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(CNN) - When you are thirsty and need a drink, what drinks are best to stay hydrated?
Of course, you can always have a glass of water, but H20 is not the most hydrating drink, according to a study by the University of St. Andrews of Scotland that compared the hydration responses of several different drinks.
The researchers found that while water, both with gas and without gas, does a pretty good job of quickly hydrating the body, drinks with a little sugar, fat or protein do an even better job by keeping us hydrated for longer.
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The reason has to do with the way our bodies respond to drinks, according to Ronald Maughan, a professor at St. Andrews School of Medicine and author of the study.
One factor is the volume of a given drink: the more you drink, the faster the drink is emptied from your stomach and absorbed into the bloodstream, where it can dilute body fluids and hydrate.
The other factor that affects how much a drink hydrates is related to the nutrient composition of a drink. For example, it was found that milk is even more moisturizing than normal water because it contains sugar lactose, some proteins and some fats, all of which help to delay the emptying of stomach fluid and maintain hydration for a longer period of time. long.
Milk also has sodium, which acts like a sponge and retains body water and produces less urine.
The same can be said of oral rehydration drinks that are used to treat diarrhea. These contain small amounts of sugar, as well as sodium and potassium, which can also help promote water retention in the body.
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“This study tells us a lot about what we already knew: electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium, contribute to better hydration, while the calories in beverages cause a slower gastric emptying and, therefore, more release slow urination, ”said Melissa Majumdar, a registered dietitian, personal trainer and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics who was not involved in the study.
Sugar in moderation
But this is where it gets difficult: drinks with more concentrated sugars, such as fruit juices or colas, are not necessarily as moisturizing as their cousins with less sugar. They can spend a little more time in the stomach and empty more slowly compared to running water, but once these drinks enter the small intestine, their high concentration of sugars is diluted during a physiological process called osmosis. In effect, this process "extracts" water from the body into the small intestine to dilute the sugars contained in these drinks. And technically, anything inside the intestine is practically outside your body.
Juice and soda are not only less moisturizing, but they offer additional sugars and calories that won't fill us as much as solid foods, Majumdar explained. If the choice is between soft drinks and water for hydration, always choose water. After all, our kidneys and liver depend on water to eliminate toxins in our bodies, and water also plays a key role in maintaining skin elasticity and flexibility. It is the cheapest moisturizer you will find.
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While staying hydrated is important - doing so keeps our joints lubricated, helps prevent infections and transports nutrients to our cells - in most situations people don't need to worry too much about the hydration of their drinks.
"If you're thirsty, your body will tell you to drink more," Maughan said. But for athletes who train seriously in warm conditions with high sweat losses, or for someone whose cognitive function can be adversely affected by working long hours without breaks to drink, hydration becomes a critical problem.
Can beer and lattes keep me hydrated?
Alcohol acts as a diuretic, which makes you urinate more, so when it comes to alcoholic beverages, hydration will depend on the total volume of a drink. "Beer would cause less water loss than whiskey, because you're drinking more liquid with beer," said Maughan. "Strong alcoholic drinks will dehydrate you, diluted alcoholic drinks will not."
When it comes to coffee, how well you hydrate your Java will depend on the amount of caffeine you consume. A normal coffee with approximately 80 milligrams of caffeine would be more or less as moisturizing as water, according to Maughan's research.
Consuming more than 300 mg of caffeine, or about 2 to 4 cups of coffee, can cause you to lose excess fluid since caffeine causes a mild diuretic effect in the short term. This is more likely to happen with someone who generally does not consume caffeine, and could be compensated by adding a tablespoon or two of milk to your cup of coffee.
Lisa Drayer is a nutritionist, author and collaborator of CNN in health and nutrition.