Althouse: Hydrate with milk.

July 3, 2016

Hydrate with milk.

It's significantly more hydrating than water and as hydrating as Pedialyte.

And go ahead and hydrate with coffee and soda and beer. The study found them just as hydrating as water.

31 comments:

iowan2 said...: The last 2 weeks heat here,95+ with dewpoints in the 70's I heard at least 6 Dr's warn people away from beer, saying it was worse than water. Why is the medical profession so anti science?; 7/3/16, 7:02 AM
Bob Ellison said...: This is a big issue with me. I grew up in the desert southwest, and I have Type I diabetes. Hydration is extremely important to me.

Yes, almost all liquid hydrates. Beer, coffee, whatever. Don't listen to the idiots who tell you you'll lose more water than you gain.

Also, hydration is important, especially for those of us with health issues. Just keep a glass or a bottle handy. We need not drink eight quarts a day. That would be stupid.

But on the golf course in Phoenix, at 110 degrees, you'd better get wetter.; 7/3/16, 7:03 AM
Darrell said...: I rely on human milk as I am just that cosmopolitan.; 7/3/16, 7:04 AM
TreeJoe said...: There is a reason warriors for thousands of years quenched thirst with beer, mead, wine, etc.

They knew what they were doing :); 7/3/16, 7:11 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: Looks like Big Milk is set to move into the space soon to be vacated by Big Soda.; 7/3/16, 7:16 AM
hoyden said...: I suspected coffee was okay for hydration just based on experience. Happy to hear it is settled science.; 7/3/16, 7:27 AM
rhhardin said...: "Smart Water" water does the nicest job for me on long bike rides. It has stuff in it.

Kroger long ago had a sports drink for dogs. I asked a cashier if it was drool replacement or what, but got no reply.; 7/3/16, 7:39 AM
ndspinelli said...: Beer drinkers are at the lowest risk for kidney stones. Kidney stones are incredible behavior modification for people who don't hydrate.; 7/3/16, 7:54 AM
ndspinelli said...: Although hydrating is important, these women constantly drinking water as they merely walk around need to get a fucking grip.; 7/3/16, 7:56 AM
MadisonMan said...: Drinking coffee right now at a coffee shop.; 7/3/16, 7:57 AM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/3/16, 9:00 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: I knew coffee had to be hydrating because it was the only liquid my mother drank for years.; 7/3/16, 9:03 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/3/16, 9:03 AM
ndspinelli said...: Caffeine has a diuretic effect which can cause dehydration. However, like most substances put into our bodies, we build up a tolerance. So, someone who drinks a lot of coffee, tea, etc. are more likely to get hydration from drinking those beverages than just the occasional drinker of caffeine, who get dehydrated from ingesting them.; 7/3/16, 9:27 AM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: I have a problem with Diet Coke from Sonic. Sometimes two extra larges a day, but usually one. Two cups of coffee in the morning, plus usually an afternoon bottle of water and a glass of milk with dinner. I'm even breastfeeding, and despite that and all that caffeine (which does not seem to affect my baby; I've never avoided caffeine while pregnant or nursing) my urine is colorless. There is no way that plain water is the only thing that effectively hydrates.; 7/3/16, 9:58 AM
traditionalguy said...: So Water boarding works better using skim milk. Science has military uses.; 7/3/16, 10:20 AM
David said...: What about those unfortunate situations where the only liquid available is urine? "Science" used to tell us drinking urine would only bring about faster dehydration, but now that we have the hydration index I think we'd all like to know the exact number.; 7/3/16, 10:39 AM
Etienne said...: David said...What about those unfortunate situations where the only liquid available is urine?

If you don't have any water, you better be dressed like a Bedouin. Layers of clothes traps moisture near the skin, and it keeps you cool.

Sweat control (outtake) is just as important as intake.; 7/3/16, 11:16 AM
Unknown said...: It's so hot today. Milk was a bad choice.; 7/3/16, 11:17 AM
Paul said...: I drink at least a half gallon of whole milk a day. Clover brand from Sonoma county. My body fat is at 15% and I'm an avid and very fit mountain biker. My body loves it and it's probably my only real source of carbs as otherwise I follow the paleo diet. I look and feel much younger than I am.; 7/3/16, 11:25 AM
mikee said...: I've seen where milk comes from, and I've read Churchill's warning about water being the place fish pee, so I'm sticking with beer.; 7/3/16, 11:40 AM
HT said...: From the article:
"But don’t forget that milk has many more calories than water"

"72 males in their mid-20s"

And from the comments:
"This study was funded by the so-called European Hydration Institute. An impressive
array of scientists. But the founding partner? The Coca-Cola company."

"If you've ever had a hangover, you know that beer dehydrates you."

"The overarching premise here is that simply urinating less or more quickly leads to better vs worse health outcome. This is just a beautifully designed example of more junk science."

From the internet:
"One beer doesn't necessarily hydrate - there is water in the beer to hydrate, but the process of the liver breaking down the alcohol causes dehydration. There's not sufficient water in the one beer to counteract the dehydration from the breakdown process."; 7/3/16, 11:50 AM
Paul said...: Well the biggest problem with alcohol, besides the fact it is the number one drug addiction problem we have, is that it carcinogenic. Studies have shown conclusively that even light to moderate drinking significantly increases the chance of getting cancer.; 7/3/16, 12:07 PM
Jason said...: This is the same thing I've been saying for years. Claims that beer or caffeine would dehydrate you because of a diuretic effect were obviously bogus and could be seen so intuitively.

Caffeine is diuretic, sure. But its' almost always taken in small doses in a large solution of water.

Alcohol may be diuretic, so if you take in 1 ounce of alcohol, maybe you would lose an ounce of water. But you take it with 12 ounces of beer you still have a net gain, as long as you don't start puking.; 7/3/16, 1:45 PM
Coconuss Network said...: Enjoying a tall hot chocolate at a hotel sports pub in London.; 7/3/16, 2:08 PM
rehajm said...: Choco milk is great if you can handle the calories.

Athletes rejected Pedialyte long ago. This is what you want.; 7/3/16, 2:31 PM
jg said...: Journalist makes this 'expert' out to be a no-value-added buffoon: “It’s a very clever, even brilliant study,” said Lawrence Armstrong, a hydration expert at the University of Connecticut and immediate past president of the American College of Sports Medicine. “It assumes that water is the optimal rehydration fluid, which is biologically correct, and then compares other fluids to water.”

BRILLIANT!; 7/3/16, 6:12 PM
cf said...: yay; 7/3/16, 8:36 PM
JAORE said...: Yeah, if coffee had a net dehydration effect I'd have dried up and blown away years ago.; 7/3/16, 10:14 PM
holdfast said...: One thing I learned in the Army, you don't want to drink milk and then then do a couple of hours of drill on a black asphalt parade square in 90 degree heat - your sweat will stink like curdled milk. Drink water and bug juice during the day, and load up on milk in the cool evening. Also, that big white vee on your back means you better keep ingest lots of salt.; 7/3/16, 10:44 PM
Anonymous said...: For most of human history, it was safer to drink just about any consumable drink other than water for sanitary reasons, so this conclusion makes sense from an adaptive perspective. Coffee and tea were hot enough to kill bacteria, the alcohol in beer and wine acted as an antiseptic, milk when fresh from the cow/goat/etc. was generally safe to consume, juices from fruits similarly.; 7/3/16, 10:57 PM