Drinking Coffee and Tea Does Not Dehydrate the Human Body


  • The notion that drinking coffee an tea saps the body of moisture through the dehydration process is false.
  • In face, our morning pick-me-up actually helps hydrate us.
When you’re really thirsty, a refreshing glass of water is the healthiest thing to drink, but in those moments, you probably do not crave coffee or tea.

But, in spite of the fact that the caffeine in those beverages will have a diuretic effect, those comforting pick-me-ups are not dehydrating, as many people believe.

So, the notion some people accept as a matter of fact is false information.

While drinking coffee and tea tends to generate an urge the drinker to empty the bladder and simultaneously flush waste from your kidneys, it does not dehydrate.

The good news about drinking coffee and tea is that when you urinate, you will not lose more than you take in when you drink a caffeinated beverage.

One reason people feel that coffee and tea must be dehydrating, is that caffeine triggers frequent urination, and so it stands to reason would pull moisture out of your body, right?

The Big A: Wrong

Daniel Vigil, associate clinical professor of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles contends that when we drink a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea, we are also taking in fluid along with the caffeine.

In fact: “Even though caffeine is a mild diuretic, Professor Vigil says, you will not lose more fluid through urine than you take in by drinking a caffeinated beverage. Your body is able to absorb as much fluid as it needs and expel the rest … For that reason, your morning pick-me-up actually helps hydrate you, not the opposite. And that coffee and tea ‘can and should’ count toward your daily 8-or-so cups of water per day.”

An aside

The fact that one may develop a headache or other not-so-pleasant symptoms when deprived of your go-to mug of energy probably is not about dehydration but instead may be more about caffeine deprivation, especially if one has been drinking it for a long time and suddenly find yourself deprived for a day or more.

If you are an avid coffee drinker, it may come as no surprise that 64% of the US population, according to the National Coffee Association (NCUSA) declare themselves to be coffee drinkers, and that rate is climbing.

Fully 70% of the coffee consumed is considered gourmet, the site says, and the rest is just “regular.” Some may not be aware that, as the Journal of the American Heart Association reported, coffee may help protect your heart. Source: Live Trading News