To drink or not to drink

[Rob Furness]

This New York Times article puts the water drinking 'debate' well and truly to bed I think.

And blow me down, it draws the conclusion that you should drink if you're thirsty but not if you're not

I've been doing that since I was born and it's worked ok so far

[Mike T]

This New York Times article puts the water drinking 'debate' well and truly to bed I think.

And blow me down, it draws the conclusion that you should drink if you're thirsty but not if you're not

Unfortunately the article contains several inaccuracies, the most important being: "If you've lost weight, you need to start drinking a little more every hour," - as followers of this thread will have spotted.

[Mountain Goatess]

Unfortunately the article contains several inaccuracies, the most important being: "If you've lost weight, you need to start drinking a little more every hour," - as followers of this thread will have spotted.

Is your other name Christopher Leigh? :wink:

[Alexandra]

This New York Times article puts the water drinking 'debate' well and truly to bed I think.

And blow me down, it draws the conclusion that you should drink if you're thirsty but not if you're not

I have read that thirst is not a good guide to hydration needs, especially as we get old, and this chimes with my experiences. I well remember when I was trying my best in LDWA events I would not be aware of being at all thirsty during the last miles but the moment I finished I was desperately thirsty and all I wanted was to down glass after glass after glass of squash (not something I would usually like). I remember kind LDWA volunteers offering me food, and my feeling amazed that they might suppose I could eat, when all I wanted was to drink. Similarly, years ago when video cameras were fairly new, especially to me, I had the good fortune at work to be given the use of an editing suite for a day. I was so fascinated by what I was doing, I never stirred from that room all day, and my normal meal and drink times passed unremembered. I think it is easy for runners in the stress of competition to fail to notice that they need to drink, just as it is easy for someone at home and bored to feel they need a cup of tea every 5 minutes.

[Mike T]

I have read that thirst is not a good guide to hydration needs, especially as we get old, and this chimes with my experiences. I well remember when I was trying my best in LDWA events I would not be aware of being at all thirsty during the last miles but the moment I finished I was desperately thirsty and all I wanted was to down glass after glass after glass of squash (not something I would usually like). I remember kind LDWA volunteers offering me food, and my feeling amazed that they might suppose I could eat, when all I wanted was to drink. Similarly, years ago when video cameras were fairly new, especially to me, I had the good fortune at work to be given the use of an editing suite for a day. I was so fascinated by what I was doing, I never stirred from that room all day, and my normal meal and drink times passed unremembered. I think it is easy for runners in the stress of competition to fail to notice that they need to drink, just as it is easy for someone at home and bored to feel they need a cup of tea every 5 minutes.

Amongst old folk admitted to hospital there are as many with hyponatremia - water overload - as there are with dehydration. This is partly due to the "whatever you do keep drinking" philosophy.

[Derby Tup]

Every now and then we have a thread on here that inspires debate, that challenges our thinking, makes us really question what we believe. This isn't one of them

Some folk drink more water than others. Carrying a bottle or not will make bugger all difference to many runners performance either way. You can get very ill if you don't drink enough fluid and similarly if you drink too much. imho too little is far more common than too much, in most everyday situations :closed:

[Rob Furness]

Agreed DT, can we put this to bed now?

Some drink lots, some don't drink at all, and some haven't yet worked out what's best for them. Long scheme of things it's fairly irrelevant unless you personally have an issue with hydration, in which case there's lots of research out there for everybody to make there own informed decision.

[Mike T]

You can lead a horse to water .....

[Stolly]

You can lead a horse to water .....

Mike just shut the fluck up about it now. The advice about runners being prone to drinking too much is largely relevant to fun runners and joggers who have a bash at a marathon or half marathon for the first time. Fell running is a completely different ball game - few fun runners and joggers run in the hills for a start and when the do they rarely race and if they race they very rarely enter tough long races, largely because they need experience to get accepted. Everybody else knows what water they need and feel quite happy carrying water with them in any event, regardless of whether they drink it or not.

[Flopsy]

Every now and then we have a thread on here that inspires debate, that challenges our thinking, makes us really question what we believe. This isn't one of them
:closed:

Like it!!

Like Stolly says. Enough now Mike....please!!!