Coffee does not dehydrate a study shows
The big news doing the rounds at the moment is the results of a study undertaken by academics from Birmingham University.
Coffee, long supposed as a diuretic, is in fact ‘as hydrating as water’.
The notion that coffee dehydrates stems from work on caffeine around eighty-years ago, but did not take into account certain chemical reactions.
Finally, we can lay that issue to rest.
Researchers in England’s second city found that a monitored group who had four mugs of coffee per day had no differing fluid levels to those that drank four cups of water instead. The participants had the same diet during the test and were banned from any forms of vigorous exercise and the consumption of alcohol during the monitoring period.
Blood and urine samples taken afterwards then showed that the coffee group were as hydrated as those that drank water. For those wondering, the same amount of urine was passed.
General precautionary tales that one cup of coffee or tea should be counter-balanced by a glass of water are now, obviously, shown to be false.
With an estimated 1.6 billion cups of coffee consumed on a worldwide daily basis, the findings from the study will undoubtedly be welcome news to the throngs of coffee lovers out there.
Commenting on the story from an American perspective, Dr. Dicky Shah of Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park said that ‘in moderation, consuming caffeine probably is not going to dehydrate most people.’
Of course, this study tested a moderate amount, findings on excessive consumption could well wield different results.
Sports scientist Sophie Killer called for the commonly held opinions and publicly available facts to be altered to reflect these findings. ‘It is a common belief that coffee consumption can lead to dehydration and should be avoided, or reduced, in order to maintain a healthy fluid balance. The advice provided in the public health domain regarding coffee intake and hydration status should be updated,’ she said.
Well, I’m feeling a little parched. Think I might grab a cup of coffee and hydrate myself!