Caffeine and Dehydration at He's Fit

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Caffeine and dehydration

Posted October 30, 2007 at 09:00 AM by Mark Scott

Section: His Nutrition, Healthy Eating

coffee You have likely heard before that you should try and curb your caffeine intake as much as possible so that you do not get into a state of dehydration. With recommendations for active people to always be trying to consume more fluid since they are sweating out so much when they exercise, it seems like it would only be natural to avoid putting anything into your body that was going to cause you to excrete more liquid.

But how important is it that you avoid your favourite caffeine-containing beverages?

Many people also enjoy the energy boost they get from caffeine so it becomes a bit of a toss up for them. Do they forgo the energy boost in favour of preventing dehydration? Not to mention of course the fact that so many individuals simply cannot seem to function without their morning cup of coffee.

When it comes right down to it you need to keep in mind that when you consume a beverage that contains caffeine, you are still consuming liquid. Unless you are just straight up taking caffeine pills or eating a food that contains caffeine (chocolate for example), you are going to be hydrating your body with this fluid.

So then the question becomes, does the hydration from this fluid outmatch the fluid that will be excreted from the actual caffeine in the beverage?

In most cases, yes it will. So because of this reason, you still will actually be better off consuming the beverage, caffeine and all, as far as it pertains to maintaining favourable body hydration status.

Do keep in mind however that it will slightly depend on the caffeine content of the beverage. Most coffee drinks or colas will be alright as they are not overly high in caffeine to begin with. It’s when you start taking dry caffeine (such as pill form) or very high potency beverages that you should be starting to worry.

So next time you are concerned about skipping your coffee because you might dehydrate yourself, you can rest assured that this likely isn’t the case. Besides, if you are really that worked up over it, you can easily reduce the situation even further by simply drinking 4-8 ounces of water beforehand.

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4 Responses to “Caffeine and dehydration” (Leave a reply)

Samantha Martin PHD said:

Coffee puts the system under the strain of metabolizing a deadly acid-forming drug, depositing its insoluble cellulose, which cements the wall of the liver, causing this vital organ to swell to twice its proper size. In addition, coffee is heavily sprayed. (Ninety-two pesticides are applied to its leaves.) Diuretic properties of caffeine cause potassium and other minerals to be flushed from the body.

All this fear went away when I quit, and it was a book that inspired me to do it called The Truth About Caffeine by Marina Kushner. There are five things I liked about this book:

1) It details--thoroughly--the ways in which caffeine may damage your health.

2) It reveals the damage that coffee does to the environment. Specifically, coffee was once grown in the shade, so that trees were left in place. Then sun coffee was introduced, allowing greater yields but contributing to the destruction of rain forests. I haven’t seen this mentioned anywhere else.

3) It explains how best to go off coffee. This is important. If you try cold turkey, as most people probably do, the withdrawal symptoms will likely drive you right back to coffee.

4) Helped me find a great resource for the latest studies at CaffeineAwareness.org

5) Also, if you drink decaf you won’t want to miss this special free report on the dangers of decaf available at http://www.soyfee.com
November 1, 2007 at 11:46 AM
teren pretabil resedinta said:

Coffee has played an important role in many societies throughout modern history. In Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies.
March 21, 2008 at 05:09 AM
Drug Rehab from Romania said:

Coffee has negative effects on your liver so you should think twice about drinking coffee and becoming a coffee addict.
April 11, 2008 at 06:35 AM
Ada Wakeman said:

Simply drink a nice glass of water after the coffee. I have always done this, I have 3 cups of coffee spread out through the day and am constantly drinking water in between…I feel great everyday :)
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Ada DRug Rehab
April 27, 2008 at 09:58 PM