It’s never made sense to me that some people refuse to drink water even if they know it keeps you functioning properly. The same people will complain of constipation or dry skin but don’t want to do the thing that fixes their issues.
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Had family who lived in an area known for having the highest quality tap water who refused to drink any water. One notably said “I’m not drinking what fish fuck in!”! I think they have never been truly dehydrated. I can’t tell you the ecstasy of a cold glass of water when you’re legit thirsty!
It sounds like somebody needs to spend more time watching documentaries on the mating habits of freshwater fish!
Give me all the squirms!(iykyk)
Former non-water drinker here.
I was addicted to caffeinated/carbonated sodas. I never had any problems drinking almost exclusively diet coke for a long time. My caffeine consumption was well over the FDA recommendation for maximum daily intake.
I would still drink water, especially when doing sports or exercise, but it wasn’t my go-to for hydrating myself throughout the day.
Several times in my life, I quit drinking them, but I would always circle back around to it because I missed the taste more than anything, and I had never noticed any kind of significant health benefit to stopping.
Recently some months ago, I was having some pretty severe bladder issues. Sudden onset urge to urinate. Like going from 0-100 in a racecar, the rapid urgency was the main issue. One minute I was fine and if you asked if I needed to use the bathroom I’d say “Nah”, and then 5 minutes later I’m literally dancing my way to the nearest toilet to just barely make it in time, like literally almost peeing my pants it was that bad.
Went to the doctor about this, obviously, and that was when he told me that the extreme caffeine intake is causing irritation in my bladder and diagnosed me with Overactive Bladder Syndrome. I was instructed to completely cut out caffeine from my regular drinking habits, no tea or sodas, but I could have a cup of coffee in the morning to get me going, although initially I would want to quit cold turkey to purge my system of caffeine and let my bladder settle down. So water it was. Within about a month, I started to feel more regular again and I didn’t need to rush to pee as often and when I did I could hold it for longer periods of time.
Now I pretty much drink only water all the time. I take a big 54oz jug with me to work and refill it towards the end of the work day. I’ll have a cup of coffee now and then in the mornings on weekdays, but I try not to make a habit of it, and I’ll have a sip of a soda at the movies or something, but I don’t even miss the taste of cola anymore. Occasionally I will buy the flavored waters at the grocery store just to get the carbonated experience, but I can’t drink those all the time. Water is great, it just takes forever to get your brain used to the idea that not everything you put in your body needs to have flavor. It’s super refreshing to get the filtered water pitcher right from the fridge, maybe pour it over a glass of ice, and drink it straight that way.
In short, chugging sodas never used to bother me at all, but I guess as I’m getting older my body is just not having that shit anymore. Just like how I can’t eat straight junk food and not gain any weight like when I was a teenager, my metabolism has finally caught up with me on my soda/caffeine addiction and I had to cut that out too. I realize that I am better off now for it and I’m going to try and keep up the good habit I’ve started to form and keep drinking water.
Wait until they get kidney stones from being chronically dehydrated
Well then it’s too late… I’d much rather avoid people the excruciating pain.
For me it’s because I’ve been drinking carbonated drinks for so long that flat water is awful to drink. I know it’s good for me, I know I need to stop the carb drinks. I know I’ll live a longer life if I do this. But it’s somewhat like an addiction for me, it’s really hard to quit and move to water.
The tap water in my area tastes pretty gross. I’ve tried the flavored water and never really found one that was good and didn’t have weird taste or drinking effects. I would do carb water but it’s so expensive, more expensive than my carb drinks now. So it’s hard to even find a replacement.
Get a filter for your tap water, then get the water cold. Both will reduce the flavor of the water, leaving you with crisp, neutral flavored water. If that doesn’t do it for you, look into an at home carbonation system, there’s guides for making your own if you don’t wanna do premade.
I suggest ZeroWater. The filters don’t last as long because they have more layers, but that means they filter out more things.
You might be a super taster like me, you can get a genetic test for it if you really want to know. Obsession with diet soda seems to be a common thread as is the distaste for water.
It doesn’t make sense to me that I don’t like drinking water. When I lived in the desert, I would drink it all the time, but it’s a habit that I’ve fallen out of. Strangely, I went back to the desert on a trip and immediately resumed drinking water again.
For me, I don’t like the taste. I can taste the chlorine and fluroride and other stuff in the water. I have an RO system with carbon filter and then I need to have it near freezing. Even then, I need to put stuff in it like berries, cucumber or mint. I don’t drink pop, sports drinks or other stuff like that. I do drink tea and coffee.
Yeah, my doctor told me that I’m dehydrated, so I’m trying.
Because their parents never taught them to.
I imagine a 1 2 punch of they are used to sugary intense flavour drinks, and their teeth are gross from them so neutral water tastes bad. Like their mouth
I expect it’s just a taste thing; water tastes fine but, like, it could taste more interesting if we added a bit of sugar or flavor to it (I was a huge justice fan).
For my own end, it was an easy way to keep my emotions/mood simulated or engaged against my depression that was low effort and easy to supply; that said, I switched entirely to water last year and, now fully comfortable drinking nothing but water and being fairly averse – previously –, I can’t say the previous reasons really make that much of a difference for me, now. Maybe it’s just having drank to my non-water content, already, but drinking nothing but water’s been pretty great and removes low-key health fears I always had.
Some people don’t have access to decent tasting tap water and bottled water is expensive.
Tip: If your water tastes like chlorine, just fill a pitcher and put it in the fridge. Whatever chemicals they use will off gas overnight and it’ll taste great in the morning.
Some people don’t have access to decent tasting tap water
Most people IMHO. Most places I’ve been where they claim that the tap water is potable, it either tastes like public pool or swamp. Except for Galveston who somehow made it taste like both with residents believing “It’s OK”
You should try it in Iceland. Tap water is so clean you practically ruin it by putting it in plastic.
Never been, but I’m sure their tap water is great for the same reason mine is: Plenty of mountainous lakes, and not that many people around them.
I generally don’t drink nk bottled water… It tastes… stale.
My tap water is pretty good, too bad we can’t send taste over the internet
Where do you live, if you don’t mind me asking?
Southwestern NH
Looks like there are plenty of mountainous lakes, so that makes sense.
Yeah, we have a lot of those, and a lot of granite. Our water has some pretty nice minerals, the only downside is due to the granite some places have high radon levels so you have to check your local levels. But where I am that’s not an issue.
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The water at my office smells like chlorine. It’s dreadful. I wouldn’t even use it to make coffee, I fill up a nalgene at home and bring that in. My home water is well water and tastes a tad high iron, just the way I like it. (HOA regularly tests the water and it’s always within legal limits, yay.)
I don’t know if offgassing is the reason the water tastes better when cooled overnight. I would do this with an enclosed bottle (no off-gassing possible) and it would taste equally better.
Definitely cooling it is an improvement, I always thought it tasted different due to how our mouth/taste buds responds to the dropping temperature.
If you have the money for it a water bottle with a filter (even just the carbon Brita ones) improve the taste immensely. I use an Epic water filter for everything and it makes nearly all water taste good*.
- The only exception I had was the Atlanta airport I have no clue what the fuck was going on their but the water was disgusting.
Also worth noting: don’t use a filtered water bottle for filtering water that has contaimints you are actually worried about consuming; none except for grayl actually match their claimed results with third party testing.
I installed a filter under our kitchen sink, with a separate small tap.
10/10 recommend this approach.
Yes chlorine is a very volatile chemical and dissipates quickly.
ITT: people with crumbling infrastructure under a corporate oligarchy discuss why they are unhealthy.
What would you suggest we do? Take precious profits away from stakeholders and repair shit? Sounds like communism to me buddy. Up against the wall.
Good thing access to clean drinking water isn’t a human right. Oh wait.
Luckily the US of A has a sneaky trick called not ratifying shit and refusing to be held to the same standard as “third world countries” while saying they are superior.
Seriously the US actually hasn’t ratified most of the treaties that govern how warfare or being a functioning society.
When I grew up I didn’t like drinking water. I thought it tasted bland compared to all the sugary drinks. Looking back, I think our family struggled with sugar addiction without knowing it. We consumed quite a lot of sugar in my childhood.
It wasn’t until my teenage years I questioned the amount of sugary drinks I consumed. So I just cut off all sugary drinks and embraced the way of the water.
Today I’m a proud water enjoyer.
Same but I didn’t turn around til my 20s. Educate yourself and your loved ones! Sugar is highly unnecessary, especially in liquid form!
This is the answer. People above are somehow blaming private corporations for their public infrastructure (which doesn’t even make sense anyway) when the real answer is that many people just think “it doesn’t taste good” compared to the syrupy swill they’ve become addicted to.
Some people are addicted to sugar to the point where every beverage must be sweet flavoured.
I have water, but othertimes I am sugar addicted so I want a different beverage.
Also I have had tap water in various places across Canada. Most are decent, some are especially delicious, some have awful after tastes and even smell weird (sulfur or chlorine). If that stuff runs to your home I can understand why people prefer bottled water, tea or soda instead of tap water.
Basically they’re people who got caught in the food industries propaganda.
They might consciously know they need regular water, but their body is now craving sugar with every sip. If it’s missing, it feels wrong.
Sugar needs to be much more regulated, especially for kids… Adults may be responsible enough to handle it but without regulation the industry will run wild and make everyone addicted.
I’m on the opinion that marketing anything related to addiction is immoral and should be illegal. This includes cigarette, gambling, sugar, drugs (looking at you oxycontin), alcohol and even caffeine.
There is a backdoor into people’s brains that should not be used. Allow people go get their own coffee and sugar but don’t remind them it’s missing when they’re quitting.
(Coffee has been shown to be beneficial in reducing the overall death rate in adults when consuming something like 2+ cups a day so marketing it could be beneficial but the chance kids getting addicted to caffeine is something to avoid regardless.)
Absolutely agree. It is horrible how our governments allow corporations to use that backdoor to extract as much shareholder value from us as possible
As a counterpoint, I don’t replace water with anything sugary/flavored. I just… don’t get thirsty, like ever, unless I’m working outside in hot weather. Most people’s bodies remind them to drink. Mine doesn’t. I try to remember to drink water throughout the day rather than just at mealtimes, but if I don’t have a glass next to me, I will almost certainly forget. I feel like I can’t be the only person like this.
Perchance do you have autism and/or ADHD? I ask because I experience the same thing as you do, and for me, it feels like it derives from my autism/ADHD. Like, sometimes the first cue that I am severely dehydrated is that I get a headache. I get a similar thing with hunger, where I could legitimately go for multiple days without noticing I’m hungry if I don’t get reminded that food is a thing.
Undiagnosed, but yeah it’s very probable that I am at least one of those.
ADHD here and I do this way to often. I have reminders set to drink water or I will often go a whole day without eating or drinking anything. It is absurd.
+1, ADHD and will forget to drink anything until I start feeling low BP. Usually good at feeling hunger thankfully.
(not oc) yes, this happens.
Hmm, interesting point. Thanks for sharing.
The food industry’s propaganda is that you need to drink 2 litres of water a day. You don’t.
In 1974 the book Nutrition for Good Health, co-authored by nutritionists Margaret McWilliams and Frederick Stare, recommended that the average adult consumes between six to eight glasses of water a day. But, the authors wrote, this can include fruit and veg, caffeinated and soft drinks, even beer.
Honestly not sure where to start with this one.
I’m sure the blanket statement of needing to drink 2 liters of water is misleading in plenty of situations but I really don’t think this is what we should be focusing on. This is the last thing from the food industry that I’d consider propaganda. Not to mention that it’s really not a bad recommendation, and a 50 year old book 2 people wrote (no matter their qualification) isn’t really a solid foundation for an argument like this.
Of course water intake is highly individual. Athletes may drink 10+ liters per day, but most people are probably fine with just drinking when they’re thirsty.
I don’t think anyone is saying that 2 liters are necessary for survival. You can get away with much less. The thing is, it’s easy to drink more than enough, it has many benefits, and there isn’t really much of a downside to it. The 2 liters are a rule of thumb, not an exact required amount for everyone.
Regarding the beer, we know nowadays there is no amount of alcohol that is healthy. Sure, beer might be able to hydrate you when enjoyed in moderation, but it’s plain counterproductive when recommended as a healthy diet.
water? like out of the toilet??
Fish fuck in water.
Giggity!
Growing up, I didn’t like water either because I didn’t like the taste. No one around me could understand how I could dislike it because water supposedly tastes like nothing. BUT IT DOESN’T. WATER HAS FLAVOUR. Anyway, I later figured out that filtered tap water tastes a lot better than the bottled kind.
Those people are parroting harmful ideologies or have shitty sense of taste.
The gaslighting people do about taste is insane. “Celery doesn’t have a taste” “sweet potato tastes like candy” “Water doesn’t have a taste” What planet do these people live on
Whenever I hear that in my family, it always comes from smokers, which basically means their taste buds and olfactory senses have already been compromised
Exactly the same here.
Plus, some people are really sensitive to tastes and textures. When we’re not them, we call them picky eaters. When I was a child, I couldn’t stand the taste of water, and there were other foods I found repulsive. Even a different brand of ingredient from the one I was used to made me gag.
Somehow, I completely grew out of that and I’m now very adventurous when it comes to food. But it did leave me with empathy when I encounter someone who has a limited palate, which is pretty common among my nerd-spectrum peer group.
When you think about it, eating the wrong thing is a quick path to sickness or death, so it makes sense that food can trigger extreme reactions of disgust. If you ever ate something and got sick afterward, even if the two were unrelated, it’s very hard to un-make that connection.
