All fluids vs water

**snooks** · 12-10-2011 08:23 PM

I have been interested in reading some of the postings about how much water we need daily with most people pushing strongly for water as opposed to other beverages etc. So I thought I would do some research, mainly because I don't drink a lot of plain water and certainly feel no ill effects from not doing so.

Anyway, what I found from reputable places such as the Mayo Clinic was that ALL fluids are helpful to the body for rehydration purposes. That includes fluid in food. The body, miracle that it is, is able to process the water content out of any fluid regardless of whether the rest of the drink is beneficial or not.

This of course does not mean that all drinks are created equal. Most definitely some are better at the process of rehydration than others, but it may not be that water is the best!! I know that will be controversial but some of the drinks we can get that include vital hydration minerals do the job better. If that wasn't so, why do so many of our top athletes drink things such as Gatorade?

Of course many of these, not pure water drinks have nasties in them such as sugar that may not be particularly great if you are trying to lose weight, but there are options there too.

For the basic needs of our bodies we need fluid. Water may prove for some the best, but we need not restrict ourselves to just water to make the total fluid consumption needed on a daily basis. I don't recommend that we all ditch our water bottles and take up soda because it tastes better though. Heaven forbid!! Be careful on what you drink and chose drinks that are actually nourishing and good for you. eg Green tea (not the stuff that you buy in bottles that is full of sugar either!!), milk, a little coffee, smoothies, if fact there are heaps of good for you drinks that you can try. You know what they say about variety being the spice of life....

Just my pennyworth.

**ItsASecret** · 12-10-2011 08:54 PM

I know that will be controversial but some of the drinks we can get that include vital hydration minerals do the job better. If that wasn't so, why do so many of our top athletes drink things such as Gatorade?

That is the only reason they are used by top athletes, they need those minerals because they lose them so quickly. Without those drinks they would likely be much more worn out during their games. The average Joe taking a nice summer stroll does not need Gatorade or any other sugar drink, they are not performing at high calorie burning levels. Same with some kid that thinks that drinking Gatorade is okay because "the athletes do it", for the kid it is just a sugar drink they are not getting any real benefit from the drink they are receiving more sugar while staying sedentary.

Fruits and veggies are fine to eat for water content, a lot of them are over half water to begin with like celery for example with about 70%+ water content. Many people already know that sugars are plain bad for you, does not matter how you disguise it with concentrated, no pulp, fresh pulp, high vitamin C & A, no added flavors etc...if it has the word sugar somewhere on the label it is likely to be a waste of money.

**Darling** · 12-10-2011 09:14 PM

Why is sugar so bad for the body? Sugar is in tons of natural healthy things. Why is it that we refuse to consume it if its not a piece of fruit? I understand that sodas and other drinks are full of sugar and not recommended for a healthy diet. But what is it exactly about sugar that turns people off, or to fake sweeteners? If the body needs certain amounts of vitamins, fat, salt, and what not would it be logical to assume the body needs sugar as well.
If I've been pushing a long day a some what sugary drink is calling my name. A drink that has the water my body needs and the sugar I feel it craves.

**ItsASecret** · 12-10-2011 10:01 PM

Why is sugar so bad for the body? Sugar is in tons of natural healthy things.

The sugars present in drinks are often the refined sugars, not good for the body, sugars present in fruits are the natural unrefined unprocessed ones which are the good ones for the body. Just because both are named "sugar" does not mean they work the same. The difference is in the metabolism of them and the byproducts. Those refined sugars are the ones that make you have a craving, it is like a 'addiction' that results in your brain thinking "this is awesome" but really it is serving no health benefit because it is not the naturally present sugars such as those in fruits. Unrefined sugars do not have that same "awesome" reward to your brain.

**snooks** · 12-10-2011 10:11 PM

Please note: RE hydration (replenishing the bodies fluid after a lack, whether by exercise, heat or not drinking) - Gatorade and other of those drinks in that genre, are good.
Healthy alternatives to water with the added benefit of extra nutrients include the sugar free list at the bottom.
I am certainly NOT an advocate of willy nilly drinking energy drinks! BUT they are great when the body is depleted of fluid, minerals and electrolytes.

**ItsASecret** · 12-10-2011 10:15 PM

I am certainly NOT an advocate of willy nilly drinking energy drinks! BUT they are great when the body is depleted of fluid, minerals and electrolytes.

I advocate them if a person is doing some sort of activity providing it is actual work. Sitting on the couch watching tv while doing some curls is not "work" lol so something like that will not require rehydration. However sports, and breaking a sweat while working out etc. is a perfectly acceptable reason to rehydrate the lost salts, other than those reasons no.

**Seeker_Advice** · 12-12-2011 03:26 PM

Speaking in very general basic terms, sugars themselves aren't so bad, it's the enormous quantity of them that we consume that is bad for us.

Yes, one can argue that processed sugars are "bad" for you and I will leave it to those with more scientific knowledge than I, like my researcher friend ItSA...

For those of us who are "simpletons"...just remember...everything in moderation!

**panda87** · 01-27-2012 01:16 AM

Originally Posted by Darling

Why is sugar so bad for the body? Sugar is in tons of natural healthy things. Why is it that we refuse to consume it if its not a piece of fruit? I understand that sodas and other drinks are full of sugar and not recommended for a healthy diet. But what is it exactly about sugar that turns people off...

Things like soft drinks and sweets have nothing else in them except for sugar. The natural healthy things that contain sugar have lots of other beneficial things in them, hence healthy. For example fruit has fibre, vitamins, fluid as well as fruit sugar (fructose), milk has protein, minerals, fluid in addition to the milk sugar (lactose), etc..

**Tim** · 01-27-2012 10:53 PM

Some researchers speculate the most of the western world is in a chronic state of dehydration. So much so, that it can account for any number of illness or pain/discomfort symptoms.

This is one of the reasons why the first thing a hospital does with a new patient is to put them on a saline IV...to hydrate them as quickly as possible.

The salt in the saline solution is the other answer to the riddle...as long as the most healthy form of salt is used in conjunction with the hydration, not simple table salt, which is nothing more than sodium chloride, a "salt" stripped of it's health-enhancing mineral content.

I personally am big on water consumption. It is my main source of hydration, with only a few other drinks ever used, such as coconut milk and almond milk. Our bodies are water bodies. After the breath, we need the water.

I'm also not a fan of tap water for the excessive chlorination and fluoride (don't get me started on either topic) and unfortunately so many independent tests are showing countless water supplies...both municipal and bottled spring water...to have countless contaminants and it's frustrating to hear about.

So I stick to a basic spring water, a common brand that most people know by name, after researching their sourcing and purifying methods.

For the enthusiasts, there are machines that will extract the water from the air (essentially a glorified dehumidifier) that then sends the water thru a gravity-based carbon filtration system, providing about 4 gallons of clean water a day for drinking. (It's a pretty cool concept, avoiding the use of chemicals to clean the water).

I could go on and on, but I hope that gives some helpful insights from a guy who just plain reads too much. ....