# does flavoured water count? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2001, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314 "2001-11-03T15:22:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grettle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@grettle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grettle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/1 "2001-11-03T15:22:05Z")
so, you are supposed to drink 8 12oz glasses of water everyday. caffine and carbonation don’t caount, in fact they supposedly count against you. do kool-aid and generic equivelants count as water? or does the massive amount of sugar cancel it out, too? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Gazoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/67e7ee/32.png) [@The\_Great\_Gazoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Gazoo)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/2 "2001-11-03T15:25:02Z")
Why does carbonation not count??? I can understand caffeine - but carbonation is a negative? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/3 "2001-11-03T15:29:46Z")
Actually, this appears to be just folklore: [http://www.snopes2.com/toxins/water.htm](http://www.snopes2.com/toxins/water.htm) ---
**Author:** ![grettle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@grettle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grettle)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/4 "2001-11-03T15:47:07Z")
thanks for the snopes reference mjollnir, but it doesn’t quite address the question. even if you only have to drink 5 glasses of water a day, caffine and carbonation still don’t count, they dehydrate you. i don’t have scientific back-up, but i’ve been told carbination is especially bad for athletes because it hinders blood circulation, which kind of made sense to me because you are adding a noticable quantity of CO2 to your system when you down a bubbled beverage. what about sugar? ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/5 "2001-11-03T16:19:05Z")
Sugar, caffeine, flavour and carbonation do not change the beneficial effects of the water in people with well functioning lungs and kidneys. That is, eight glasses of diet coke hydrate you essentially as well as eight glasses of water. Dr\_Pap, MD ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/6 "2001-11-03T16:28:09Z")
From the Snopes link: > [@](#): > > Regular coffee and tea drinkers become accustomed to caffeine and lose little, if any, fluid. In a study published in the October issue of the _Journal of the American College of Nutrition_, researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha measured how different combinations of water, coffee and caffeinated sodas affected the hydration status of 18 healthy adults who drink caffeinated beverages routinely. > > “We found no significant differences at all,” says nutritionist Ann Grandjean, the study’s lead author. “The purpose of the study was to find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking normal amounts of it. It is not.” > > The same goes for tea, juice, milk and caffeinated sodas: One glass provides about the same amount of hydrating fluid as a glass of water. The only common drinks that produce a net loss of fluids are those containing alcohol – and usually it takes more than one of those to cause noticeable dehydration, doctors say. From the [Gatorade](http://www.gssiweb.com/expert/question.cfm?qid=14) site: > [@](#): > > Carbonation will not decrease endurance (reduce one’s “wind”) by causing an accumulation of CO2 in the blood. Much of the carbonation comes out of solution in the stomach and may be “belched” away before entering the intestine, where fluid and nutrients actually get absorbed. [Another cite](http://www.sugar.org/health/athleteguide.html): > [@](#): > > _Q: My coach told me not to drink soda pop because carbonation decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood. Is that true?_ > > A. USA Today (July 31, 1990) ran a story on sub four-minute mile runner, Joe Falcon. The story quoted Falcon as saying his running got better after he quit drinking carbonated beverages. Falcon said that Sir Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in under four minutes, recommended cutting carbonated beverages from his diet based on a study showing carbonation cut oxygen capacity of blood. When the International Center for Sports Nutrition asked, Bannister could not recollect the conversation with Falcon and was not aware of the study. Though this story received significant media coverage, it was not based on fact. Studies to date do not show changes in blood or decreases in performance when carbonated beverages are consumed before or during exercise. Whether or not an athlete chooses to drink carbonated beverages should be based on personal preference. Caffeine and carbonation do count. You don’t have scientific backup because there is none. The prohibition against [sugar](http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/health/win-win/questions.htm) is also a myth: > [@](#): > > Q: WILL EATING SUGARY FOODS BEFORE AN EVENT HURT MY > PERFORMANCE? > > A: In the past, athletes were warned that eating sugary foods before exercise could hurt performance by causing a drop in blood glucose levels. Recent studies, however, have shown that consuming sugar up to 30 minutes before an event does not diminish performance. In fact, evidence suggests that a sugar-containing precompetition beverage or snack may improve performance during endurance workouts and events. SpoilerVirgin, who drinks a dozen 8 oz. glasses of iced tea every day. ---
**Author:** ![Adithya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e99b99/32.png) [@Adithya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Adithya)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/7 "2001-11-03T16:41:02Z")
Well,coke and other such drinks contain caffeine.It could be a case of the carbon dioxide being used as a scapegoat. Carbon dioxide does that is swallowed has little effect on the blood.It comes out as wind.For that reason,it is bad,too much can mess up your digestion.And the phosphoric acid can decalcify bones and teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Ace\_Face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Ace\_Face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace_Face)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/8 "2001-11-03T17:57:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jkbelle \* > \*\*thanks for the snopes reference mjollnir, but it doesn’t quite address the question. even if you only have to drink 5 glasses of water a day, caffine and carbonation still don’t count, they dehydrate you. \*\* The Snopes article refutes the caffeine part. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/9 "2001-11-03T22:00:38Z")
You mean when I get really thirsty now I can just go ahead and drink Dr. Pepper? Awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Ariadne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71c47a/32.png) [@Ariadne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ariadne)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/10 "2001-11-03T23:22:35Z")
This is so cool! Ok, it might not seem like a big deal to most of you, but my boyfriend and I have been dieting together, and the worst part was all the damn water. Eight glasses of milk, Crystal Light and diet soda is easy, eight glasses of gross Baltimore water or tasteless bottled water is torture. But my mom told me I would get kidney stones if I dieted and didn’t drink enough water. Thanks for telling me it could be tea or soda instead 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2001, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/11 "2001-11-03T23:44:37Z")
If you are dieting, you might as well count non-diet sodas out for standard consumption. Sugar has calories just like anything else, and if it isn’t utilized it will be converted to fat. ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2001, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/12 "2001-11-04T04:48:20Z")
The only thing I’m curious about with the caffeine thing is the cites say it “doesn’t dehydrate adults who are use to consuming normal amounts”… precisely what does that mean and how does one become used to consuming normal amounts of caffeine? What about all those NOT accustumed; do they get dehydrated? Is it sort of like saying that a lung full of cigarette smoke doesn’t make a smoker cough and gag (and therefore shouldn’t be worried about), although it will have that effect on a non-smoker? I’ll drink some tea, coffee, or pop every day as I have been doing for years - and like clockwork maybe 30-45 minutes later I notice a strong desire to “recycle” that caffinated fluid; always the same amount as I drank earlier (never mind how I know the volume:D). Doesn’t happen that way with non-caffinated fluids. So apparently there’s at least one human walking around who doesn’t fit the data on these cites. ---
**Author:** ![J248974](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cc9497/32.png) [@J248974](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J248974)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2001, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/13 "2001-11-04T05:23:39Z")
The pure water is to flush your system of accumulated toxins that your body naturally builds up. It also helps flush your kidneys and decreases the chances of them forming kidney stones. Technically, urine should be clear and straw colored (pale yellow). If it changes to a darker color, then, either you are taking B Vitamins, or the urine is concentrated, which means you’re not taking in enough water. If it reeks and is dark, the same applies along with the possibility that you have a kidney or bladder infection. The water also helps maintain the natural elasticity of your skin, helps flush your stomach and bowels and helps clean your intestines. A lot of people, when thirsty, fill up on drinks with additives in them, which help some, but often add more garbage to the system. The clean water helps flush this out. Basically, you’re just helping to keep your system pure and firing on all 8 cylinders. For dieters, the water not only flushes the system, but helps to keep the stomach a bit full to cut down on the urge to eat. Drinking extra water is even good for alcoholics because it helps flush the liver and especially the kidneys, to dilute the running rate of alcohol in the blood and brain and restore the body’s fluids. Serious alcohol drinkers dehydrate themselves because all alcohol containing drinks are diuretics, meaning they kick the kidneys into high gear and drain too much water from the system. That’s why some of the damage from drinking is so bad to the kidneys, intestines, skin and stomach. A true alcoholic ages faster because of this. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2001, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-flavoured-water-count/91314/14 "2001-11-04T05:35:18Z")
For dieting water is one of your best friends. You fill up on it. That is why I also like diet pop. The carbonation tends to make you feel fuller. But as established the 8 glasses of water a day is really fluids. Still it certainly isn’t going to hurt you.