To wonder what is wrong with people who don't really drink

[OptimismvsRealism]

No - not alcohol

Just liquid

People who can sit down to a meal without so much as a glass of water

People who invite guests to stay but have nothing to offer them to drink oh and you'd have to boil the tapwater haha

I can't sleep from thinking about this

There's a great episode of the podcast Off Menu when they interview Claudia Winkleman and she is like this. It astonishes me tbh but she seems very happy with it. Different strokes etc.

Slight overreaction however- if we go to a cafe for breakfast, my father in law cannot comprehend why they bring his drink first before his sausage sandwich. We now don’t get him a drink until he has nearly finished his food so it arrives as he is finishing. I went to a private junior school, we never had a drink with our lunch (not sure if the private is relevant but I think friends at state schools did get a drink - and probably didn’t get hit as much!).

At one time it was designed on to drink whilst eating as it diluted your gastric juices or something.

I have an overactive bladder so very careful about when I drink anything and need to know there's a toilet readily available. I do have medication for it but my lack of liquid intake stems from that.

I do drink with meals but as a child I wasn't allowed a drink with my meal in case it 'spoilt my meal' and had to wait until I'd finished my meal to have a drink. My mother had some weird ideas but that's a whole other thread.

Hmm yes that’s a really old fashioned view, one my fil subscribes to.

Your first post is really disingenuous.

And the whole thing sounds a bit bonkers.

You are staying with people who don't have tap water and drink from a well?

Is this rural Greece or some other European country?

Your post isn't really about people not drinking with meals.

It's about you being on holiday somewhere rural, and not having access to what we'd consider fresh water from a tap.

What do your hosts drink?

I won't even start to discuss Diet Coke which is one of the most evil and unhealthiest drinks known to man- full of terrible artificial sweeteners and phosphoric acid (that rots bones.)

Where on earth did you read that? It's nonsense.

I think it's just a habit. When I grew up most meals didn't come with glasses of water, breakfast and tea (high tea back then)-there was tea to drink. I was surprised as a child when eating at a friend's house and there was water on the table. Now I would never have a meal without water or juice or whatever.

Before you post - read all the posts by the OP.

She's on holiday somewhere rural where the water is from a well.

She's complaining because her hosts don't appear to drink much after 4pm and there is no water for her.

It's unclear if there is none in the house, but it must be a very rural country with no piped water or tap water that needs boiling first (can't see the issue with that.)

Years ago when I went to a remote Greek island, it was suggested we drank bottled water , cleaned our teeth with bottled water, or boiled tap water before drinking it.

That's hardly a problem is it OP?

I do actually need a drink to help my food go down as I have a twisted gulllet (or tortuous oesophagus to give it it's proper name) and food gets stuck and usually a drink will help ease it as it can be quite painful and sometimes embarrassing because if it won't go down then it has to come up. Not a fun thing to have.
I don't like hot drinks with food but do like cold things even without the gullet thing.

They'll be offended if you make out that you've been forced to go to the shops because they are bad hosts for having failed to anticipate your needs. (Which they are, but never mind.)

So don't present it that way. If you don't want to offend them, pretend that their habits are perfectly reasonable and it's you who is the quirky one: "I know you'll think this is really silly of me, but I am used to drinking xyz at home and I'm finding it hard to manage without it! Well, we all have our little ways, don't we. I'm just going to the shops to get some. Can I get you anything while I'm out?"

I don't have any of those types of drinks in my house. Water, tea, coffee, wine. That's it.

I think just get in the car and get some water and some drinks.

Cover it by saying « gosh, I realised last night we really should have brought something- how rude of us! »

To wonder what is wrong with people who don't really drink

Why must there be something wrong with them.

What is it about MN that if a person doesn't like/do as another person does/likes there's something wrong with them, issues is what you've got according to some MN's if you just happen to have an opinion that's different.

There's probably nothing wrong with them, it's just that at that particular time they don't want a drink.

But, I'm one that does drink, only one soft drink when eating out because my prefered choice is water, preferably a jug as I drink a lot.

They literally only drink tea when they're out. Tonight they'll drink nothing after about 4pm.

I'll have to go to the shops. They'll be offended, though.

@OptimismvsRealism Has the option to boil tap water as it's considered unsafe from the tap.

Her choice not to do this.

Yes. It is totally weird to me to not have any soft drinks at all in the house. I don't like fizzy drinks...but I like juices, smoothies, squash, cordials.

DH and I don't drink sweet soft drinks as a rule. Not because we dislike them, we just aren't in the habit of doing so. We drink water, tea, coffee, beer, wine or gin and tonic.

We currently have some J2O, lemonade and tonic water as soft drink options. We also have some squash and Rio as DD has moved home temporarily.

If I had guests coming who liked a particular soft drink I would get some in as I like to think that I know how to be a good host. This is why we have some J2O as DD's best friend drinks that when she visits.

Nothing morally or culturally wrong with them, but I wonder do they get constipated?

I never drank much as a kid, I don't remember ever taking water to school as kids do now. I drink water throughout the day now and I'm always reminding dd to take water with her when she goes out. I'd feel weird if I didn't have a bottle of water with me when I go out

No. I drink plenty of fluid, but I don't feel the need to drink with a meal unless the food is particularly dry.

The meals I made tend to have plenty of liquid in them - sauces, gravy, curry, chilli, salad, lots of vegetables etc.

I couldn't eat anything without a drink and my mum wonders what is wrong with me 😂

We have friends who never seem to drink much. I’ve asked for a drink at their house and been given a very small glass of water. They never have a drink with a meal and sometimes manage a very small coffee afterwards.They must be permanently dehydrated!

I don’t know how all you minimal drinkers aren’t completely constipated 😂. I have to drink plenty for this reason. I would drink with a meal if it’s salty or dry for sure but my mum doesn’t

I'll have to go to the shops. They'll be offended, though

@OptimismvsRealism I wouldn't worry about offending them. I'm sure you could just say that you are prone to migraines and need to stay well hydrated to prevent them.

I get headaches if I am dehydrated.

I wonder this too. I could not have a meal without a liquid to go with it. I know people though who when you offer them a drink with a meal, sort of look at you funny. Or be like, no I will have a cup of tea after.

But then I drink a lot of liquid through the day and always have - mostly tea but also water. I literally make cup after cup of tea throughout the day.

But with a meal, no I need a glass of something cold to wash it down.

Boiling tap water removes germs but OP is worried about chemicals in the well so not necessarily safe even after boiling.

OP I get it, I feel it if I don’t drink enough through the day and the resulting headache would keep me awake too. Get to the shop as soon as you can. Would it manage the offence if you were to say it was on medical advice to drink a certain amount of fluid a day?

I don't remember ever taking water to school as kids do now.

It just wasn't done, was it.
I guess we'd have had a drink in the morning, then one at lunch time (in one of those small glasses with the number on the bottom) and then again at home.
We had water fountains at secondary school.

Humans are pretty well designed, we don't need to be drinking all the time. Following your thirst is OK, it doesn't mean our organs are about to collapse.

The only time I drink more than I feel like is if I'm doing some sport a bit later.