, is when I have a hangover. When I was at Uni I lived in a soft water area, and that “not fresh” taste it has was horrible on hangover days!

Generally, I like water and the taste of it

Just get a glass and chug it. Just make yourself down the whole thing it's not particularly hard.

I know how to drink, but thank you for your patronising comment, that's extremely helpful. I never thought of just grabbing a glass and drinking, what a revelation.

I have memory issues and work outdoors, it's not a case of not knowing how to drink, just that I forget to do it.

I do think lots of older people seem not to drink enough. But equally it's a bit if a myth about tea and coffee not being hydrating. I have been seeing an NHS dietician related to surgery and they said my teas and coffees can count towards my fluid intake goal.
Im a thirsty person so I think I drink plenty outside of this anyway.

Imperial did a study on this. People don't drink enough water as when they age, there is no (or less) hormone/neurotransmitter that makes you thirsty so you have to know how much you need.

Great for your skin when you hydrate well🙂

@BreviloquentBastard so clip a bottle of water to your work bag then 🤷‍♀️ drink from it whenever you see it.

You're the one who acted like you had full access to a ice water dispenser all day but had no clue how to drink eight glasses of water.

I feel sorry for the elderly people being nagged to drink 'more hydrating fluids' by their adult children who think they now best.

Well personally it's not enough to make me not get headaches, a dry mouth and feel tired.

I'd have a banging head if I went all day without a few glasses of water.

Yes you should get a lot of water from food and can get it from other drinks but it's still healthy to drink a fair bit of blooming water every day.

It's elderly people like DMum who would probably willingly drink a scant 600ml of fluids a day if left to her own devices, who are being 'nagged' by their adult children, following repeated UTIs, falls, hallucinations leading to sepsis and intravenous antibiotics.

I want my DMum to drink three large mugs of tea a day, amounting to about 900ml. That's all. Not chugging 3 litres of water. This is to try and prevent doctor's visits, hospital stays and periods in care homes because she's so unwell she can't be at home. Oh, and it might ease some of my distress at having to deal with repeated episodes of illness that could be mitigated by her drinking a little bit more than she does. So you bet I 'nag'.

it might be healthier to drink water but we are talking about hydration ie volume required not nutrients required

some older people also have bird like appetites and need to drink some calories rather than being full up after water and black tea so they don't eat, hence soup yogurt drinks and fruit juice being a good idea as they get hydration and calories at the same time
other people often younger and overweight definitely do not need to be drinking calories as we do not feel as full drinking a 200 calorie latte as we would two slices of bread