Doing a potential end-run around the question, current research indicates that we don’t need to drink a certain amount of water a day, and we usually get all the water we need from the food we usually consume:
There are people who don’t drink any (just plain) water. Ever. They’re not dying of thirst.
Pop (even caffeinated pop) will keep you hydrated just fine. Doctors just don’t want to recommend it because they’re looking out for all aspects of your health, and all those empty Calories aren’t good for you.
U2B there may be something about that ingredient list that doesn’t agree with your overall condition. Sugar possibly, but I’m wondering if the other ingredients are a concern due to your kidney issues.
You might check into whether you could add a squeeze of lemon, or use some Vitamin Water drops, to add the flavor, but hopefully skip whatever is causing concern. Iced tea of various flavors might also be an option.
I would suggest you go back and ask specifically what the area of concern is, so that you can make appropriate choices. Lots of people don’t like plain water. Presumably your MD can be specific. (We can hope.)
I’m in a warehouse. I go through about 20oz. of water per four hours and still pee a darker color than I would like. The secret seems to be starting the hydration early -------- which I’m not very good at doing. And YMMV but even something like ginger-ale seems to make it worse for me; to the point that sometimes I’ll start to leg cramp pretty bad.
That’s true, but it really has no bearing on hydration in the vast majority of cases, where absolute optimization is not necessary. Soda is still 99% water.
For values of 99% equal to or less than 89.4%. 12 ounces of soda (340.2 grams) contains 36 grams of sugar. 89.4% water, neglecting the weight of the other ingredients, which will only bring it down.
I’ve always thought it was the sodium in soda/pop, not the sugar. Sodium makes you thirsty, so you can end up drinking a lot of soda/pop without actual hydration.
This is me to a T. I used to get very frequent headaches until I learned to watch my hydration like a hawk. Starting early seems to really help, which is tough because my morning coffee quenches my thirst so I have to force myself to mix in some water. A single soda or a beer can send me down a road to head pain if I don’t chase it with an equal volume of water. I wish I understood why – all of these fluids lead to frequent urination, but my body doesn’t seem to absorb the water I it needs unless I’m crafty about spacing it out and delivering it in the right format.
The takeaway here should that there is a shit ton of sugar in soda. 40 grams of sugar is 10 teaspoons in only 12 ounces of soda. If you saw it in a pile would you eat it? Yet people will drink multiple 12 ounce sodas with a single meal.
Possible but not always practical. Our employer is terrific about having coolers just about everywhere; you are usually within 20 yards of one and allowed to use them whenever you have the need. Water bottles are encouraged, hydration is taught and followed up on. But any extra layers, even the cheap-crap Granger vests we are required to wear, cause so much extra sweat that the thought of even a fanny pack makes me cringe.