[rescue] OT: Water was: Coffee in .uk

[Nadine Miller]

Kevin Loch wrote:

> Kevin wrote:
> 
>> I drink a gallon jug a day of spring or purified water.  You'd be
>> surprised how fast you get used to it, and actually addicted to it.
>>  A large portion of the US population stay dehydrated to some
>> extent.  You'd be surprised the difference it makes.

One of the few true marketing slogans: "Hydrate or die."
I drink a lot more h2o since going to Burning Man, but
really don't drink enough day-to-day.

> Yep.  I diddn't realize how lousy I felt all the time
> until I switched from drinking soda to water throughout
> the day.  Not only does caffiene cause you to shed water,
> but the regular sugar spikes cause your kidneys to start
> flushing sugar out of your blood.  That takes enormous
> ammounts of water.
> 
> A week or two after completely eliminating soda consumption,
> I felt that "well oiled machine" feeling I had when I was
> 18 playing sports (which coincidentially required you to
> consume copious ammounts of water).  Eating snack foods
> with at least 2:1 ratio of total carbs to sugars also
> helps.  The complex carbs break down more slowly for
> a smoother energy curve.  Plus, solid snacks register
> better than "liquid candy" so you tend to consume less.
> Plus, many times when you feel hungry you are actually
> just thirsty for water.

My understanding of the biology of sugar consumption comes
from my own investigation around switching to a low-carb
diet.

Sugar/high-carb intake makes you retain water.  Your brain
runs on glucose, so you get sugar cravings when your blood
sugar drops.  The more sugar you consume regularly, the
harder your body has to work to generate insulin to process
the sugar, as your cells get less and less receptive to
insulin ("insulin resistant").  Late onset diabetes generally
is not because of there not being enough insulin in the body,
but because of the cells' refusal to *act* on the insulin
that is there.

(Like when you first move to a neighborhood with, say a
train tracks close by.  At first you wake up when a big
train goes by in the middle of the night, but eventually,
you get used to the noise and sleep through it.)

Switching to low carbs (low sugar) is diuretic; more so if
you replace the carbs with protein.

Drinking large quantities of water (regardless of your
carb/protein/fat intake ratio) flushes water-soluble
minerals out of your system, so it's important to monitor
yourself to note if you need supplements.  My husband has
to take calcium and potassium when in high water consumption
mode, otherwise he gets severe muscle cramps.

> Now if I have a Coke, I feel sick.  But that's probably due
> to the incredibly low pH that I'm not used to anymore.

Since being on a low-carb diet (even now, having "fallen off
the wagon"), sugar in high concentration, whether soda, deserts,
etc. gives me an allergic-like reaction.  I get a tightness
in my chest similar to a severe asthma attack, but without
the breathing difficulty and I feel light-headed.  Needless
to say, I fall off the wagon for more mundane things like
bread and fruit.

> On the feeling sick note, I noticed that fast food
> goes down much easier with water for some reason.
> I can even have a greasy Big Mac with absolutley
> no stomach/intestinal discomfort, and it tastes better.
> Try that with a Soft Drink!

The only thing that ever bothers me about fast food is the
psuedo-cheese.

As an aside, the low-carb diet works.  Don't let the "pro-
fessionals" tell you it's a fad or dangerous.  I've received
more flack from dieticians than any others about it--they
all seem very defensive.  My doctor was very supportive, and
I've heard recently that cardiologists are recommending no-
sugar/low-carb diets to their patients that do not respond
to the cholesterol reducing drugs such as lipitor (glucose
is like glue--it causes the fat molecules to cling to the
inside of your arteries forming plaque).

I lost almost 40lbs at one point, and my husband lost about
60lbs (and his cholesterol level went down as well) when we
were seriously adhering to it.  But it's a struggle if you
are not willing to do your own cooking and you've got to
have the budget to support it.  Stress and the lack of a
budget are what got me off the wagon.

I recommend the book _Protein Power_ (Eades) over _New Diet
Revolution_ (Atkins), as there's less hype and more science
in the former.

=Nadine=