A study tracking over 180,000 people found something surprising: drinking seven to eight cups of fluids a day — water plus coffee and/or tea — was linked to a lower risk of dying during this years-long study. Rally unpacks what the research found, why hydration gets trickier as we age, and three simple steps to build this healthy habit into your daily routine.
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
RALLY:
Hey there, Beautiful People! Welcome to the Silver Beast Podcast. It’s Rally Preston here, your ever-so-gracious host. And to prove it, I’m ordering everyone a round of drinks, on me.
Coffee, water and tea. Those are your choices. Oh, you were expecting wine and cocktails? Oh sorry. This is a low-budget podcast.
So before you chug those down, there’s a reason you’re getting these particular drinks – besides me just being cheap. Because these three – coffee, water and tea – might just become your easiest daily health habit ever.
So here’s what’s going on…
A big study out of Britain looked at what people drink. Over 180,000 people in fact. And then they looked at how long those same people lived. The researchers used data from a huge U.K. database that stretched over many, many years. So they looked at what they drank each day, and focused on three different drinks: plain water, coffee and tea.
So in this study, the researchers wanted to know what was the best combination of those three drinks. They figured there might be some extra health benefits to some combination of those three.
So the study uncovered a couple of really interesting things.
First, people who drank about seven or eight cups of fluids a day did best. Their risk of dying during the study was lower. This is the first point in this study – you should be drinking around eight cups of fluids a day.
Now, maybe, yeah that sounds like a lot. But coffee and tea count in this daily total too, so you’re probably closer right now than you think.
Now, here’s their second finding from this study. Once people got past four drinks a day, four drinks, swapping out some water for a cup of coffee or tea tracked even better.
And here was the best mix: A little more tea than coffee. But if you’re under four drinks a day? There wasn’t any extra benefit. So the point here is, make sure you’re drinking enough in the first place. If you’re closer to seven or eight cups, then this study suggests making some of those tea or coffee instead of just plain water for those extra health benefits.
Now, full disclosure here. This study showed a connection, but it doesn’t prove cause and effect. No guarantees here. But with this large of a study, it looks like they might be on to something.
So why would this combination of drinks – water, coffee and tea – plus, drinking seven to eight cups overall, throughout the day, what seems to be the magic here? Well, coffee and tea have plant compounds in them called polyphenols. Which may calm inflammation and help your blood vessels. And of course, water keeps you hydrated. If you drink some combination of those during the day, well it looks like good things might happen.
Now, why does this matter more for us? Especially that daily goal of seven to eight drinks? Well, because hydration gets trickier as we age.
For one, our thirst alarm gets quieter. Remember being a kid? You were thirsty, and yeah you knew it right away. You’d hit the school drinking fountain. Or grab a swig from the backyard garden hose. Those were good times, right?
But now? Your body might be running low and you wouldn’t hear a peep from it. And staying topped off with enough fluids can help you feel sharper, and steadier, and just more like your happy, happy self – okay that might be pushing it.
But, another thing too…we’re not the sponge we used to be with water. We lose some muscle as we get older, and that’s just normal. And muscle holds water. So just overall, our water tank’s a little smaller now. In fact, our kidneys don’t hang onto water like they used to either. And then some meds like water pills or blood pressure meds make us lose even more water.
And, you know, some of us probably drink less on purpose. Mainly because that means fewer bathroom trips, right, am I right? Yeah I get it.
So what happens when we run low on fluids? Well, we get tired. Foggy. Cranky – oh you can just ask my wife about that one. Headaches, maybe. And dizzy. Dizzy’s the dangerous one. You stand up too fast, and oh boy. Taking a tumble is the last thing we need.
But here’s the good news. This is such an easy fix.
Now I know we can be a stubborn bunch. Tell us to change something, and it’s like, well, I don’t know…I’ll have to think about it. Yeah, I’m like that. But this one isn’t that big a deal. Just drink more than you probably are now, and mix up your beverage choices between water, coffee and tea.
Now some of you may have to limit your fluid intake for health reasons. Maybe you’ve got some heart issues or kidney trouble going on. In that case, check in with your doctor. Follow the pro’s advice here. Oh, and some meds don’t go well with the caffeine in coffee and tea, so again, ask your doc about that.
Alright. Let’s take the juiciest bits from this big study, and work them into your Silver Beast Action Steps for today. And there’s just three here. Real easy.
Number one. Count your drinks starting tomorrow. Water, coffee, tea. Just add them up. How many cups? You might be closer to that seven or eight cup total than you think. And if you’re not? Well, add one extra cup every day for a week. Then another cup, another daily one, next week if you need to. You really want to hit that seven to eight cups every day, according to this study.
Number two. Get a little rotation going on. So water and then coffee or tea. Okay so this could be your typical day. Just an example here. Have water when you wake up – that’s a must, before anything else. Sleep is notorious for dehydrating you, so do that for sure. Then, two cups of coffee in the morning. Water with lunch. Three cups of tea in the afternoon. Water with dinner. And that adds up to eight cups. Now, that’s just an example. Tweak it however you like.
Now, quick note here. If caffeine tends to keep you up at night? Go decaf. Or herbal tea. Now, herbal isn’t the tea from the study, it was black tea I think, but you know it still hydrates. And we need that good sleep, so I wouldn’t mess that up with, you know, too much caffeine.
And what if you’re not a fan of plain water? Well I’m not either. It’s kinda blah, right. So add lemon. Or, you can use my trick, I dump a little Crystal Light in it. Whatever gets you to drink your water.
Now, number three. Eat your water. No, really. Did you know about a fifth of our fluid comes from food? So things like watermelon, cucumbers, strawberries, oranges, soup – all have lots of water.
In fact, watermelon and cucumbers are over 90% water. And there’s Jell-O? Mostly water too. Yeah, even that 1960s Jell-O salad; you remember that? With the shredded carrots and the mini marshmallows? Oh boy. Well not exactly health food. But the hydration counts.
Now, some of you are thinking – well, that’s a lot of bathroom trips. Yeah. Maybe. But look at it this way. Bonus steps! Nah, I’m kidding. Sort of.
Okay. Look, you don’t need a fancy plan for this one. Hit those seven to eight cups daily. And sub out some plain water drinks for coffee or tea. And if you miss a day? So what. Go for it again tomorrow. It’s not a big deal, you can catch up.
So tomorrow morning? Grab the water first. Then the coffee. Then the tea. Hit that seven to eight cups a day goal. That’s what this study says works best.
Alright Silver Beasties. This is Rally Preston – hey thank you so much for dropping by and I will see you next time on the Silver Beast Podcast. Take care!