Water… Sports drinks… Electrolyte drinks… Everybody seems to have a different idea as to what best quenches your body’s thirst.
New research set out to determine what drinks work best to keep you hydrated. And the results were surprising.
The study was published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers investigated a variety of popular drinks. They had 72 subjects drink one liter (about a quart) of the beverages they were testing over half an hour.[1]
The researchers than analyzed the hydrating effects on the subjects.
They found that milk is more hydrating than water. That’s because milk has lactose, protein, and fat. They slow the emptying of fluid from the stomach…which keeps water in your body longer.[2]
The sodium in milk also helps keep fluid in the body.
Electrolyte rehydration drinks such as Pedialyte have a similar effect. The sodium, potassium, and small amounts of sugar in them help water retention.
The Best Beverages to Stay Hydrated
The following bar graph shows how various drinks scored against each other for hydration after two hours:
As you can see, both full-fat and skim milk are powerful hydrators. So were rehydration drinks. (Pedialyte and Liquid IV are two common brands).
Both regular and diet sodas along with orange juice offer moderate hydration. But they also give you massive amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners, which you want to avoid. Sports drinks can also have high sugar levels.
Beer, coffee, and tea are diuretics. That means their hydrating effects are limited by the fact that they make you urinate more.
Your best bets for hydration are organic milk, rehydration drinks, or water. During a workout, stick to rehydration drinks or water. Milk is too filling to drink while you’re exercising.
Water is the essence of life. Make sure you have enough in your body for optimal health and peak performance.
Editor’s Note: It’s important to keep hydrated when you exercise.Readers of our science-backed journal Independent Healing recently discovered the best way to get fast results from resistance exercise. To find out more, go HERE.
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[1]https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/103/3/717/4564598
[2]https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/25/health/best-drinks-for-hydration-wellness/index.html