If I was to substitute my daily intake of water with an equal volume of water “solidified” using gelatin or agar, would I be adequately hydrated?
Now, assuming the guys up in Circulation are fine with solid water, will the jiggly juice also pass the muster of The Keeper of My Thirst, or will he demand more liquid currency before turning the dial to “quenched”? Is he in on the equilibrium loop, or does he merely stand watch over a Moistometer somewhere in the back of my throat?
On a hospital diet, Jello™ is considered liquid, because it returns to a liquid state at body temperature.
Semi-related tangent - when I lived for six months on food pumped through a feeding tube into my intestines, I was getting enough water, but not drinking any of it. I’d say my thirst was somewhat but not entirely related to my level of hydration. That is, I wasn’t miserably thirsty all the time, but the occasional sip of water (when taking pills or whatnot) felt DAMNED good.
I’ve only gone for 3 days while “drinking” through an IV. I was on standby for knee surgery and I was kept NPO in case a spot opened up. As I recall, my thirst level wasn’t unmanageable, and I filled my urinal several times, so I was receiving adequate hydration. The bad part of it was that they kept a pitcher of ice water next to my bed the entire time. Every shift change the corpsman (Navy hospital) would refill it. Not one of them ever commented on the fact that the pitcher was always full or that there was a great big red NPO sign at the foot of my bed.
So to answer your question, if D5W through an IV tube works, then gelatin probably would as well, but neither one of them sounds particularly refreshing.
You asked, “If I was to substitute my daily intake of water with an equal volume of water “solidified” using gelatin or agar, would I be adequately hydrated?”
And the answer is: Absolutely, yes. In fact, this is done commonly for people who, due to a stroke or other neurological problem, can no longer swallow liquids safely (and yes, it’s much harder to swallow liquids than non-liquids if the nerves controlling the swallowing mechanism have been damaged).
I saw this thread title as “Can I Eat my Waiter?” It’s time to go to bed. Goodnight.
My GF is a CNA, working in retirement homes. She told me once about thickened water and I thought she was joking. Aparantly they use this stuff for patients with disphagia, difficulty swallowing, so they don’t choke to death. I told her that, when a glass of water kicks my ass then it’s time to go, at which time she :smack: 'd me upside the head. I gotta say I probably deserved that one.