HerMetabolism.org -No Daughter Left Behind

Thirst is sensation integral to her metabolism. Thrist typical serves to warn her when she should drink water; yet, thirst can be mistaken as hunger. Meanwhile, excessive and persistent thirst ("polydipsia") may indicate underlying issues beyond the need to drink water. This page describes some of the science about thirst and her metabolism.

Coffee, Energy Drinks, and Other Bad Habits When Thirsty

Many people have the metabolically destructive habit of drinking something caffeinated when they are thirsty. Caffeine is probably the most popular drug on the planet; yet, caffeine is terrible for her metabolism.¹ Most people who drug themselves with caffeine do so with coffee. If anything is nearly as popular as coffee – it is so-called energy drinks. Energy drinks are typically loaded with caffeine.1 Thus, energy drinks are typically terrible for her metabolism – because caffeine is terrible for her metabolism.¹

Meanwhile, no one wants to starve. Drinking is more socially accepted than eating,² and thus, unsurprisingly, so-called energy drinks are far more famous than actual energy foods (for example, quinoa, which is a super food and a complete protein³).

Thirst as Hunger

Bad nutritional habits that cause overweight, obesity, diabetes and more can arise in many ways. Upset mind, body, or emotions can contribute to bad eating and drinking habits, including overeating.⁴ Social situations can cause bad eating and drinking habits too,⁵ as can eating or drinking sugary things.⁶ Meanwhile, another reason for bad nutritional habits is a lot more hidden – and completely accidental: people can mistake thirst for hunger.

People can mistake thirst for hunger, causing all kinds of metabolic problems^7-8 Tips to differentiate thirst from hunger include, among others, the following three simple ideas from the Polycystic Kidney Disease Foundation⁹:

• Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to grab a drink
• Listen to your body
• Opt for kidney-friendly foods when hunger strikes: Fiber-rich snacks, which are low in fat and high in antioxidants . . . A few examples include apples, berries, and red and purple-skinned grapes.

Drinking Water Can Prevent Overeating

Drinking enough water prevents the metabolism from creating thirst feelings that can cause overeating when misinterpreted as hunger.¹⁰ Thus, drinking more water tends to help with weight loss.¹¹ For example, drinking water reduces overall caloric intake, compared to drinking juices, sodas, and alcohol.¹⁰ More generally, research has shown that drinking water before a meal may prevent overeating.¹²

Soup to the Rescue

Her metabolism may send thirst signals that she misinterprets as hunger - thus, the great importance of drinking enough water. Meanwhile, soup can be a good option for both satisfying hunger and quenching thirst.¹³

Aging, Anxiety, Dementia, and Being Female are Risk Factors for Mistaking Thirst for Hunger

Mistaking thirst for hunger can happen to anyone, yet some people tend to be especially at risk. For example, demented people - the most common form of dementia being Alzheimer's¹⁴ - are especially at risk for mistaking thirst for hunger and thereby overeating.¹⁵ Moreover elders, while comprising the majority of demented people,¹⁶ tend also to be generally at extra risk of mistaking thirst for hunger, since aging tends to dull one's sensitivity to thirst.¹⁷

Overeating by mistaking thirst for hunger may also especially affect anxious people, since they tend to be generally more at risk of overeating.¹⁸ Thus, her metabolism may be especially at risk of mistakenly eating when drinking is needed because she is far more likely than he to have anxiety¹⁹ (which oral contraception may cause and tends to worsen.¹⁹)

Food Environment

Food environment may be helpfully understood as "the physical, economic, political and socio-cultural contexts in which consumers engage with the food system to make their decisions about acquiring, preparing and consuming food."²⁰ Years back, the American Society for Nutrition, along with The Obesity Society, commissioned a series of studies to learn about how food environment may contribute to poor health outcomes, including overweight, obesity, and more.²¹ The overall results of those studies convey, among much else, that healthy nutrition is often about far more than simply will-power or any moment-to-moment tactic. Rather, the concept of a food envrionment suggests the value of a holistic approach to nutritional health.

Polydipsia: Excessive and Persistent Thirst

As mentioned above, thrist typical serves to warn her when she should drink water. However, excessive and persistent thirst ("polydipsia") may indicate underlying issues beyond the need to drink water. For example, excessive and persistent thirst - could - be a sign of an underlying problem such as diabetes.^22-23

Extreme Thirst and Brain Fog

Not drinking enough water may cause a syndrome of problems that some call "brain fog".²⁴

Conclusion

Drinking enough water is super important for her metabolism.