Why Wellness Influencers Are Giving Up Drinking Water

Apologies to everyone whose New Year’s resolution was to “drink more water,” because according to the internet, drinking water is out.

While for years water was hailed as the celebrity panacea for weight loss, glowing skin, eternal youth, etc., #NoWater has taken over — and it’s not just an intentionally dangerous Gen-Z trend like eating Tide Pods. Rather, as Vice UK reported, the advice to ditch water is coming from wellness influencers who actually recommend abstaining from the clear stuff in the name of health.

To be fair, most of these influencers aren’t inherently anti-hydration. Rather, they advocate cutting out liquid water in favor of “eating water” in the form of fresh fruits and vegetables.

“I believe you don’t hydrate from water — water just cleanses,” Dubai-based wellness influencer Alise Miksta told Vice‘s Marta Bona. “So if you eat raw food and fruits, you really don’t need water.”

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Research from the University of Aberdeen shows that certain relatively low fibre, water-packed fruits and veggies may hydrate the body twice as effectively as water. The study identified watermelon as the superstar hydrating fruit. Watermelons contain a staggering 92% water, along with 8% sugar and a variety of mineral salts that are essential for optimum hydration, including sodium, magnesium and potassium 🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉 oh yeah, that’s a 100% copy and paste from google for those who need scientific proof that eating fruits is good for you… 🤪🤦🏽‍♀️ . . . . . . #stayhydrated #hydration #runstrong #fruitpower #raw #fruitarian #vegan #veganathlete #veganultrarunner #latviete #latvian #runner #dxb #mydubai #uk #london #runlondon #fit #fitness #plantpower

A post shared by Alise Miksta (@alisemiksta) on Aug 17, 2019 at 3:40am PDT

Alise isn’t alone when it comes to promoting the no-water trend. Sophie Prana, a 35-year-old yoga teacher and wellness influencer, claims she hasn’t had a drop of water in over a year. According to Prana, who explained to Vice that she stays hydrated from “living water,” aka fruits and vegetables, drinking water is a scam perpetuated by “the water industry.”

Despite the growing anti-water crusade on wellness Instagram, however, health experts aren’t sold. While Haleh Moravej, senior lecturer in nutritional sciences at Manchester Metropolitan University, noted that hydrating via water-rich fruits and vegetables can help the body replenish minerals, that doesn’t mean anyone should cut out water altogether.

“I would suggest to people: still have your five to ten a day of fruit and vegetables, but also have enough fluid in the form of water or other hydrating fluids,” Moravej told Vice.

So while you should definitely ditch your bottled water habit, you don’t have to give up drinking water altogether. In fact, please don’t.

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