So you may be wondering if caffeinated drinks like coffee is a diuretic. Can coffee hydrate you as well as water does? We were curious too.
Drinking caffeine-containing beverages such as coffee can contribute to your daily fluid requirement. While coffee may have a mild diuretic effect, it doesn’t increase the risk of dehydration. Drinking coffee also has a laxative type effect on some people and drinking warm drinks in the morning can stimulate the digestive tract to make you poop.
What is a Diuretic?
Diuretics are drinks that help you rid your body of salt and water. Usually, this happens through increased urination. This decreases the amount of fluid in your body and reduces pressure on your blood vessels.
Diuretics are usually safe but may have some side effects. One side effect may be a mineral loss because of the increased urination.
Why Isn’t Coffee Considered a Diuretic?
It’s true that coffee contains caffeine which is a mild diuretic. However, if you’ve ever heard the myth that coffee leaves you dehydrated it simply isn’t true.
When coffee causes you to pee frequently, and you think you’re losing lots of liquid. However, it is just using the extra liquid from your body to flush sodium and water from your kidneys through your urine.
According to Dr. Daniel Vigil, an associate clinical professor of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles. When you drink coffee you are taking in enough liquid along with the caffeine. As a result, you won’t lose more fluid through your urine than you do when drinking the coffee. Your body absorbs all the liquid it needs and just expels the extra.
Special Cases for Diuretic Coffee
While normally coffee is not considered a diuretic normally there are some cases where it may be an issue.
When drinking coffee at moderate amounts there is no significant evidence that the caffeine in coffee acts as a diuretic. In a study done in 2014 men who drank up to 4 cups of coffee a day found no difference in hydration levels as whose who just drank water.
If you don’t drink coffee regularly and consume large doses of more than 500mg of caffeine then it becomes a diuretic. This happens when you have more than four cups of coffee a day. This only becomes an issue when the only liquid you drink all day is coffee. Normally, you may have a bottle of water or another drink after coffee so you will be just fine.
The Dangers of Drinking Too Much Coffee
As stated before coffee becomes a diuretic after more than 4 straight cups of coffee. When this occurs you will become dehydrated.
Your body begins to lose water and sodium through urination. This will have an effect on your bodily functions. You won’t be able to control your body temperature or absorb nutrients from food.
Men’s bodies need around 2.6 liters of liquid and women’s bodies needs around 2.1 liters of water. The best way to solve the diuretic problem is to just drink some water after every cup of water.
Some other issues of excess consumption of coffee are:
- Heart palpitations
- Restlessness
- Excitability
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Trembling Hands
- Sleeplessness
Just remember, drinking coffee isn’t all bad. Here are 15 reasons why you should drink coffee and why its good for you.
Is Coffee a Laxative? Why Coffee Makes You Poop.
Now that you know how a coffee will affect your urination, now let’s talk about how coffee affects your poops.
Lots of people incorporate a morning coffee into their daily routine. It’s thought that coffee helps with morning bowel movements, but some swear by a cup of coffee in the morning while others feel no effects.
There have been no scientific studies that prove or refutes this argument. However, there have been studies done that proves a connection between coffee and digestion. A 1990 study shows that coffee increases rectosigmoid motility. This is the movement of the large colon’s end and the upper rectum. It showed that it increased colon movements for 29% of participants showing how it may have some effect on bowel movements in some people.
Coffee may have a laxative effect on some people. The effect is unclear whether it is due to the coffee or the caffeine. However, coffee can act as a stimulant in your intestines which increases bowel movements.
It may also be due to drinking a hot drink upon waking which stimulates your digestive tract and helps you poop. According to a gastroenterologist, warm liquids in the morning widens the blood vessels and increases blood flow and results in bowel activity.
How do Coffee Enemas Clean Colons?
A coffee enema is a process where freshly brewed coffee is pumped into your colon from an enema bag. It is said to relieve constipation in the body. People say after a coffee enema they have massive bowel moments. This is not because of the coffee, but rather the sheer amount of liquid flowing into the colon and stimulating the rectum muscles. However, there are many benefits to trying a coffee enema. If you want to read more about coffee enemas you can read our in-depth how-to guide here.
Key Points
While there are many myths about coffee you have to know all the facts. Coffee is not a diuretic unless you drink more than 4 cups a day. It is also possible that coffee is a laxative to the body.
If you have doubts about coffee now don’t be scared. Here are 15 reasons why coffee is good for your body.
