Drink less fluid - another theory

I can remember reading that on average we should consume, about 2 litres of fluids a day from all sources, both from beverages and food. I did a quick calculation of what fluids I normally consume; various hot and cold drinks throughout the day, fruit juice and occasional glasses of water, not to mention liquid in food and found that I easily consumed 2 litres without any need to drink anything extra.

I must say I am careful about staying hydrated because both of my parents in old age had bladder cancer, caught early and managed by regular laser treatment, but it did lead DS and I to think about anything in their lifestyle that could have contributed to them both getting the same illness, as there was obviously not a genetic link. The only thing that we could identify was that they drank very little, about 4 cups of instant coffee a day and probably did not get much liquid from their food as they did not eat a lot.

Drinking "excessive* amounts of water (whatever quantity excessive might be) can be harmful by affecting the solutions of other minerals in your blood.
About a maximum of two litres nornally depending on the temperature and the amount of exercise you take. That's about eight mugs full

www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256?pg=2

health.howstuffworks.com/diseases-conditions/death-dying/water-intoxication.htms

Yes vegasmags, the mantra to drink 2 litres of water came along at the same time as bottled water. I'm just back from my regular 3 mile walk with the dogs. As often happens, we passed a couple of women, who aren't regulars on that walk. Both carrying bottles of water - for an ordinary 3 mile walk around the reservoir. There's a tea shop at one end, and a pub at the other, so no -one is likely to expire from dehydration. Good to see that a jug of tap water is now offered, rather than bottled, when we order water with meals locally.

How on earth did we manage before?

Good points vegasmags. I was very sporty at school and took part in competitions and the most liquid we had came from sucking orange segments at half-time! None of us suffered for it.

It seems to me that the mantra to drink 8 glasses of water a day coincided with the advent of bottled water. Now it seems that some people can't travel even the shortest distance without being equipped with a bottle of the stuff. How on earth did we manage before? I remember long train journeys as a child when tea was sold on station platforms and trains stopped long enough for passengers to hop off and get a cup.

by the time we feel thirsty we're already dehydrated.

I remember reading that a few years ago.

I think I've posted this before on here: I drank nothing but hot water from about the age of 12 and I drank gallons of the stuff. Around my mid- to late-thirties, I was diagnosed with a flabby a flabby kidney due to drinking too much water and told to drink less.

I agree with Nellie. I only drink too much when I go to the gym as it just seems like the right thing to do but when I get home I seem to spend the rest of the day running to the loo!

Bags can we therefore assume that when out body tells us we need chocolate we should listen to it and pig out?

I think the "drink more" fad came from the fact that it temporarily fills your stomach and might reduce the desire to eat stuff.

Oh yes I forgot I agree - urine is meant to be the colour of straw its a good indicator of your fluid requirements- doesn't have to be plain water most drinks are in excess of 90% water anyway.

I've thought about this and yes I do only drink when thirsty. if I make a tea or coffee when I wasn't thirsty I often find I leave half of it. I seem to need a drink about every two hours any more makes me feel awash. If I golf I drink about two small bottles of water per round but I have a raging thirst on the course. I do think the body is designed to regulate itself - that is of course unless one of the systems is going wrong!

DH and I don't always take much notice of what 'they' are telling us.
It appears to change from week to week.

I have heard you should drink enough to ensure you pee is straw yellow, if it's darker you are not getting enough liquid.

Being dehydrated can contribute to being constipated. The digestive system needs the liquid to keep the food moving.

As you get older downstairs loos are a godsend. When it's easier to walk to the loo and you don't have to climb the stairs you will probably not be so likely to restrict your intake of liquid.

Dehydration when you are older is really bad for all sorts of your bodies workings.

Are you sure the "I fancy a cup of tea" isn't a craving for caffeine?

You don't have to get thirsty to know when to drink, you just do it....sort of 'I fancy a cup of tea'. By the time you feel thirsty you are probably getting dehydrated.
Bags mentioned homeostasis and your body should normally tell you when to drink before you exoerience thirst.

This doesn't always work as we get old and some very old women I knew deliberately didn't drink much because of increasing in continence. This made them prone to repeated urinary track infections which made them very mentally confused.

If I don't drink enough I get cramp in my legs at night. I don't think you can rely on feeling thirsty, because we drink tea and coffee at intervals during the day for the uplifting effects. So we don't get thirsty. And then you can easily take in less fluid than you need.

If you drink too much you just pee it out. Not harmful at all.

Yes - me too!

But I still have to get up twice in the night for the loo. Most annoying !

Greenfinch, I'm the same, and it does worry me a bit that I'm not drinking enough - I used to drink gallons of tea yet I only want one occasionally these days...

Actually I very rarely feel thirsty. I am a "social drinker". I have a cup of tea with others or because I have just got up. If I am on my own I rarely have a drink and I never drink with meals apart from the odd glass of wine.

Yes, I've heard that too, petallus. I don't know any more about that. I've also heard that quite a few other things don't always work so well in the very elderly.

I agree, thatbags - it's also a rubbish theory IMO that by the time we feel thirsty we're already dehydrated.

I've never understood the idea that tea, because it has a slight diuretic effect, can't be counted as fluid intake. When I lived in Thailand I still found tea to be the most thirst-quenching drink (hot tea too; it's also cooling as it helps you to sweat–the body's natural cooling system). One doesn't piss out all the water in it.

Coffee ditto.

I've heard that the thirst mechanism doesn't always work so efficiently on the elderly.

A lot of food contains a fair bit of water. That's where we get some of our fluids from. There, puzzle solved. Thirst can be assuaged by eating. Think juicy orange, or mango, or cucumber.