I've asked this question during conferences, around the office, etc. and the answer is always debated with split results. 50/50'ish yes and no.
History: During a physical, when it was time to cough, I looked dead ahead and there was a daily water intake poster that read, "3 liters of water p/day for a healthy..."
So I asked the doctor in an attempt to break the weird silence while zipping up, "if I mixed my daily 3 liters of water with 3 liters of, let's say kool-aid, for a total of 6 liters of liquid, does that count?"
He said no. Needs to be water. I didn't particularly care at the time - it was just a 'break the silence' question - but it started to grow on me. Then it started to bug me.
Why not? It still had H 2 and O. Although diluted, the alkalites, minerals, fluoride and all the other stuff that comes from 'the man' is still there. Or should be - maybe not. Does citric acid or cool-aid and sugar break all that down.
What if I drank a glass of OJ, then downed a glass of water right after. Did I get my water in then? Doesn't it mix after it all goes down? Is there a time one has to wait before drinking anything other than water, after drinking water?
How many lemons does it take to make a glass of water not water anymore?
I've asked a few docs and tuns of people and the answers are always split and there's always fun debate. But still no solid answer.
Anyone able to settle this?