The Best drink To Stay Hydrated: Doctors, nutritionists, trainers, and other specialists tell you, it seems that there is a division of opinion in everything, except in the idea that we should drink water. You constantly hear that we have to drink one or two litres of H2O a day; after all, we have about 60% in our body. Although we have been told all our lives that water is liquid par excellence, it may not be the best to stay hydrated.
A study from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland compared the hydration responses of various drinks to determine which one has the best effect on our body. The researchers found that while water does a pretty good job quickly, drinks with a little sugar, fat, or protein are even better at keeping us hydrated longer.
The why has to do with the way our bodies respond to fluids. The more you drink, the faster the fluid empties from your stomach, and the sooner it is absorbed into your bloodstream, where it can dilute body fluids and hydrate you. Another factor that affects hydration is related to the nutrient composition of each drink.
Milk contains lactose, protein, and fat, which helps delay stomach emptying and maintain hydration for longer.
Specifically, the specialists showed that milk is even more hydrating than water because it contains lactose (the sugar in this product), some proteins, and fats. All this helps delay the emptying of the stomach fluid and maintain hydration for a longer period. This drink also has sodium, which acts like a sponge and locks in body fluid and produces less urine.
The same thing happens with the serums to rehydrate that are used when we have gastrointestinal problems.
Sugar, in moderation
Beware claims that lactose can make us stay hydrated for longer and is not extrapolated to sugary drinks. The fruit juices or soft drinks do not necessarily have this effect as cousins with less sugar. Although they may spend a little longer in the stomach and empty more slowly than plain water, when these drinks reach the small intestine, their high concentration of sugars is diluted during a physiological process called osmosis. This process ‘carries’ water from the body to the small intestine to dilute the sugars in these drinks.
What about beer or coffee?
On the basis that alcohol consumption is not recommended, it should be avoided and does not hydrate as such: distilled or fermented beverages act as a diuretic, which makes you urinate more, so hydration will depend on the total volume of what that you eat. Beer would cause less water loss than whiskey because you’re ingesting more liquid with the golden liquid.
When it comes to coffee, hydration will depend on how much caffeine you consume. Drinking more than 300 milligrams of caffeine (two to four cups) of coffee can cause you to lose a lot of fluids, as caffeine causes a mild, short-term diuretic effect.
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