Does Coke Dehydrate You? + Other Common FAQs

Sodas like Coke are many people’s favorite beverages, and people often opt to drink Coke throughout the day.

While Coke can feel like a refreshing drink, you may be wondering if Coke can dehydrate you. I looked up the facts, and here is what I found!

Does Coke Dehydrate You?

Coke can only dehydrate you when Coke is consumed in large amounts and only if you are already dehydrated. While Coke does not cause dehydration, Coke is not the best drink for hydration. Coke contains caffeine, and caffeine is a known diuretic. Coke also contains a lot of fluid, and this makes up for the little caffeine in each can.

How does Coke help with hydration? Keep reading to find out!

Is Coke More Hydrating Than Water?

According to recent studies, there are a lot of things more hydrating than water, which includes sodas like Coke.

Other drinks can be more hydrating than water because water is simply plain water. Most drinks have a bit of sugar, proteins, electrolytes, etc., which are technically more hydrating for short-term hydration.

Calories are also present in sodas and calories are responsible for slower gastric emptying, creating a slower release of urination.

However, most sodas have a lot of sugar and even though sugar can keep the body hydrated, the sugar gets diluted during osmosis when most of these sugars enter the small intestine.

Osmosis pulls water from the body into the small intestines to dilute these sugars and anything that enters the small intestine is eventually released.

For any sudden thirst, it is fine to reach for sodas like Coke instead of water, but water is better than Coke for long-term hydration.

Can Coke Zero Dehydrate You?

Coke Zero is a variant of Coke with zero sugar, and Coke Zero can still dehydrate you when you consume Coke Zero in large amounts or if you only drink Coke Zero.

Though Coke Zero has no sugar and uses artificial sweeteners, Coke Zero still has caffeine.

Caffeine is a diuretic and can cause dehydration when consumed in large amounts, and excessive urination can lead to dehydration.

Can Coke Hydrate You?

Can Coke Hydrate You?

Coke is mostly made of water so Coke can hydrate you, and drinking Coke is better than having nothing to drink.

Coke will only hydrate you for a short time though and Coke will hydrate you less compared to water.

Moreover, Coke has sugars and you will use up most of the water Coke has to break down the sugars in your small intestine.

You will get thirsty again after a short while and if you keep drinking Coke, your body will soon eventually beg you for a drink that does not have as much sugar.

If you have too much sugar in your blood, water is one of the few solutions for that issue.

Coke is an easy-fix solution to a quick dehydration problem, but Coke is not ideal for hydration.

Can You Replace Water With Coke?

You can replace water with Coke, but there will be a lot of consequences in doing so.

For every caffeinated drink you consume, you need water to successfully flush these chemicals out of your body.

If you do not follow up caffeinated drinks like Coke with water, you will eventually not have enough water to release these chemicals, which can harm your body.

Excessive sugars from sodas such as Coke will need help from water to be diluted and flushed out.

If these sugars stay in the body and the bloodstream, the sugars will lead to more problems with the body.

Coke Zero may not contain sugar, but Coke Zero does still have caffeine. Caffeine will eventually dry your body out if that is the only thing you consume and put into your body.

Additionally, caffeine is a diuretic, meaning caffeine will increase urination. Urination makes you lose water and thus you need to replace the water you lost.

If you keep drinking caffeine-based drinks, you will lose more water in your body than you can drink.

Take a look at our related articles to learn if Coke owns Pepsi, if Coke whitens teeth, and if Coke goes bad.

Conclusion

Although Coke will not dehydrate you, Coke has other effects on your body that can be avoided if you drink water.

Coke is mostly water, but Coke also has caffeine and sugar that can slowly dehydrate you, especially if you only drink Coke.

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