Coffee Is A Diuretic, It's Important To Get Enough Hydration When Drinking Caffeine Drinks

Illustration of dehydrated coffee (Freepik/master1305)

YOGYAKARTA – Drinking many cups of coffee seems to help you stay focused all day. But even though it is served in the form of a drink, expert advice still requires more than enough fluid intake to avoid dehydration.

The main reason why people drink coffee is because of the caffeine content. Caffeine is a psychoactive substance that helps you stay alert and helps with performance. However, caffeine can make you dehydrated if not balanced with adequate hydration intake. Why is that? This is because caffeine may have a diuretic effect. Diuretics are substances that cause your body to make more urine than usual.

Caffeine in coffee which increases blood flow to the kidneys will spur the kidneys to release more water through urine. This makes you urinate frequently and can affect your hydration status.

Illustration of dehydrated coffee (Freepik/Drazen Zigic)

There are many types of coffee, including Arabica and Robusta beans. Not to mention the variations in serving coffee in the form of drinks. Each type and variety of coffee has a different level of caffeine. But when these drinks contain caffeine it can affect hydration status. Launch Healthline, Tuesday, June 13, the most popular brewed coffee in the United States. Even in Indonesia, various techniques of dispensing coffee are also very popular. Especially when you drink it during the day, when your body starts to need caffeine intake to stay awake while working.

In a cup of brewed coffee measuring 240 milliliters, it contains 70-140 milligrams of caffeine. Even if you drink decaf coffee, it's not completely caffeine-free. In a cup of decaf coffee, still contains an average of 3 milligrams of caffeine. This means, you need healthy habits that support your coffee habit.

Although coffee is a diuretic, it is unlikely to dehydrate you. Unless you drink the equivalent of 5 cups of coffee or 500 milligrams per day. According to research on 10 coffee drinkers, drinking 537 milligrams of highly caffeinated coffee showed signs of dehydration. Researchers observed that coffee's diuretic effect was only short-term.

Drinking a cup of coffee, it turns out, actually helps you meet the body's fluid needs. With a note that you have met your daily fluid needs, yes. Therefore, it is important for you to pay attention, whether you drink coffee or not, you need to meet your body's fluid needs. If you are a coffee drinker who drinks more than one cup a day, then you can still drink mineral water as usual without worrying about dehydration. Because according to research, signs of mild dehydration, the effects of diuretics are only temporary as long as you drink enough mineral water in a day.