We’re six weeks out from a too-close-for-comfort highly consequential presidential election. Is now really the best time to be messing with our coffee routines?!?! The good folks at Yahoo! (assisted by a medical review from Simone Harounian, MS) seem to think so! I shouldn’t be so hard on them, they just want to make sure we don’t get dehydrated. The theory is, since coffee has caffeine and caffeine is a diuretic, the beverage has the potential to be dehydrating. The good news is, “moderate” coffee consumption, about 3-4 cups a day, should not lead to dehydration, especially if you balance out the coffee intake with water or electrolyte drinks. Ok, I’m less jumpy now that they’re not telling me us to cut coffee entirely. Here’s more on the science percolating beneath the cup:
Caffeine is the culprit: Caffeine acts as a diuretic, increasing urine production and potentially leading to a more significant loss of fluids. The kidneys act like filters, cleaning waste and excess fluids from your blood through small tubes called glomeruli. Consuming caffeine can help these tiny tubes stay open and clean your blood more efficiently. However, this can also impact how much water the body holds onto or gets rid of. Increased filtration lets your kidneys release more water, causing you to pee more often. Caffeine can also stop the kidneys from reabsorbing sodium and interfere with the kidneys’ communication with the liver, further affecting urine output. If excessive coffee consumption isn’t balanced with adequate water intake, you might experience symptoms of dehydration.
Tolerance, moderation, balance: The caffeine found in coffee may increase urine production, but clinical evidence suggests its diuretic effects are relatively mild, especially for routine coffee drinkers. Coffee lovers who routinely enjoy a cup of coffee may build a tolerance to its diuretic effects. While coffee may initially increase urine output, it’s not likely to cause significant dehydration in people who drink it regularly. Most studies recommend consuming coffee in moderation and balancing your intake with other fluids. Some research defines moderate consumption as 3-4 cups of coffee daily.
5 cups or more could lead to dehydration: Moderate consumption is not likely to cause dehydration in most people. However, drinking too much coffee may lead to dehydration. High intakes of coffee, such as 5-6 cups or more daily, may have a more pronounced diuretic effect due to the influx of caffeine, increasing urine output and fluid loss. This increased fluid loss could surpass your overall fluid intake, causing dehydration. … Signs of dehydration may include thirst, dry mouth, reduced urine output, dark yellow urine, dry skin, headache, fatigue, and dizziness. However, more severe cases of dehydration can lead to symptoms like confusion, sunken eyes, and rapid heart rate.
Be mindful! When dehydrated, it’s essential to hydrate with fluids that help replenish lost body water and electrolytes. … If you notice signs of dehydration, such as dry mouth, lethargy, dark urine, or headache, you may need to decrease your coffee intake and prioritize hydrating drinks like plain water or sports drinks. Maintaining a mindful approach to coffee consumption ensures you can enjoy your morning cup of joe without compromising your hydration status.
Whoever had “mindful” down for the scientific advice on coffee drinking just won Bingo! Be very mindful and only imbibe very demure portions! But seriously, I can handle this news, and appreciate it not being another round of cautions to delay or reduce coffee consumption for certain stretches of time. I usually drink 2-3 cups a day, so I’m safely in the zone of moderation (for once). Plus I’ve got the balance-with-water end of things down. If you know me by now, you’ll recall that this year I’ve really upped my water intake as part of my big health initiative to support the robust, very much not-demure amount of potato chips I consume. Science is science. Of course doctors also warn that we don’t want to go down the road of overhydration, either. The ratio of coffee to water (to potato chips) must be maintained with Goldilocks precision. Operating a human body is so much fun.
Photos credit: IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Memmler / Avalon, Diamond/Backgrid, Aissaoui Nacer/Backgrid
Caffeine is a diuretic but there’s a balance with the fluid intake. The issue is caffeinated drinks can’t replace water, they essentially balance themselves out, assuming you consume enough water in the caffeinated drink! Then you need to still drink your water on top of the drinks. One doesn’t replace the other!
Exactly, the caffeine is the culprit and there are so many sneaky things caffeine is in – I can’t tolerate caffeine and therefore avoid caffeinated coffee like it will kill me and I rarely eat chocolate, only for that reason. Caffeine makes me so anxious, and it’s annoying. Fortunately, my true love is salty food and coffee makes me think of school and working late hours so I don’t miss drinking it. I haven’t intentionally had a cup of caffeinated coffee in over twenty years. I ordered a decaf latte ten years ago and they gave me caffeinated, and I had to take a clonazepam to calm down. Envious of those that can enjoy their coffees – I can’t even have more than one cup of decaf! I learned that lesson the hard way, too! So now I just drink sparkling water if I want something “special.”
Also, caffeine prevents the absorption of certain vitamins, the most relevant one is calcium. So if you think you’re getting your calcium when you drink a latte or add creamer to your coffee, your body isn’t absorbing nearly as much calcium as you would assume.
As someone that drinks, a lot of coffee, it can make you dehydrated. It’s a diuretic.
I always have a cup of water near my coffee cup. Besides hydration, it also helps for less coffee stains on your teeth.
And for once, my neurodivergent tendencies towards multiple beverages being near my person at any given time pays off! lol I cut back considerably on my caffeine (5 cups of coffee a day to 1 or 2) after starting medication for ADD (didn’t get diagnosed until finding my amazing current therapist LAST YEAR at 42), but I still always have water and soda, coffee or tea at the ready. Sometimes juice, but I have found as I’ve gotten older that most juices trigger my acid reflux, and honestly…a nice iced coffee with sugar-free non-dairy creamer is way more satisfying.
FYI, dehydration, is a migraine trigger. I can drink one cup of coffee occasionally. But not on a the regular.
Yes. I stick to green tea for exactly this reason. And I always have my hydroflask nearby.
Caffeine behaves very differently in different bodies, like all chemicals/stimulants. Like other things. I cant process some macro nutrients. It’s annoying!
I cut my coffee intake to one small cup every other day when I became pregnant six months ago. In the last two weeks, I’m back to daily because it frankly helps with certain GI issues. I noticed the impact and then googled it, as one does. And it’s a thing coffee is known to do. So, it’s not all bad. Coffee forever 🙂
Look in certain areas, when you order coffee, it automatically comes with a glass of water. Message: the culture has figured out that this is healthy. Exercise? Hot day? Maybe add a glass of water when you drink coffee. Winter? Maybe not necessary.
Possibly more important: 1. if you’re constantly thirsty, check out if you might have (pre) diabetic symptoms. 2. Excess caffeine can cause heart disease (keep it under 400 mg/ day).
For every caffeinated drink, be sure to drink double that in water and you should not have to worry about caffeine dehydrating you. Advice I received from my nephrologist after I donated my kidney. So far it’s worked for me.
Hypocrisy, Thank you so much for donating your kidney! Covid (late spring 2020) gave a family member the “gift” of kidney disease, and there’s a shortage of donors.
Why is this news? Both coffee and tea can make you dehydrated, they both have caffeine. Energy drinks can have the same effect (though some of those come with other health risks). If you don’t overdo and balance it with water intake, you should be fine.
This is just people guessing for the media. I don’t see any mention of tests or studies to determine what *does* happen.
I’m a teacher, and I told my class if my coffee spilled onto the carpet, I would get down on all fours and suck every drop out of the carpet. Enough said.
Sorry: these were high schoolers, not impressionable little ones….
Either way, that’s hilarious!
I drink extra water to balance out my caffeine that I don’t include in my water total for the day. I’ll have 1.5 cups of water before drinking my 1.5 cup of coffee. Problem solved!
Coffee depletes potassium. So you need to watch your potassium intake. The more coffee you drink the more important it is to eat nutrient rich foods that are high in potassium.
It’s actually the opposite. Coffee contributes potassium. That’s why people w kidney disease are asked to limit or avoid it.
https://www.kidney.org/news-stories/coffee-and-kidney-disease-it-safe#:~:text=Three%20to%20four%20cups%20of,could%20raise%20your%20potassium%20levels.
I always try to have a cup of water after my morning coffee for all the above-mentioned reasons.
I’m a medical doctor. Normally functioning kidneys can regulate your fluid balance quite precisely. Yes, caffeine has a mild diuretic effect, BUT if necessary your kidney can trigger release of *anti-diuretic hormone* to counteract the effect. there’s other reasons to limit caffeine, which are more important.
we focus way too much on hydration in normal healthy folks and so many times there’s too much of a push to overhydrate the vulnerable, especially kids and old people..
Dring when you’re thirsty. take enough liquid to maintain a pale yellow urine color. that’s adequate. if you work or exercise outside, you might need more. if you’re drinking a set (large) amount because that’s what you read on facebook, it likely isn’t supported by actual science and it has the potential for harm.
Substitute Diet Pepsi for coffee & I can relate to the article & all the comments. Less caffeine, more water, got it.