only drink fluids when you are thirsty

[willtron]

By the time you feel thirsty you're already dehydrated. Little and often is better than a lot at once, like most things with the human body.

[Slant]

is there a permanent damage of being dehydrated?

I'm not a doctor, but I think there is a thing as "too much water". Does something with your kidneys, I believe. They say an adult can take up 10l of water or so, beyond that you could have some health issues. But again, I'm not a doctor and... honestly, couldn't drink 10l a day even if I wanted to.

[Kuntantee]

@Slant

When I am not sitting on my computer, or close to refridg., I drink when I am dehydrated. That's why I asked.

[Slant]

@Slant

When I am not sitting on my computer, or close to refridg., I drink when I am dehydrated. That's why I asked.

This isn't vital science, to be honest. I see no big difference whether you constantly hydrate yourself or just drink when you're thirsty. None of us lives in a desert and to most of us it doesn't make any actual difference. Your body knows what it wants better than any doctor or medical advice website. If you feel like having a sip, go for it. If you like the feeling that quenching actual thirst gives you, heck, wait a little and then quench it properly like a man. You won't be much more or less healthy either way.

It's the people that drink one teacup a day that have a problem. And I kinda chuckle about all the girls running around the city with water bottles and flasks in their hands. Like they'd die of dehydration if they don't take a sip every 5 seconds. Girls, they'll follow any idiotic trend if they think it keeps them pretty and healthy. :P

[caervek]

I'm not a doctor, but I think there is a thing as "too much water". Does something with your kidneys, I believe.

Yeah I had this problem once while swimming, though it was my lungs not my kidneys.

[Slant]

Well, there's that, too... Glad you made it out!

[Kasterix]

Forcing fluids (especially in the moronic amounts some people in here are suggesting) can actually be quite harmful, even if it is just water. Water toxicity is a thing.

And "Drink sports drinks instead!" isn't the answer either, as that's nothing more than good marketing from the companies selling them.

Mankind got this far on the 'drink when thirsty' method, go figure.

[Deleted]

I never heard ANYONE say that you should only drink when you're thirsty!!!

In fact most people drink too little.

(Obviously you shouldn't be drinking a lot of stuff with sugars in it.)

What is so bad with drinking a lot of stuff with sugars in it?

[Slant]

What is so bad with drinking a lot of stuff with sugars in it?

Diabetes is one thing that spontaneously popped into my head.

[Deleted]

Diabetes is one thing that spontaneously popped into my head.

You can get it from drinking something with sugars in it? Maybe I need to cut down on soft drinks.

[Slant]

You can get it from drinking something with sugars in it? Maybe I need to cut down on soft drinks.

It's the sugars, not the drinking that's the important bit. It's not a disease that you get from sugar, but the way the body breaks down sugars has a lot to do with diabetes and unhealthy amounts of sugars can create a situation where diabetes develops. Talk to your doctor about it, he can actually explain it unlike me who's just dishing out half-knowledge really.

[Deleted]

During my stay in usa, i was working at busch gardens water county usa. Man the summer was too hot and I was drinking water all the time. After a few days my stomach started to hurt. I couldn't understand why. It became a serious pain and went to doctor. He told me to not drink water. To my surprise, water was the problem. Obviously I was drinking too much water. I stopped drinking that much water and stomach went to normal.

Bad doctor. He should have explained the problem to you: abdominal pains are a result of low blood pressure, caused by loss of salt due to the amount you were drinking & sweating. You could have continued to drink as much and just take more salt. He obviously thought that nobody but a doctor could possibly be intelligent enough to comprehend this mindblowingly complicated information.

[Deleted]

It's the sugars, not the drinking that's the important bit. It's not a disease that you get from sugar, but the way the body breaks down sugars has a lot to do with diabetes and unhealthy amounts of sugars can create a situation where diabetes develops. Talk to your doctor about it, he can actually explain it unlike me who's just dishing out half-knowledge really.

I have asked before and they said I shouldn't worry about it but instead about my teeth.

[Slant]

I have asked before and they said I shouldn't worry about it but instead about my teeth.

Then listen to your doctors. They know you better than I do.

[meekus]

If there's nothing wrong with you, drinking only when you're thirsty should be enough. I don't think that there's much evidence behind that whole "chugging water all day every day to stay healthy" idea. But I doubt it's harmful to drink more than you need to, unless it's much, much more.

[Asiwassaying]

If you are thirsty, you're already dehydrated.

Drink fluids often. Just limit sodas and juice. Water is your friend.

[Khahandran]

Drinking when you're thirsty is perfectly fine, and in fact what you're supposed to do*. The body knows how best to maintain homeostasis. The sensation to drink is just your bodies response/instinct to a current requirement. You then satisfy a requirement until the sensation returns. Drinking before you're thirsty, is no different than trying to sleep before you're tired. However, if you choose to drink before you're thirsty, you're unlikely to do any harm.

No animal will eat or drink until it needs to. Same goes for humans. We can choose to override that, but it isn't instinct to do so, because there simply isn't a requirement to ignore that instinct.

*unless you're an athlete or doing something extreme.

[belfpala]

This is nonsense. I always have a glass of vodka nearby.

No animal will eat or drink until it needs to. Same goes for humans. We can choose to override that, but it isn't instinct to do so, because there simply isn't a requirement to ignore that instinct.

Unless the beverage is a way to fulfill another instinct. For example, feeling hypoglycemic and using soda as a quick way to get sugar. Or simply for the caffeine addiction. /shrug.

[Deleted]

Of course only drink fluids when thirsty, what else should I drink?
Gasses, solids? Plasma?