Current situation: sitting at a coffee shop, drinking coffee, writing about coffee
Have you ever noticed that after you drink coffee you feel the need to chug water or feel your mouth just super dry? Coffee, or any substance consumed in abundance, is a diuretic, a product that may increase the need to urinate. Most of us have a misconception that coffee dehydrates us. We think that because we feel the urge to chug a glass of water after we’re done drinking our cup of Joe, that we’re dehydrated. However, there have been numerous studies done that show that it, in fact, does not dehydrate you. Yes, it increases the body’s production of urine, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to dehydrate you.
In one study I stumbled upon from researchers at the University of Birmingham in the U.K, they conducted a study on the fluid levels of 50 men that have been used to drinking from three to six cups of coffee a day. They reached a conclusion that this amount of coffee consumption actually hydrates you the same amount as water does (you can find the article here). You might feel like you are getting dehydrated due to the mild diuretic effect that caffeine has; the more caffeine you ingest, the more your body is forced to get rid of water.
Keep in mind, that just because coffee doesn’t dehydrate you, it certainly will cause you to go to the bathroom quite often. Also, try not to drink 100 cups of coffee a day, this leads to overdosing on caffeine, and we sure don’t want that.
Just out of curiosity, when do you drink your coffee? Or are you a Lorelai Gilmore that needs it every single second of the day to fully function?
