Is Coffee Hydrating? How Coffee Can Actually Help with Hydration

It's National Coffee Day so let's talk about it. Every coffee drinker in the world has heard it—coffee dehydrates you. Most of us have taken this statement at face value, never really questioning whether or not the world’s most popular beverage is in fact dehydrating.

But, here’s some good news for all you java heads—coffee can actually help hydrate. It all depends on a few different factors, including the amount of caffeine you ingest daily as well as your tolerance to the righteous brown bean juice.

With literally thousands of clinical studies highlighting the vital importance of proper hydration to maintain a healthy lifestyle, it’s easy to understand why some of us may second-guess that second cup. So, let’s set the record straight with a few facts that will ease your wired mind.

Coffee Has a Diuretic Effect—Isn’t That Bad for Hydration?

The caffeine in coffee causes the body to pass more urine, acting as a diuretic. Naturally, you’d think that passing more urine would lead to dehydration. But here’s the catch—coffee contains a lot of water. Unless you’re trying to break a record for most coffee consumed in an hour, chances are the diuretic effects of caffeine are counterbalanced by the amount of water you’re ingesting. So, the water going in is greater or equal to the water going out.

Not only that, but it takes the human body only one to four days to build up a tolerance to the amount of caffeine found in a couple of cups of coffee. Once your body builds up its tolerance, the diuretic effects lessen or disappear altogether, allowing your body to process all the hydrating qualities of the beverage without losing water.

Want more proof? A 2014 study found no evidence of dehydration occurring in moderate coffee drinkers. So, while it’s not great to overload your body with caffeine, it’s still fine to enjoy a hot or cold coffee while also keeping hydrated throughout the day for a balanced diet.

Is Coffee Hydrating?

The short answer is…maybe. While water is by far the best way to keep hydrated, indulging in caffeinated beverages once, twice, or even a few times a day most likely won’t fully hydrate nor dehydrate you. As we discussed, due to the high volume of water in coffee, it would take a rather large dose of caffeine to create diuretic effects that would negatively affect hydration.

The key here is moderation combined with a healthy hydration routine. You may not know this but 75% adults in the U.S are chronically dehydrated. By drinking coffee responsibly and utilizing a smart hydration support tool like HidrateSpark, you can hit your daily goals for optimum hydration without having to sacrifice your go-to morning/afternoon pick-me-up. By leveraging the new HidrateSpark App, you can input different drink types, including coffee, to see their hydration levels for a more accurate reading. Coffee, for example, has a 90% hydration impact compared to the same volume of water.

Coffee + Hydration Can Help with Weight Management

Proper hydration is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, and proper weight management is vital for a healthy body. The good news is by combining coffee + water daily, you’re helping to keep your body hydrated which can aid with weight loss and/or maintaining a healthy weight.

Here’s how it works: When the body reaches mild dehydration, we become thirsty. But sometimes the brain mistakes thirst for hunger. By reaching for an ice-cold coffee or lemon water, we can reject the urge to eat and keep unnecessary calories from ticking up the scale. Plus, water and proper hydration can promote a sense of satiation by stretching the stomach. And that means your brain gets the signal that you’re full, not hungry.

In addition, it’s possible that coffee consumption could be associated with decreased body fat, as well as meeting daily physical activity levels. And when you’re meeting your physical activity goals, it’s only natural that you replace your sweat through hydration.

So, Coffee Is Good Then, Right?

Like all things in life, coffee is completely fine in moderation for people who don’t have certain health problems that can be exacerbated by caffeine intake. And as we’ve explored, coffee can actually help hydrate once the body becomes acclimated to caffeine. But don’t go chugging twenty cups a day to get your water fill—the FDA maintains that anything more than 400 mg of caffeine can cause or increase the risk of health problems.

Your best bet is to find a way to maintain daily hydration with a smart tool like HidrateSpark that tracks water intake, monitors hydration levels, and reminds you when it’s time to take a sip. Our HidrateSpark PRO Tumbler can hold a range of hot and cold beverages including coffee, water and tea. Plus, with HidrateSpark’s Pro Flip Lid, you can fill up your bottle with your daily Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, or home-brewed hot or iced coffee, and get your hydration levels on-point throughout the day. You can use your HidrateSpark along with the companion app to track your sips throughout the day.

With the speed of life seemingly increasing on a daily basis, it’s easy to lose track of proper hydration. Thankfully, with a HidrateSpark smart water bottle, you can easily stay hydrated and reap all the benefits of coffee and water whenever you like.

Check out our range of products to see which best fits your lifestyle.