26-07-12, 02:06 PM
(25-07-12, 11:03 PM)AdieR link Wrote: Tea and coffee do de-hydrate you - even if you don't necessarily notice it.
Actually they don't, even if you drink 40 cups of strong coffee/tea and even then you will still have a net gain of water in your body despite your body being stimulated to eject 'more' water (if at all).
I used to avoid tea and coffee, cola and pepsi before scuba diving years ago because of the so called de-hydrating effect but it was a hyperbaric doctor treating me for a bend who explained to me why me it was a myth. The caffeine amounts just don't add up to enough. Unfortunately this dehydrating myth actually causes dehydration, it's not unheard of for new divers who don't have access to their own water to avoid the free tea and coffee on the dive boats because the've been told by a scaremonger that it will dehydrate them, then of course they get dehydrated anyway.
Ask any paramedic what the best 'easily available' rehydrating tonic is, they'll tell you it's flat Coca-cola with a half teaspoon of salt added per litre, the caffeine is negligable. And that's no myth.