tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post7766038615693930266..comments2024-03-28T11:29:46.845-07:00Comments on Whole Health Source: Hydration: Attempt Only Under Medical SupervisionStephan Guyenethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-38326306119608889112011-12-22T03:10:04.568-08:002011-12-22T03:10:04.568-08:00I know this post is really old, but I'm only j...I know this post is really old, but I'm only just reading it now.<br />I would like to point out that sometimes you do not feel thirsty but you are, in fact, dehydrating.<br /><br />I live in Israel, where it is really hot during the summer (OK, it's hot almost all year long, but in the summer it is especially hot). There is a serious problem with dehydration here, because people often don't feel thirst or even realize they are dehydrating until they start to feel symptoms.<br /><br />My point is that in certain situations, it would be silly to trust only your sense of thirst.sivanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05589124118996823717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-46152870426475015032009-10-14T21:57:57.824-07:002009-10-14T21:57:57.824-07:00I wish you would skim through the book 'your b...I wish you would skim through the book 'your body's many cries for water'. Now, I think he's one of those, "I found a hammer, the whole world is a nail" guys, and some of the book is more about his own stuff than the issue at hand. But he explains something I think is worth considering. Learning Theory is pretty straightforward. You ask for X, and someone either ignores that or punches you in the liver, you quit asking for X. Well the body knows water. It doesn't know the zillion other crappy things we drink (I see endless people feeding toddlers and younger koolaid and dr. pepper in sippy cups, gah!). Some of which are the equivalent of being punched in the liver, and some of which (due to how molecules blend? Not a scientist, don't remember that part very well) don't really fill the bill just because they are 'wet'. He theorizes that people gradually LOSE the 'thirst reflex' because of this long term response to thirst being not-water or harmful-fluids.<br /><br />Now, there are two things I just have to mention: (1) I hated water. But when I began drinking it regularly, I actually found myself starting to get thirsty FAR more often, and *specifically for water* which was weird. This implies to me maybe there is something to the 'diminished thirst reflex' - which being hard-wired biologically maybe can be restored.<br /><br />And (2) I have seen the same effect with protein. Being overweight I used to live on pasta, bagels, and other 'healthy whole grain!' foods which nearly killed me, and my diet is now almost entirely meat, with periods of something more creative but less nutritious usually. I find that when I do not get meat regularly, my body now actually starts to WANT it, it specifically wants *meat*, not anything else. It occurred to me I had never had that effect before, and it reminded me of the thirst effect.<br /><br />Maybe when we get hungry and we eat french fries and a coke, or pizza (god I love pizza. god it is death-in-the-round...) our body starts gradually losing some of the innate response to "hey eat some protein," too. (It's possible men, given the eating habits of those I've known, have never been as protein deprived as I used to be to even notice something like this.) <br /><br />So I'm saying that you're right, we have the thirst reflex. Just like we have the "you ate enough calories quit eating" reflex -- but that is clearly all screwed up in many people for a long list of reasons (including the calories being unavailable to them) -- so I think it's worth considering that the thirst reflex *itself* may have some problems as a result of modern diet.<br /><br />Fwiw. - PJPJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391277875371518678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-8722779003890583052008-04-08T19:39:00.000-07:002008-04-08T19:39:00.000-07:00Yeah it's probably neither hurting nor helping.Yeah it's probably neither hurting nor helping.Stephan Guyenethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-21437929257549597072008-04-08T10:47:00.000-07:002008-04-08T10:47:00.000-07:00I drink about a gallon of water a day. Doesn't ap...I drink about a gallon of water a day. Doesn't appear to be hurting me, and my body composition has improved pretty dramatically in the past year.Barryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00589029086998638991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-58780795676376525022008-04-07T12:50:00.000-07:002008-04-07T12:50:00.000-07:00I don't know, I've wondered if it strains the kidn...I don't know, I've wondered if it strains the kidney to drink too much as well. It's certainly not a natural behavior.Stephan Guyenethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-58271394444476405402008-04-07T12:16:00.000-07:002008-04-07T12:16:00.000-07:00Oh, one of my favorite old wives tales! Thanks fo...Oh, one of my favorite old wives tales! Thanks for debunking (and glad to hear NPR debunking it, too). What I've heard is that you need about 2.5 liters of total water to replace that lost through breathing, sweating, urinating, and chemical reactions like hydrolysis of fats. But if you eat whole, natural foods, a lot of that comes from foods. (If you're eating mostly potato chips and toast, on the other hand, you're getting a lot less water than if you eat an apple and a chicken thigh.)<BR/><BR/>I also wonder about the long-term impact on the kidneys of asking them to move all that water across a concentration gradient.<BR/><BR/>The only exception I might add to your list is acute illness, like colds or flu or my current complaint, stomach flu. I wasn't at all thirsty the first day of the flu and hardly drank anything until my husband came home and persuaded me to guzzle down some fluids. I started to feel better immediately.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-41509441126458212102008-04-05T14:35:00.000-07:002008-04-05T14:35:00.000-07:00Arrrrrrgh!!Arrrrrrgh!!Stephan Guyenethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-54048905254635405272008-04-05T13:59:00.000-07:002008-04-05T13:59:00.000-07:00There was an NPR piece this week that concurred wi...There was <A HREF="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89323934" REL="nofollow">an NPR piece</A> this week that concurred with what you're saying. Unfortunately, in the middle of the piece, the head of the weight management center at the University of Pittsburgh, assured listeners that, "other zero-calorie options such as diet sodas are fine, too." Maybe she's worried if people stop drinking diet soda and getting metabolic syndrome, she won't have a job anymore.<BR/><BR/>Whoops, I've just spent 45 seconds writing this without hydrating! Better go fix that...Debshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09217281333751656056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-89354623606498213272008-04-05T12:21:00.000-07:002008-04-05T12:21:00.000-07:00I wonder if elderly people might be another except...I wonder if elderly people might be another exception to the rule of only drinking when thirsty. I've heard as the body ages the thirst sensation slightly decreases.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12825726029706055238noreply@blogger.com