Mayo Clinic: Is caffeine dehydrating?
New studies show caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it.
|Report an Error|
Share via Email
Q: I’ve been seeing ads that say cola and coffee drinks hydrate you as well as water does. Is this true?
A: It’s true, Mayo Clinic experts confirm. 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.
Still, caffeinated drinks can make you jittery, sleepless or anxious. Water is probably your best bet to stay hydrated. It’s calorie-free, caffeine-free, inexpensive and readily available.
For information on ordering the monthly Mayo Clinic Health Letter, please visit www.starstore.ca/mayoclinic
- Photos Two Canadians among 239 aboard missing Malaysia Airlines plane
- Police take out new search warrant in Mayor Rob Ford case
- OPP will take ORNGE probe to Italy
- Mayor Rob Ford unaware of ex-aide's part in federal kicback scheme
- Raptors cruise to comfortable win in Rudy Gay’s return to Toronto
- Roberto Luongo makes triumphant homecoming as a Panther: DiManno
- Sunshine List: More than a third of Toronto police officers earned $100,000
- Fog of war lifts in Ukraine, death toll upped to 100