Debunking 'piss-clear' meme

space monk · Post by **space monk** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:28 pm

here's what happened:

i arrived on playa aug 23rd. for 3 days i struggled to aclimate, drinking over a gallon a day + emergency sup. no alcohol or partying (was working too hard to party).

then friends showed up with coconuts (both in the shell and canned milk) and we started adding ginger to the water cooler. grapes were also a great source of fortified water. with half a banana a day and i became a fuckin camel!

all the people who showed up monday and who drank coconut milk right off the bat aclimated in a day.

i found that a few sips of coconut milk slaked my thirst llike 2 gallons of water. the ginger water was great too.

by mid week i was drinking very little 'plain' water and feeling great (i was probably drinking a liter a day). i never 'pissed-clear' and i now question the whole idea.

water is not the best way to acclimate. 'smart hydration' = coconut milk, ginger water, bananas, grapes, & goji berries.

ditch the powders and 1.5 gallons a day.

become the camel (Gimelesh)

MikeVDS · Post by **MikeVDS** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 6:42 pm

Hiking, sports and other activities and I know my body pretty well. I do well with just water and haven't really tried other things too much, but the only time I piss clear is when I constantly chug water and pee every 15 minutes. I can do it, but I'm not certain it's ideal or at all practical.

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:01 pm

The phrase I like, which is not as catchy, is "Piss often". Whatever you're drinking, if you haven't taken a piss in several hours you aren't drinking enough. Pissing clear isn't a great indicator if you aren't doing any pissing! And yeah, if you can see the stream make sure it isn't cloudy or unusually dark.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 7:19 pm

Dork wrote:The phrase I like, which is not as catchy, is "Piss often". Whatever you're drinking, if you haven't taken a piss in several hours you aren't drinking enough. Pissing clear isn't a great indicator if you aren't doing any pissing! And yeah, if you can see the stream make sure it isn't cloudy or unusually dark.

\/
took some aleve for back pain.. made my pee look like bad orange juice..

diane o'thirst · Post by **diane o'thirst** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:34 pm

I follow a different rule of thumb:

Hydrate whenever you...

a) See water,

b) See someone drink something,

c) Hear someone say "water" or "drink."

Plants thrive very well on drip irrigation. Small swallows of water, very often, doesn't shock the system into dumping the excess before assimilating.

Pissing clear is <i>terrible</i> for the body. It robs you of essential nutrients and minerals. It is possible to over-hydrate: remember that fratboy who died after drinking three gallons of water in a couple hours during a hazing ritual?

Sport drinks are bad, too. They're like soda without the carbonation, loaded with HFCS. You couldn't pay me enough to drink Gatorade or Powerade.

Back in '04, I discovered the Hollywood Diet juice worked beautifully out there. It's a whole bunch of different fruit juices fortified with vitamins. Basically it gives you 75% of all the daily essentials. I'd cut it half-and-half with water, drink a half-cup first thing out of bed, chase it with breakfast a half-hour later, and I was fueled. We used to mix it with vodka and rum for afternoon cocktails.

I also discovered Greens-to-Go. I was going to Playa-test it this year but I didn't get to go and I'm not going again, so no impirical data. It stands to reason that it'd be good, too. Also, last year I tried the Yo-To-Go smoothies in steri-paks. They were a godsend. I chugged three or four a day.

Thanks for the coconut milk tip. I usually brought it with me to use on my hair (very good conditioner). Coconut oil is good for keeping your lips soft, too.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:35 pm

I think the Piss Clear is a holdover from the "wild west" days, sort of young man vulgarity outside the reach of mother. I can certainly remember pissing near brown in Spain, but I just can't tell if I was worse the day I took 6 bags, because I don't get the check the product in the basin moment with JotS.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:40 pm

...and here I thought Piss Clear was a newspaper...

Darn! I don't like the taste of either coconut OR ginger! <sigh>

B.

TheJudge · Post by **TheJudge** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:49 pm

There are a lot of amazing health benefits to drinking coconut milk (or water) in the desert. For one thing, it has a huge amount of electrolytes. Look it up and you'll see what I mean.

The gallon of water per day rule is just a guideline. Its designed to over-hydrate an individual so that when they start doing diuretics like tea or alcohol, they wont dry out and collapse as quickly.

Personally, I stay with the gallon a day route. If I fill a camelback and drink it dry twice, I know I've had enough hydration. Add to that the water or electrolyte drink of choice I drink at meals and everything is good.

As for pissing often versus pissing clear: I've found that I tend to hold on to any fluids I drink during the day, no matter how much I seem to consume. Its only when the sun starts going down that my body starts dumping it in earnest.

Your mileage may vary, of course.

I've also done a detailed, side-by-side comparison of Emergen-C versus a new product called E-Boost on my site. If you use Emergen-C, you may want to read this:

http://mediamorgue.blogspot.com/2007/08 ... -side.html

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:49 pm

Then I guess you're not much of a Thai food junkie...

TheJudge · Post by **TheJudge** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:50 pm

BAS wrote: ...and here I thought Piss Clear was a newspaper...
B.

Not any more, unfortunately.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:58 pm

theCryptofishist wrote:Then I guess you're not much of a Thai food junkie...

Well, I haven't given it a try, but I would guess I am not.

B.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Mon Sep 17, 2007 8:58 pm

TheJudge wrote:
BAS wrote: ...and here I thought Piss Clear was a newspaper...
B.
Not any more, unfortunately.

I suppose I should have put the emphasis on "was"....

B.

Alchemy · Post by **Alchemy** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:36 pm

ice the intire event cuz being hungarian and irish I dont do heat well
After a day of tears and bitching and perhaps my playa meds I piss clear and am happy as a fucking clam..
ice ice baby...dundundundadadundun...ice ice baby to go.....

dana · Post by **dana** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 3:31 pm

TheJudge wrote:I've also done a detailed, side-by-side comparison of Emergen-C versus a new product called E-Boost on my site. If you use Emergen-C, you may want to read this:

http://mediamorgue.blogspot.com/2007/08 ... -side.html

"detailed" huh? I spend a lot of time looking at different health products as one of my jobs. I haven't tried E-boost yet, but your comment about feeling like you drank coffee with no caffeine on board is a little off. What is one of the biochemicals in green tea extract? caffeine. The amount is generally not very significant though, (but like a lot of products, it can be quite variable).
Taurine is kind of interesting, and is found in a lot of energy drinks. It has a lot of effects on brain chemistry, immunity, and inflammation. It looks OK from what I've seen. But like a lot of things, it may be a problem when you start pounding it all the time. (haven't seen that particular research just in case Iso starts asking for cites......)
When you compared the amount of B12 in the two products, you have to realize that EmergenC already has something like 400% (??) of recomended B12. Taking more changes it to what's called a "pharmacologic dose". Its a good buzz for sure, but your body tends to just piss out the excess.

I've been using versions of Diane's drink and like that for feeling hydrated and perky when working outdoors. Dilute Vruit (carton mixed juice) and add some EmergenC. (I'll have to try the E-boost)

Debunking 'piss-clear' meme

Debunking 'piss-clear' meme

Re: Debunking 'piss-clear' meme

Re: Debunking 'piss-clear' meme

I suck