What i find fascinating about the food/drink debate is that it appears to be that matabolism has a major impact,i know people,one in particular,who drank like fish,beers mainly and never put on a 'beer belly' and those who ate like a garbage wagon junk food included but could never put weight on and it was not the case that they trained any day never mind every so few.

In the case of water,i cannot drink our tap water in west London but when in France near Puy Dome tap water is lovely, the volcano may have an affect and i find that i can shave better in France than here due to the water.

morddwyd

"Sad that I have come to such a pass though."

Not really, it's life being life. As you age the relationship between your thirst and your need for fluid changes, and you can risk dehydration. Strangely, as you enter old age the less water you drink the less thirsty you become, and that's where the danger lies - serious dehydration can occur without you realising that it's happening. Even a 2% drop in hydration can trigger problems with concentration, short term memory difficulties, and a general loss of focus. This results in even less ability to remember to drink, and a vicious circle is created.

To stay healthy your kidneys need to excrete at least 10 fluid ounces of water every day. If they can't do that they will fail to deal with the toxins that normal body processes create; you'll suffer from kidney stones, loss of muscle, constipation, and a slowed metabolism. The worst case scenario is renal failure, as your kidneys fight to get enough water to expel toxins.

I hope I've scared you enough to realise how important it is that you stay hydrated, and if you find that you are quite literally forgetting to drink you should consider a way to remind yourself, as you suggested.

add a little lemon or lime juice to your water, a little squeeze.