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8 glasses a day... does it still count?


dvs

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so, i was watching a commercial on tv (crystal light or some such) that claimed that their stuff added to h2o would count as one of ones 8 glasses a day of water.

is this true? i always thought that anything added to water counteracted why one needs the 8 glasses a day.

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Yes, it still counts...I read reports that say even the water in the vegetables we consume count towards the 8 glasses a day. However, 8 oz. of coffee and tea only count for 6 oz. of liquid because of their diuretic effects. Other reports say that some doctors today feel the 8 glasses a day is a rather arbitrary number--not everyone needs that much, and some people need more (depending on weight and activity level.)

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I was taught that things like tea, coffee, soda, etc could never count as water as they have caffiene added, and also sugar negates the "counting as water." However since Crystal Light is caffiene free and sugar free, it could kind of count as water.

-Sounds awfully rich!

-It is! That's why I serve it with ice cream to cut the sweetness!

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It counts no matter what you've mixed in: sugar, salt, caffeine, whatever. Count the sugar, etc. separately as part of your calorie/sodium/caffeine intake, but you've still taken in a lot of water.

Caffeine is a diuretic, true, but then so is water.

Can you pee in the ocean?

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Yes, it still counts...I read reports that say even the water in the vegetables we consume count towards the 8 glasses a day. However, 8 oz. of coffee and tea only count for 6 oz. of liquid because of their diuretic effects. Other reports say that some doctors today feel the 8 glasses a day is a rather arbitrary number--not everyone needs that much, and some people need more (depending on weight and activity level.)

Interesting about the arbitrariness of the 8 glasses stat! According to the info on one of the meds I'm taking, I'm supposedly well-advised to drink even more than 8 eight-ounce glasses--it should be more like 12! Glub glub glub I'm drowning! :laugh: I find myself struggling to get the 8 glasses in ... but on the other hand, I can tell by changes in my bodily condition that I really do feel better when I consistently get the full 8 in (in addition to anything I take in via water content in my food). So, yeah, nice to know that I should go with my intuition on when it feels like I'm getting enough.

Still, I do have a daily struggle around enticing myself by any means necessary to drink my daily allotment of fluids. I find that not only tea and coffee, but some herbal teas and sugary drinks (not just pop but also pure fruit juices) have various diuretic effects on me. However, their diuretic effect is far from completely negating their hydrating potential; rather more like still a net positive on the liquid-intake front, though not as efficient as pure water. And what these beverages lose in too-quickly pissed-away moisture, they more than make up in their ability to make me want to drink them (a half-gallon of plain water, no matter how gussied up, is frankly kinda boring to me).

So it's all a trade-off -- how much tasty but partly-counterproductive additives you're willing to intake in order to get the benefit of the liquid content.

Oh yeah--perhaps it goes without saying, but booze really excels in the counterproductive diuretic-effect department. :laugh:

P.S. Yeah, ultimately all of this fluid eventually gets recycled out sooner or later--after all, one of the many reasons for proper fluid intake is to make sure the body's elimination functions have all the water they need to function optimally. The difference is that certain of those water-additives (i.e. flavors, caffeine, etc etc etc) throw off the equation so that more water gets excreted, sooner, than would have happened with an equal volume of pure water. All other things being held equal for your unique bodily condition, of course ...

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Ah, one of my pet peeves comes to light. I'll try to be brief.

The bottled water fad/industry has contributed to an increase in tooth decay (according to a source I can no longer remember) by bypassing the flouridation present in most municipal water systems. Do yourself a favor and get a filter for the faucet if the water tastes funny. They do work.

Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics. THe effect depends on a lot of things, but a good rule of thumb for someone trying for an target number is to subtract 10% from caffeine drinks and 40% for alcohol (again, a source that I cannot remember).

Ice counts. So do milk and soup. Veggies and fruit count as well, but there's not as much as most people think in them.

Don't believe the forwarded junk email that colas and such don't count. As long as you factor the sugar into your daily calories, not a major deal. Drink diet if it's an issue.

It's hot outside as I type this. Just about any liquid is a good thing. It all counts.

Edited to add the source for the tooth thing - http://www.ada.org/public/topics/bottled_water_faq.asp

Edited by FistFullaRoux (log)
Screw it. It's a Butterball.
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Oh yeah--perhaps it goes without saying, but booze really excels in the counterproductive diuretic-effect department. :laugh:

As I once remarked to my husband the morning after a long night of dancing on New Year's Eve, "Champagne is not an effective means of hydration."

Can you pee in the ocean?

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Oh yeah--perhaps it goes without saying, but booze really excels in the counterproductive diuretic-effect department. :laugh:

As I once remarked to my husband the morning after a long night of dancing on New Year's Eve, "Champagne is not an effective means of hydration."

What about hair of the dog??? :wink:

I love that Crystal Light is advertising their product in such a way that says "Buy me! I have so little to offer that I do nothing to affect that glass of water you were going to drink anyway!" Obviously that's not the actual goal, just what the marketing made me think of... :laugh:

Edited by Megan Blocker (log)

"We had dry martinis; great wing-shaped glasses of perfumed fire, tangy as the early morning air." - Elaine Dundy, The Dud Avocado

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Oh yeah--perhaps it goes without saying, but booze really excels in the counterproductive diuretic-effect department. :laugh:

As I once remarked to my husband the morning after a long night of dancing on New Year's Eve, "Champagne is not an effective means of hydration."

What about hair of the dog??? :wink:

I love that Crystal Light is advertising their product in such a way that says "Buy me! I have so little to offer that I do nothing to affect that glass of water you were going to drink anyway!" Obviously that's not the actual goal, just what the marketing made me think of... :laugh:

Heh, I wonder how long before beer and other alcoholic beverage companies begin doing the same. ;P They already market their light beers as "low-carb."

Edited by johnsmith45678 (log)
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Oh yeah--perhaps it goes without saying, but booze really excels in the counterproductive diuretic-effect department. :laugh:

As I once remarked to my husband the morning after a long night of dancing on New Year's Eve, "Champagne is not an effective means of hydration."

What about hair of the dog??? :wink:

I love that Crystal Light is advertising their product in such a way that says "Buy me! I have so little to offer that I do nothing to affect that glass of water you were going to drink anyway!" Obviously that's not the actual goal, just what the marketing made me think of... :laugh:

Heh, I wonder how long before beer and other alcoholic beverage companies begin doing the same. ;P They already market their light beers as "low-carb."

Heh--there's already been a bunch of beer ad campaigns going on at great length about the quality of the water they use. In fact, I saw a huge billboard praising a beer's water quality just the other day. :wacko: Okay, I do realize that water quality does make a difference, but still--c'mon! Always makes me think of the old Firesign Theatre routine: "Bear Whiz Beer! It's in the water, son--that's why it's yellow!" :laugh:

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Heh--there's already been a bunch of beer ad campaigns going on at great length about the quality of the water they use. In fact, I saw a huge billboard praising a beer's water quality just the other day. :wacko: Okay, I do realize that water quality does make a difference, but still--c'mon! Always makes me think of the old Firesign Theatre routine: "Bear Whiz Beer! It's in the water, son--that's why it's yellow!" :laugh:

Yeah, since Coors is here, there are a lot of billboards and other advertisements advertising their "Rocky Mountain spring water." I don't know where this "spring" is, but I'd think they get their water from Clear Creek -- which is downstream from the huge casino boom going on in Central City -- since it flows right by their plant in Golden. I hope they treat it for giardia first! ;P

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I love that Crystal Light is advertising their product in such a way that says "Buy me!  I have so little to offer that I do nothing to affect that glass of water you were going to drink anyway!"  Obviously that's not the actual goal, just what the marketing made me think of... :laugh:

I'd like to look at the Crystal Light ingredient list and compare it to water and then say with a straight face that it's the same thing!

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I've been using Crystal Light for about nine months now to get me through the 100 oz a day thing. I can't vouch for anyone else.....but I'm 61 lbs lighter and there is NO doubt at all, for me , that the 100 oz a day has been a factor.

Dave Valentin

Retired Explosive Detection K9 Handler

"So, what if we've got it all backwards?" asks my son.

"Got what backwards?" I ask.

"What if chicken tastes like rattlesnake?" My son, the Einstein of the family.

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If observing my wife is any indication, Crystal Light is flavored crack. She drinks 64 oz or more a day, and even her doctor has said that it has nothing in there, aside from the aspartame, that she should be concerned with. And only a small percentage of the population needs to worry about that.

If it helps you get the water down, great. More power to ya.

I did a little more digging and came up with this:

Regular coffee and tea drinkers become accustomed to caffeine and lose little, if any, fluid. In a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha measured how different combinations of water, coffee and caffeinated sodas affected the hydration status of 18 healthy adults who drink caffeinated beverages routinely.

"We found no significant differences at all," says nutritionist Ann Grandjean, the study's lead author. "The purpose of the study was to find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking normal amounts of it. It is not."

The same goes for tea, juice, milk and caffeinated sodas: One glass provides about the same amount of hydrating fluid as a glass of water. The only common drinks that produce a net loss of fluids are those containing alcohol — and usually it takes more than one of those to cause noticeable dehydration, doctors say.

So I recant my earlier thoughts on caffeinated drinks. I stand by the alcohol.

http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

Screw it. It's a Butterball.
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As I once remarked to my husband the morning after a long night of dancing on New Year's Eve, "Champagne is not an effective means of hydration."

What about hair of the dog??? :wink:

I was referring to my consumption of champagne during the party, when I was thirsty and perspiring from dancing, and also had higher "insensible" loss (insensible loss being water lost by evaporation from your skin and lungs). Had champagne been available for breakfast the next AM I might well have partaken.

Can you pee in the ocean?

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I'd like to look at the Crystal Light ingredient list and compare it to water and then say with a straight face that it's the same thing!

They're not. The water is in no way altered by the Crystal Light (or any other solute) being dissolved in it (well, okay, it might change the colligative properties, but that's not going to mean much in this instance). You can consume the two items together, or you can eat a biteful of Crystal Light (or jam or peanut butter or jello or whatever you feel like consuming) and then consume a glass of water later.

Can you pee in the ocean?

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I'd like to look at the Crystal Light ingredient list and compare it to water and then say with a straight face that it's the same thing!

They're not. The water is in no way altered by the Crystal Light (or any other solute) being dissolved in it (well, okay, it might change the colligative properties, but that's not going to mean much in this instance). You can consume the two items together, or you can eat a biteful of Crystal Light (or jam or peanut butter or jello or whatever you feel like consuming) and then consume a glass of water later.

That's how I always looked at it. If you drank a glass of water and had 1/4 cup sugar on the side, you probably would still count that as a glass of water. So drinking a regular soda would be about the same. Otherwise how could we count the glass of water we have with dinner if it hits the stomach the same time as the meat and vegetables?

I'm not saying I'm right, I'm just saying that's how I always looked at it.

Tammy Olson aka "TPO"

The Practical Pantry

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thanks for all the replies!!

i wanted to add that i don't drink crystal light as i heard the phenylneurotics (sp) in it are bad for you... what i do add to a btl of water a day is that EmergenC stuff you can buy by the bushell at TJ's. i'm sure that stuff is much better for you :rolleyes:

but i am glad to hear that it'll count towards my daily water intake :biggrin:

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thanks for all the replies!!

i wanted to add that i don't drink crystal light as i heard the phenylneurotics (sp) in it are bad for you... what i do add to a btl of water a day is that EmergenC stuff you can buy by the bushell at TJ's. i'm sure that stuff is much better for you  :rolleyes:

but i am glad to hear that it'll count towards my daily water intake  :biggrin:

Aspartame is the sweet ingredient in NutraSweet and Equal.

From: http://www.health.uab.edu/show.asp?durki=67788

Aspartame does contain phenylalanine, which should be avoided by the small number of people — about 1 in 16,000 — who have the hereditary disease phenylketonuria.

Screw it. It's a Butterball.
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I did a little more digging and came up with this:
Regular coffee and tea drinkers become accustomed to caffeine and lose little, if any, fluid. In a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha measured how different combinations of water, coffee and caffeinated sodas affected the hydration status of 18 healthy adults who drink caffeinated beverages routinely.

"We found no significant differences at all," says nutritionist Ann Grandjean, the study's lead author. "The purpose of the study was to find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking normal amounts of it. It is not."

Do they say what they consider a "normal amount" to be? And is caffeine dehydrating if you are consuming an abnormal amount?

That's the crux of the matter for some of us.

Thank God for tea! What would the world do without tea? How did it exist? I am glad I was not born before tea!

- Sydney Smith, English clergyman & essayist, 1771-1845

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Here's a link to the JACN article.

Interestingly enough, the study was sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company.

Here's the specific info about caffeine consumption in the study:

Some of the beverages used in treatments B, C and D contained caffeine. Average caffeine intake while on treatment ranged from 114 mg/d (±26) for both Tx B and Tx C to 253 mg/d (±59 mg/d) for Tx D. Calculated as grams per kilogram body weight (bw), the mean intake ranged from 1.4 mg/kg (±0.15) on Tx B and Tx C to 3.13 mg/kg (±0.35) on Tx D.

Based on three-day diet records collected prior to the study, an estimated usual intake was calculated. Usual caffeine intake ranged from 61 mg/d to 464 mg/d or 0.8 mg/kg bw to 6.17 mg/kg bw, with an average intake of 180 mg/d (±113) or 2.3 mg/kg bw (±1.54).

Can you pee in the ocean?

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I spent 4 days in the hospital in April because I was told I drank TOO much water. I was hallucinating, appartently drank enough water to flush the normal body salts out of me so my body salt count was dangerously low. They pumped me full of saline and I actually got to eat bacon every breakfast while in there! I now have learned a lot of things, first this led to a diagnosis of MS and I now watch my electrolytes. I drink one glass of water with EmerGenC in it daily and then only 2 or 3 more glasses throughout the day, my doctor periodically asks if I'm drinking too much again.

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Ah, one of my pet peeves comes to light. I'll try to be brief.

The bottled water fad/industry has contributed to an increase in tooth decay (according to a source I can no longer remember) by bypassing the flouridation present in most municipal water systems. Do yourself a favor and get a filter for the faucet if the water tastes funny. They do work.[...]

Don't all the filters filter fluorides?

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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I've been using Crystal Light for about nine months now to get me through the 100 oz a day thing.  I can't vouch for anyone else.....but I'm 61 lbs lighter and there is NO doubt at all, for me , that the 100 oz a day has been a factor.

What flavors do you like, because I haven't cared for any of the ones I've tried?

"Many people believe the names of In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake perfectly describe the contrast in bedroom techniques between the coast and the heartland." ~Roger Ebert

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