Let's kill a myth: Caffeine will dehydrate you.
brower47
Posts: 16,356 Member
From the Mayo clinic.
Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.
STOP promoting this myth. You aren't doing anyone any favors.
Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.
STOP promoting this myth. You aren't doing anyone any favors.
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Agreed.0
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Agreed!
It's frustrating to see how so many argue that coffee dehydrates you. Same as when people say diet pop is filled with sodium.0 -
I'l be impressed if you mange to kill a myth here, this place runs on them ;-)0
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I'l be impressed if you mange to kill a myth here, this place runs on them ;-)
I know. I let my aggravation levels get too high and this thread is a result. If it reaches only one person, is it worth it? Probably not. Oh well.0 -
So it's not a myth but instead research quantifies the amount needed to obtain the diuretic effect.0
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I'l be impressed if you mange to kill a myth here, this place runs on them ;-)
I disagree. MFP isn't some nameless faceless entity. It is made up of people and we are part of what makes up that community. People post facts and opinions and as always it is up to each and every one of us to discern the fact from the opinion.
I have seen a lot of top quality well thought out and even referenced stuff on MFP it normally gets bumped a few times and then it eventually falls down on the list because there really isn't must disagreement. I have also seen wishful thinking and fantasy stated as fact and there are normally people ready to challenge it and then the defenders come out of the woodwork and as a result of the debate these threads get a lot of longevity and they stay high on the list for a long time.
There are myths on the MFP forums but it has always been our responsibility to evaluate all claims and see how they stack up to the evidence.0 -
^^ ThisSo it's not a myth but instead research quantifies the amount needed to obtain the diuretic effect.0 -
From the Mayo clinic.
Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.
STOP promoting this myth. You aren't doing anyone any favors.
it's still valid you aren't considering how many people drink espresso style cofee. in fact i dont know anyone who drinks the watered down versions anymore
average amount of caffeine in starbucks coffee grande coffee - 330 mg
. i know plenty of people who drink 2 cups of starbucks a day0 -
I am so glad you said that, although it means it DOES have a diuretic effect on me cos I drink LOOOADS of tea!0
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And lets not forget that EVEN if you do consume enough caffeine in order to have it have a diruetic effect, MOST people are consuming their caffeine in LIQUID form so they're still consuming far more liquid than the caffeine would help deplete from them so they're still receiving net hydration.. The only way for caffeine to actually dehydrate a person is if they were eating coffee grounds straight or taking caffeine pills... or maybe drinking something like arabic or cuban coffee which is has a HUGE caffeine content with hardly any water.0
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I know. I let my aggravation levels get too high and this thread is a result. If it reaches only one person, is it worth it? Probably not. Oh well.
Always better to light a single candle than to shout at the darkness, as somebody famous probably said once.0 -
I am so glad you said that, although it means it DOES have a diuretic effect on me cos I drink LOOOADS of tea!
the water in the tea is a diuretic too !0 -
From the Mayo clinic.
Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.
STOP promoting this myth. You aren't doing anyone any favors.
it's still valid you aren't considering how many people drink espresso style cofee. in fact i dont know anyone who drinks the watered down versions anymore
average amount of caffeine in starbucks coffee grande coffee - 330 mg
. i know plenty of people who drink 2 cups of starbucks a day
No, it isn't valid. At that point it begins to have a diuretic effect but does not offset the hydration gained. Hence it is inefficient to hydrate this way, but it does work. Also, diuretics do not make it impossible to hydrate.0 -
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They need a "LIKE" button on here. I agree about the caffeine.0
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Thanks for that info. I believed the myth. When I recently had blood drawn, the tech asked me if I'd had water yet and I said no, only coffee. She said that explained why she had trouble with my vein, that coffee dehydrates. I guess some medical folks haven't heard this either. (Of course, I have difficult veins anyway, so she may just have been looking for a reason).
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I'l be impressed if you mange to kill a myth here, this place runs on them ;-)
^^ this! ...but thanks for sharing!0 -
True story. :drinker:0
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That's funny, we use caffeine to deplete for bodybuilding competitions. Why? Because it helps dehydrate the body.0
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From the Mayo clinic.
Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.
STOP promoting this myth. You aren't doing anyone any favors.
it's still valid you aren't considering how many people drink espresso style cofee. in fact i dont know anyone who drinks the watered down versions anymore
average amount of caffeine in starbucks coffee grande coffee - 330 mg
. i know plenty of people who drink 2 cups of starbucks a day
No, it isn't valid. At that point it begins to have a diuretic effect but does not offset the hydration gained. Hence it is inefficient to hydrate this way, but it does work. Also, diuretics do not make it impossible to hydrate.
but according to the OP own words :
it is valid because a person can easily get well over 600 milligrams without drinking 7 cups. i was just at a coffee shop today to get iced tea and 2 people in forint of me ordered drinks with extra shots of espresso.Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.
it's really not that hard to get 600 mg of caffeine0 -
I disagree. MFP isn't some nameless faceless entity. It is made up of people and we are part of what makes up that community. People post facts and opinions and as always it is up to each and every one of us to discern the fact from the opinion.
I agree, but there is a nameless faceless entity behind it and there are ways and means of improving the signal to noise ratio. They do however seem to like the traffic, as per the mindless "bumps" and people asking the same question 2 posts apart from each other.
It's always sad watching someone ask for help using MFP as it is intended, only to be offered 25 different opinions most of which aren't about how the thing is supposed to be used in the first place. I'm sure they leave non the wiser. A moderated section could be a lot more helpful in that area at least.
But yeah, we have to try to filter out the nonsense for ourselves. I'm off to inflate a car tire with a suction line and empty a bucket by pointing a hose at it (with apologies to EM2WL fanatics).0 -
Agreed!
It's frustrating to see how so many argue that coffee dehydrates you. Same as when people say diet pop is filled with sodium.
HAHAHA
I'm still surprised when I put a 20 oz diet coke in my food diary and it only says 70 mg of sodium. I have to check the label and then I'm like "whhhaaaa......??? hey not as bad as I thought!" And yes, I do that almost every time I have one..... :laugh: :laugh: :ohwell:0 -
That's funny, we use caffeine to deplete for bodybuilding competitions. Why? Because it helps dehydrate the body.
isn't that caffeine tablets though, rather than the caffeinated drinks of the OP ?0 -
more drugs all around!!0
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I drink so much water I can't imagine being dehydrated no matter how much soda/coffee I drank...0
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So it's not a myth but instead research quantifies the amount needed to obtain the diuretic effect.
Moderation is key!0 -
From the Mayo clinic.
Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.
STOP promoting this myth. You aren't doing anyone any favors.
it's still valid you aren't considering how many people drink espresso style cofee. in fact i dont know anyone who drinks the watered down versions anymore
average amount of caffeine in starbucks coffee grande coffee - 330 mg
. i know plenty of people who drink 2 cups of starbucks a day
First, the average amount of caffeine in a Starbucks coffee is not 330mg. The average looks to be around 150 according to their website. The venti caffee americano has 300, and that's the highest since it's an espresso based coffee.
I see I'll have to go deeper. Yes, at some point it has the effect HOWEVER, it is still negligible and won't have negative effects on your hydration simply because you are consuming a large amount of water in connection with the caffeine. If you were taking just caffeine pills in the 500 - 800mg range without water, THEN you might see negative hydration effects.
You must consider all variables and provide accurate information.0 -
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I am so glad you said that, although it means it DOES have a diuretic effect on me cos I drink LOOOADS of tea!
But you're drinking a vastly higher percentage of water to caffeine in your tea. You will not dehydrate.0 -
Modern Myth
Medical experts have warned for years that caffeine is a strong diuretic. The notion believed by many is that by drinking caffeinated drinks like coffee, tea and colas, you will need to urinate so frequently you could become dehydrated if you're not careful0
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