What's the deal with fruit-flavored water?

[etudiante04]

I know nutritionists recommend 8 glasses of water daily. But I can't help but to also drink fruit water to meet this requirement. Is sugar water even healthy? Some say its bad because of the preservatives, others say its better than soda. I do try to drink 8 glasses of fresh water daily, but that only possible when I have a heavy workout (or if its hot outside).

What is the consensus on sweet water?

Thanks

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[sponge]

From what I understand, fruit flavored water would count towards that. by the time it reaches your colon, it's mixed in with lots of other stuff anyways. Caffeine tends to dehydrate, so you should subtract the cups of coffee from how many glasses of water and other non-caffeinated drinks you had.
As for whether the preservatives are unhealthy, I doubt there is a consensus there. Some have artificial sweeteners, which are also controversial.
Drinks like Gatorade have solutes in them, salts, sugar, etc, that reflect our physiological balance. This way, you won't overhydrate and disturb ion concentrations which are important for many different cell functions, particularly in the nervous system (although you would have to drink a lot before seeing this problem).

 

[mshheaddoc]

Fruit water isn't sweet water like the danasi, etc to my knowledge. That stuff is too concentrated for me. I just like a hint of flavor else I'll just drink juice. I think drinking something like gatorade or propel like that has other ions is important to those who are very active in maintaining a good balance. Just my personal opinion though.

 

[etudiante04]

Thanks

I didn't even see the other thread about diet coke. That thread is helpful, too. But I was more interested in fruit water.

 

[kate_g]

Drinks like Gatorade have solutes in them, salts, sugar, etc, that reflect our physiological balance.

Compare the taste of Gatorade (marketed as a tasty beverage with healthy/macho overtones) to the taste of Pedialyte (marketed as a product to use when there's a real chance of dehydration). Pedialyte is *way* less sweet - hardly sweet at all. The point is just that Gatorade is not really reflective of physiological balance, and is not much better for you than soda when it comes to hydration. The makers of Gatorade don't care about your health, they just want to sell something that you'll buy...

To the OP, as for drinking more water... I keep a liter-size bottle of water on my desk, and keep it full. Just because it's right there at the ready, I drink at least 2 liters of water just during the work day without really thinking about it or having to feel thirsty first. So you could try something like that if you feel like you have to force down 8 glasses.

 

[chef_NU]

Don't drink sweet water unless its artificially sweetened or only very mildly sweet. Drinking 8 glasses of sweet stuff = tons of calories = fat a$$. Not to mention that simple sugar drinks will make your blood sugar spike, then crash, only making you feel tired and hungry again. There hasn't been any hard evidence that artificial sweeteners mess with your body in any significant way (excluding some rare conditions), so go ahead and drink something like diet iced tea, crystal light, diet lemonade, whatever. Also, my running coach in high school used to tell us that carbonated beverages dehydrate, so avoid those if possible. I haven't done any research on this, so I'm not sure if there is research to back this up, however. Obviously, stay away from caffeinated (diuretic) stuff if you are worried about staying hydrated.

According to my physiology professor in undergrad, the "8 glasses of water a day" is somewhat of a magic number without any real analysis behind it. The main idea is just not to get DEhydrated, as this leads to fatigue, poor digestion, etc. I think a good rule of thumb is just to pee clear and you should be set.

One last thing about gatorade and other high sugar drinks: don't drink this stuff after working out. It's actually too hypertonic for a post-workout drink (when blood electrolytes are esp low) and can actually pull water into your GI tract instead of hydrating you. A good mix is something like 50/50 gatorade/water.

 

[DrVanNostran]

I am all about Fruit2O---thats some good water.

 

[SMRT]

According to my physiology professor in undergrad, the "8 glasses of water a day" is somewhat of a magic number without any real analysis behind it. The main idea is just not to get DEhydrated, as this leads to fatigue, poor digestion, etc. I think a good rule of thumb is just to pee clear and you should be set.

Agreed. Lecturers that I had in both nephrology and urology said the 8 glasses a day thing is whooey. If you are thirsty, drink. Drink more if it's hot, you're sweating, working out etc. And be sure to take in some electrolytes as well. Too much fluid is bad if your kidneys aren't up to it (although this is obviously not most people), and really all you will end up doing is peeing a lot.

 

[etudiante04]

I am all about Fruit2O---thats some good water.

this is the water I was talking about.

 

[etudiante04]

Agreed. Lecturers that I had in both nephrology and urology said the 8 glasses a day thing is whooey. If you are thirsty, drink. Drink more if it's hot, you're sweating, working out etc. And be sure to take in some electrolytes as well. Too much fluid is bad if your kidneys aren't up to it (although this is obviously not most people), and really all you will end up doing is peeing a lot.

Yeah, I don't want to have to go to the bathroom a lot. But I hear that increasing water intake can do wonders for your skin.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I know nutritionists recommend 8 glasses of water daily. But I can't help but to also drink fruit water to meet this requirement. Is sugar water even healthy? Some say its bad because of the preservatives, others say its better than soda. I do try to drink 8 glasses of fresh water daily, but that only possible when I have a heavy workout (or if its hot outside).

What is the consensus on sweet water?

Thanks

If you drink the water sweetened by sucralose or sugar alcohols, you should be fine.

Try an isotonic solution, instead of a hypotonic solution like water. Try Gatorade Fitness Water.

Obviously ANYTHING is better than soda.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Yeah, I don't want to have to go to the bathroom a lot. But I hear that increasing water intake can do wonders for your skin.

It also prevents renal stones.

 

[OSUdoc08]

this is the water I was talking about.

There is no sugar in this water. It has zero calories.

 

[Empress]

I don't like most of the fruit flavored waters, they're too sweet for me. And some people are convinced sucralose/Splenda is another aspartame and going to kill you with obscure cancers. But I don't like those people, they tire me out with their constant panic.

One thing I like to do is slice up citrus fruit, add to a pitcher of fresh water, and let it chill overnight. Sliced (peel and all) lemons and cucumbers is a good combo, as is sliced oranges and a vanilla bean. You can make herbal tea, Celestial Seasonings fruit teas are excellent.

 

[OSUdoc08]

I don't like most of the fruit flavored waters, they're too sweet for me. And some people are convinced sucralose/Splenda is another aspartame and going to kill you with obscure cancers. But I don't like those people, they tire me out with their constant panic.

One thing I like to do is slice up citrus fruit, add to a pitcher of fresh water, and let it chill overnight. Sliced (peel and all) lemons and cucumbers is a good combo, as is sliced oranges and a vanilla bean. You can make herbal tea, Celestial Seasonings fruit teas are excellent.

Spelenda does alter your chloride channels, but it doesn't have the appetite stimulant properties as does aspartame.

I prefer just straight tea or coffee. I don't need to spice it up.

 

[Vox Animo]

I heard from a few different sources that a good rule instead of 8 glasses a day is drink one ounce of water for every two pounds of body weight.

 

[bkwash]

Compare the taste of Gatorade (marketed as a tasty beverage with healthy/macho overtones) to the taste of Pedialyte (marketed as a product to use when there's a real chance of dehydration). Pedialyte is *way* less sweet - hardly sweet at all. The point is just that Gatorade is not really reflective of physiological balance, and is not much better for you than soda when it comes to hydration. The makers of Gatorade don't care about your health, they just want to sell something that you'll buy...

To the OP, as for drinking more water... I keep a liter-size bottle of water on my desk, and keep it full. Just because it's right there at the ready, I drink at least 2 liters of water just during the work day without really thinking about it or having to feel thirsty first. So you could try something like that if you feel like you have to force down 8 glasses.

I think I agree. Gatorade and Powerade both have HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) which I thought was not good to consume...any thoughts on this?

 

[OSUdoc08]

I think I agree. Gatorade and Powerade both have HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) which I thought was not good to consume...any thoughts on this?

There are some isotonic fluids, such as HydroPro and Propel that don't have as much fructose.

The best 2 sugars to have are glucose and galactose. You must have sugar inside your isotonic drink in order for the electolytes to be absorbed into your body. (Insulin cotransport.)

The best thing to do is have an electrolyte drink with either glucose or galactose.

 

[velo]

According to my physiology professor in undergrad, the "8 glasses of water a day" is somewhat of a magic number without any real analysis behind it. The main idea is just not to get DEhydrated, as this leads to fatigue, poor digestion, etc. I think a good rule of thumb is just to pee clear and you should be set.

Yeah, I really have no idea how it suddenly got in the media that "doctors recommend" drinking x gallons of water a day. I'm not aware of any publication that indicates any benifit at all from that recommendation.

If you're a normal, healthy person--not under any severe physiological stress-- you'll have no problem staying hydrated if you just drink when you're thirsty.

 

[kilani]

If I may add my 2-dental-cents ! 😀
Regardless of what you are utilizing to re-hydrate your body, don't forget that many sugars, especially the ones you typically found in sodas and other drinks like gatorade, etc are highly cariogenic, and when you add the acidity factor you'll get the right recipe for developing dental cavities.

One in-vitro study actually showed that gatorade is potentially more damaging to teeth than coke. I still prefer gatorade though over many types of soda, but the point is don't forget about your dental health when you make nutritional decisions 👍

 

[kate_g]

Yeah, I really have no idea how it suddenly got in the media that "doctors recommend" drinking x gallons of water a day.

Suddenly? My mom has been telling me this all 30 years of my life, that doesn't seem sudden. There are definitely nutritional studies done on lab primates that come up with a certain number of mL of water per kcal of dietary intake. But monkeys in the wild don't drink much because they're eating fruits and leaves all day rather than dry chow. So I'm sure there is an optimal fluid intake for people once you account for the water content of foods, but I'm also sure it would be impossible to get approval to do the studies you'd need to find out what it is in humans. 🙂

you'll have no problem staying hydrated if you just drink when you're thirsty.

I dunno, one of the other "pop nutrition" factoids that goes around a lot is that you're already technically dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty. I have trouble believing that your hypothalamus actually does such a bad job of regulating thirst that it lets you get dehydrated before telling you to drink. Maybe it's because modern Western people are no longer acutely attuned to their body's needs, so you've got to be quite thirsty before you'll notice feeling thirsty. Or maybe it's just another bunch of BS...

 

[velo]

I dunno, one of the other "pop nutrition" factoids that goes around a lot is that you're already technically dehydrated by the time you feel thirsty. I have trouble believing that your hypothalamus actually does such a bad job of regulating thirst that it lets you get dehydrated before telling you to drink. Maybe it's because modern Western people are no longer acutely attuned to their body's needs, so you've got to be quite thirsty before you'll notice feeling thirsty. Or maybe it's just another bunch of BS...

Yeah that sounds like hooey. Plasma osmolarity is maintained within a pretty tight reference range in normal, healthy adults. Any rise in Posm causes a pretty prompt responce from the hypothalamus to trigger thirst and increase ADH secretion. People just aren't walking around significantly dehydrated if they have access to water.

This whole, "everyone needs to drink this much water a day" nonsense has all the hallmarks of pop-medicine. Excess, specifically excess about one specific aspect of nutrition, broad claims about the benifit of this excess consumption, and vague pseudo-sciencey quasi-support.

We actually did the calculation waaay back in 1st year of how much water you'd need to take in so that you can excrete the minimum daily solute load. Its not that much and is pretty much covered by the water content of most standard diets (i.e. hydration of food).

 

[OSUdoc08]

Yeah that sounds like hooey. Plasma osmolarity is maintained within a pretty tight reference range in normal, healthy adults. Any rise in Posm causes a pretty prompt responce from the hypothalamus to trigger thirst and increase ADH secretion. People just aren't walking around significantly dehydrated if they have access to water.

This whole, "everyone needs to drink this much water a day" nonsense has all the hallmarks of pop-medicine. Excess, specifically excess about one specific aspect of nutrition, broad claims about the benifit of this excess consumption, and vague pseudo-sciencey quasi-support.

We actually did the calculation waaay back in 1st year of how much water you'd need to take in so that you can excrete the minimum daily solute load. Its not that much and is pretty much covered by the water content of most standard diets (i.e. hydration of food).

Unfortunately, you'll need much more than this amount of water to prevent renal stones, and to cover any actual physical activity throughout the day. You'll also need much more to keep your plasma isotonic to counteract all of the salt that you consume.

 

[1SwtWrld]

Compare the taste of Gatorade (marketed as a tasty beverage with healthy/macho overtones) to the taste of Pedialyte (marketed as a product to use when there's a real chance of dehydration). Pedialyte is *way* less sweet - hardly sweet at all. The point is just that Gatorade is not really reflective of physiological balance, and is not much better for you than soda when it comes to hydration. The makers of Gatorade don't care about your health, they just want to sell something that you'll buy...

Ya....Although Gatorade tastes good it has too much sugar to use for hydration purposes, especially when you are exercising intensely and need LOTs of fluid to hydrate. When I played hockey our trainers kept pedialyte or water in all of the bottles. And although it tastes like crap I never got a cramp and my stomach never felt "full" while drinking pedialyte, with that said I cannot immagine drinking pedialyte throughout the day in place of water or anything else, it tastes like flavored sweat.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Ya....Although Gatorade tastes good it has too much sugar to use for hydration purposes, especially when you are exercising intensely and need LOTs of fluid to hydrate. When I played hockey our trainers kept pedialyte or water in all of the bottles. And although it tastes like crap I never got a cramp and my stomach never felt "full" while drinking pedialyte, with that said I cannot immagine drinking pedialyte throughout the day in place of water or anything else, it tastes like flavored sweat.

Pedialyte IS the best isotonic solution, but try Propel Fitness water or some of the other drinks with less sugar.

 

[velo]

Unfortunately, you'll need much more than this amount of water to prevent renal stones, and to cover any actual physical activity throughout the day. You'll also need much more to keep your plasma isotonic to counteract all of the salt that you consume.

Not true, while hydration is a good secondary preventative strategy for people known to form stones, I challenge you to produce any solid evidence that indicates "8 cups of water a day" is good primary prevention for the general population.

And I wasn't saying people should not drink fluids. I was saying for normal, non-stressed, people the pop-nutrition advise is a gross overestimation of their hydration needs. I was interested in this first year and searched the literature. There's no solid data to support the recommendation, nor have I seen an offical recommendation from any physician organization about the matter. The closest is, as I said, the recommendation of hydration for 2nd prevention in known stone formers--however even there the authors conceeded that there were no RCTs to back that recommendation.

On top of that I confirmed all this with one of the top nephrologists at our institution...bottomline for the general population: if you're thirsty, drink. If you're not thirsty, you're fine.

 

[kate_g]

So I came across an amusing thread in the clinical rotation forum about what to do if you need to pee during surgery. Anyway, a discussion of hydration ensued and one poster mentioned wanting patients to make 50mL of urine per hour. I don't know if this is just in surgery, or in general during hospitalization, or what, but in any case 50*24=1200mL, which is about 40oz. or five glasses of water. That sounded like a bare minimum, as that poster said "we freak if our patients don't make 50ml/hr". And this is also presumably just the resting requirement (on the table or in a bed), if you were even just going about normal daily activities you'd need more to counter evaporative loss and whatnot (though I'm not sure I'd believe the average sedentary office worker perspires three extra glasses of water in a day). So... For what it's worth... If that's actually a common hospital standard then either it's a voodoo number that was institutionalized a long time ago, or it's got some amount of research behind it...

 

[velo]

So I came across an amusing thread in the clinical rotation forum about what to do if you need to pee during surgery. Anyway, a discussion of hydration ensued and one poster mentioned wanting patients to make 50mL of urine per hour. I don't know if this is just in surgery, or in general during hospitalization, or what, but in any case 50*24=1200mL, which is about 40oz. or five glasses of water. That sounded like a bare minimum, as that poster said "we freak if our patients don't make 50ml/hr". And this is also presumably just the resting requirement (on the table or in a bed), if you were even just going about normal daily activities you'd need more to counter evaporative loss and whatnot (though I'm not sure I'd believe the average sedentary office worker perspires three extra glasses of water in a day). So... For what it's worth... If that's actually a common hospital standard then either it's a voodoo number that was institutionalized a long time ago, or it's got some amount of research behind it...

If they're only making 50ml/hr then they're probably clearing very little free water and that's what we're really talking about. Their free water clearence is going to equal that urine rate - Clearance of osms, which if they're making concentrated urine is going to be pretty high ( Uosm * V / Posm) Plus you're underestimating the fluid they get from food (unless of course they're eating dry kibble).

At any rate, I'm just railing about the people who, every day, fill up their giant water bottle and make sure they drink it all because "doctors say" its good for them, even though no organization of physicians has ever made such a recommendation that I'm aware of.

Bottomeline: For normal health adults its very, VERY, easy to get the minimum amount of fluids you need in a day. It doesn't matter if it comes from food, pop, juice, plain water. If you're not walking around feeling parched your hydration status is probably within reference range.

 

[kate_g]

Velo, I think you read my post as a challenge to you; it wasn't. I just saw that bit of info on another forum and thought I'd add it to this one. It happened to come after your post, but wasn't meant to be an argument. Clearly 50mL/hr on the output end means that the total input was 1200mL, from food, fluid, whatever. Since we'd been discussing the lack of medical evidence for the "8 glasses" reccomendation, I thought it was nice to have some potentially medically established information about how much water should enter your body in a day.

 

[velo]

Velo, I think you read my post as a challenge to you; it wasn't. I just saw that bit of info on another forum and thought I'd add it to this one. It happened to come after your post, but wasn't meant to be an argument. Clearly 50mL/hr on the output end means that the total input was 1200mL, from food, fluid, whatever. Since we'd been discussing the lack of medical evidence for the "8 glasses" reccomendation, I thought it was nice to have some potentially medically established information about how much water should enter your body in a day.

Ah I see. I'm sorry you wandered into an argument unaware. The OP was about "nutritionists recommending 8 glasses of water a day" and whether it was ok to drink flavored fruity water or if that didn't cut it. Clearly since you lose fluid each day you need to replace it or you would desiccate--but as you pointed out, it doesn't matter if the "input" is food, water, juice, whatever. So when she's asking if she needs to drink plain water or if other fluids cut it, she's actually asking a question about free water clearance, and that can be pretty low--certainly far less than 8 glasses a day.

Sorry if it seemed like I jumped on you.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Not true, while hydration is a good secondary preventative strategy for people known to form stones, I challenge you to produce any solid evidence that indicates "8 cups of water a day" is good primary prevention for the general population.

And I wasn't saying people should not drink fluids. I was saying for normal, non-stressed, people the pop-nutrition advise is a gross overestimation of their hydration needs. I was interested in this first year and searched the literature. There's no solid data to support the recommendation, nor have I seen an offical recommendation from any physician organization about the matter. The closest is, as I said, the recommendation of hydration for 2nd prevention in known stone formers--however even there the authors conceeded that there were no RCTs to back that recommendation.

On top of that I confirmed all this with one of the top nephrologists at our institution...bottomline for the general population: if you're thirsty, drink. If you're not thirsty, you're fine.

Please inform us of one modality which prevents the formation of calcium phosphate, calcium oxalate, urate, and magnesium struvite stones. What one thing can you do to reduce the incidence of ALL of these OTHER than increasing the intake of fluids?

 

[velo]

Please inform us of one modality which prevents the formation of calcium phosphate, calcium oxalate, urate, and magnesium struvite stones. What one thing can you do to reduce the incidence of ALL of these OTHER than increasing the intake of fluids?

Please inform me of a study indicating that dehydration causes those stones to form. I already said that its good secondary prevention for people at risk of forming stones, but as dehydration isn't the underlying pathophysiology in forming stones it won't prevent people, not already at risk for stones, from developing them.

If you want to assert that its a good primary prevention strategy for the general population back it up with some studies. Otherwise, I think I've stated my position pretty clearly.

 

[velo]

duplicate

 

[OSUdoc08]

Please inform me of a study indicating that dehydration causes those stones to form. I already said that its good secondary prevention for people at risk of forming stones, but as dehydration isn't the underlying pathophysiology in forming stones it won't prevent people, not already at risk for stones, from developing them.

If you want to assert that its a good primary prevention strategy for the general population back it up with some studies. Otherwise, I think I've stated my position pretty clearly.

You'll want to review the pathophysiology of renal stone formation. It is directly related to stagnancy of concentrated solutes. Fast-flowing diluted solutes will inhibit renal stone formation.

Reference: Rapid Review Pathology, Edward Goljan, 2006.

 

[velo]

You'll want to review the pathophysiology of renal stone formation. It is directly related to stagnancy of concentrated solutes. Fast-flowing diluted solutes will inhibit renal stone formation.

Reference: Rapid Review Pathology, Edward Goljan, 2006.

Holy crap if I see you reference a test-review source as the end-all-be-all authority again...

Yes, like I said, if you take someone predisposed to forming stones (hypercalcemia, big load of oxalate, increased cystine, proteus infection, what have you) and run a lot of fluid through their kidneys then yes its going to help, but the underlying pathophysiology there is still the source of the solute. Take your average joe and dehydrate him and its not going go cause nephrolithiasis.

Thus my claim, lots of fluids is a good SECONDARY prevention strategy. It reduces the risk for people already at risk for developing stones. You still haven't shown me anything that convinces me that 8-cups of water a day is effective at reducing the risk of nephrolithiasis for the population at large.

 

[OSUdoc08]

Holy crap if I see you reference a test-review source as the end-all-be-all authority again...

Yes, like I said, if you take someone predisposed to forming stones (hypercalcemia, big load of oxalate, increased cystine, proteus infection, what have you) and run a lot of fluid through their kidneys then yes its going to help, but the underlying pathophysiology there is still the source of the solute. Take your average joe and dehydrate him and its not going go cause nephrolithiasis.

Thus my claim, lots of fluids is a good SECONDARY prevention strategy. It reduces the risk for people already at risk for developing stones. You still haven't shown me anything that convinces me that 8-cups of water a day is effective at reducing the risk of nephrolithiasis for the population at large.

Good, you agree.

So, quit arguing with me.

 

[velo]

Good, you agree.

So, quit arguing with me.

No, I don't, but seeing as how I doubt you even understand why I don't, we're done...tell you patients to all chug a gallon of water a day

 

[8744]

Fruit flavored water? Never touch the stuff. Think about it. Fruit flavored water. Not while I still have functioning gonads.

Oh yes. I'm going to sip my fruit-flavored water while doing my friggin' pilates. Gosh. I hope this tank-top doesn't make me look fat.

Jeezus. Am I the only ****ing carnivore left?

 

[GoJoeyMojo]

Fruit flavored water? Never touch the stuff. Think about it. Fruit flavored water. Not while I still have functioning gonads.

Oh yes. I'm going to sip my fruit-flavored water while doing my friggin' pilates. Gosh. I hope this tank-top doesn't make me look fat.

Jeezus. Am I the only ****ing carnivore left?

I'm a big ole carnivore. But I wouldn't want meat-flavored water. I'll just take the fruity stuff.

 

[WantsThisBad]

How about just drinking filtered water and taking some supplements to make sure you are getting an appropriate amount of electrolytes considering your level of activity? You could also use something such as E-lyte that is a concentrated electrolyte formula where you just add a cap full to 8oz of water.

 

[OSUdoc08]

How about just drinking filtered water and taking some supplements to make sure you are getting an appropriate amount of electrolytes considering your level of activity? You could also use something such as E-lyte that is a concentrated electrolyte formula where you just add a cap full to 8oz of water.

You still need glucose for electrolyte absorption into the body. It would need to be added as well.

 

[jojocola]

Yeah, I don't want to have to go to the bathroom a lot. But I hear that increasing water intake can do wonders for your skin.

Really now, I've always wondered why my skin glistened.

 

[Hurricane]

I'm what they call a "stone former" and have had over a dozen of the damn things. One of my urologists told me that I should drink enough fluids so produce a urinary output of 2L a day. Which isn't fun, let me tell you. End the end, it wasn't more fluids that stopped my kidneys from functioning as stone quarries - it was completely cutting out coffee and tea, which are rich in oxalate. Haven't had one in 5 years (knock on wood).

As far as the flavored waters go, I don't like the ones that are salty or sweet. The Dasani ones in particular - if you read the back of it, there's more salt in that stuff than in a diet coke! Ick.

My favorite (nonalcoholic) beverage is flavored Canada Dry club soda. No salt, sugar, or sugar substitite. Just bubbles and a hint of fruit flavor. Very refreshing. Comes in lemon/lime, orange, cranberry, and raspberry (my favorite). And it's a helluva lot cheaper than the fancier flavored seltzers. I drink nearly a liter of the stuff a day.