[Hank Rearden]

I tend to agree with you about fluids. Having had kidney stones, water (and Allopurinol) is a good thing. What I don't understand is the emphasis that plain water is better than other drinks.

I drink water, but also Crystal Lite and Diet Rite sodas for flavor. Since the latter are almost all water as well, I consider them part of my water intake. I've never seen any reason why I shouldn't, but have seen people say not to count them.

I also drink black coffee, mostly in the form of double-espressos (I roast my own beans; kinda picky about my coffee). I can see the caffeine there screwing with my metabolism a bit, and there's not much water content, so there's good reason not to count *that* water.

[dread78645]

hat I don't understand is the emphasis that plain water is better than other drinks.

Caffeine is a diuretic and will tend to cause the kidneys to eliminate excess water. So tea, coffee, and most colas are non-good.

[Triple Word Score]

Well, besides what their acid does to teeth, the high phosphorus content of some soft drinks can throw off your magnesium balance, since it leaches magnesium from your tissues, which can result in illness--so it depends on what diet sodas you drink and how much you're drinking. I'd count it as part of my water intake too, but I'm cautious about artificial sweeteners. I didn't use them at all till I was done having all my babies, just to be very cautious, and I'm sparing with them now.

I knew a man in his 70s who drank absolutely nothing but coffee and still had an active life--when he died it was of an accident. My religion forbids it and I don't like it, so I have two reasons not to drink coffee, but it seems there is some positive chemistry going on with coffee, as with tea. Caffeine? I wouldn't be surprised if a total ban on caffeine in this country didn't result in a huge upswing in motor vehicle accidents. It probably saves many lives. But it's addictive and probably has mild negative health

Kidney stones are supposed to be just as bad as childbirth--you must be tough.

[KeyTapper]

Years ago when I had a kidney stone, my urologist told me how much water to drink, and said I could count anything that was wet. That included coffee, colas, etc. I was pretty darned surprised.