Dehydration happens when your body loses more water than it takes in. This can be caused by things like sweating too much, not drinking enough fluids, diarrhea, vomiting, and some medical conditions.
If you don’t drink enough fluids throughout the day or make certain dietary choices, you can increase your risk of dehydration. Some foods and drinks, especially those with lots of added salt and caffeine, can make you lose more water and lead to dehydration. However, many foods and drinks can also help keep you hydrated by providing necessary fluids.
1. Energy Drinks
Some energy drinks have lots of caffeine, which can make you pee more if you drink too much. They also usually have a bunch of sugar added.
These drinks can make it harder for your body to absorb fluids and make you pee more. That’s not good, especially if you’re doing sports in hot weather and need to stay hydrated.
Research says energy drinks can cause bad stuff like anxiety, fast or weird heartbeats, hurting your kidneys, seizures, and even death.
2. Intensely Caffeinated Coffee
Coffee and other drinks with caffeine, like tea, usually don’t dehydrate you. But really strong coffee, with a lot of caffeine, might make you pee more, which can make you dehydrated.
In a small study with 10 healthy adults, those who drank super strong coffee with 6 mg of caffeine per kilogram (kg) of their body weight peed a lot more than those who drank coffee with just 3 mg/kg of caffeine.
But remember, this study used a huge amount of caffeine. For someone who weighs around 150 pounds, 6 mg/kg would mean about 409 mg of caffeine, which is more than the safe limit of 400 mg a day.
Regular amounts of caffeine, like what’s in most coffee, haven’t been shown to make you pee more.
3. Alcohol
Alcohol makes you pee more because it’s a diuretic, a substance that boosts urine production. Peeing a lot can make you lose water, which can lead to dehydration.
Alcohol also makes it hard for you to stay alert and judge things properly. It can mess with how well you notice changes in your body temperature. When you’re dehydrated, your body can’t sweat enough to cool down. So, if you don’t notice your body getting hotter, you might get even more dehydrated without realizing it.
Drinking a little alcohol or weak drinks like beer probably won’t dehydrate you. But drinking a lot of alcohol or strong drinks can dry you out.
To avoid dehydration when you drink, try not to have too much alcohol. Drink some water in between alcoholic drinks to keep hydrated.
4. Sweet Beverages
Even though sugar itself doesn’t usually dry you out, lots of people drink sugary beverages instead of water, which can lead to dehydration.
Drinks with lots of sugar, like soda, can make you lose fluids in your stomach and can harm your kidneys. Your kidneys are important for keeping you hydrated because they control how much you pee. Research shows that drinking soda to rehydrate after tough exercise in hot weather can hurt your kidneys and cause sudden kidney problems.
Drinking sugary drinks is also linked to health problems like high blood sugar and heart disease. Experts suggest keeping the amount of added sugars you eat each day under 10% of all the calories you eat in a day.
5. Fast Food
Fast food, like French fries, cheeseburgers, and fried chicken, has a lot of salt added to it. Eating too much of these foods can make you lose water from your body and make you feel thirsty.
When you eat salty foods, your body makes more pee. This is because when there’s a lot of salt in your body, your kidneys have to work harder to keep the salt levels normal.
A study looked at 156 young adults and found that those who ate more salt drank more drinks overall, but they weren’t as well hydrated as those who ate less salt.
Most fast food has a ton of added salt. For instance, a burger and fries from a fast food place can give you more than half of the sodium you should have in a day, which is less than 2,300 milligrams.
6. High-Sodium Sauces and Spices
Condiments, such as salad dressings, ketchup, and soy sauce, can sneak a lot of salt into your meals, which might make it harder for you to stay hydrated.
Just one tablespoon of soy sauce has a whopping 878 milligrams of sodium, which is 38% of the sodium you should have in a whole day.
To cut down on salt, try using condiments that are lower in sodium, like lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, and dressings with less salt. You can even make your own condiments at home using ingredients that have little or no salt.
7. Chips and Pretzels
Snacks that taste salty, like chips and pretzels, add a lot of salt to what Americans eat.
Eating too much salty stuff can make you lose water when you pee, which can lead to dehydration. To help your body stay hydrated, try not to eat too many salty snacks like chips and pretzels. Instead, go for snacks that have more water in them, like fruits and veggies. It’s a simple way to keep your body hydrated and healthy.
8. Processed Meats
Meats like pepperoni, bacon, ham, hot dogs, and sausage are often packed with salt. They use salt to keep the meat fresh and tasty.
Eating a lot of these salty meats can add up to too much salt in your diet, which might make it harder for you to stay hydrated.
Plus, eating too much-processed meat is tied to health problems like breast and colorectal cancer. That’s why experts say it’s smart to eat less of these kinds of meat.
9. Pizza
A study found that Americans get over half of their salt from just 15 types of food, and pizza is the biggest culprit.
One slice of pepperoni pizza from a chain restaurant has a lot of salt—about 664 milligrams. That’s almost a third of the salt you should have in a whole day.
Eating pizza that’s really salty too often could up your risk of dehydration.
To dial down the saltiness of your pizza, try using less salty toppings like veggies instead of high-sodium ones like pepperoni, pancetta, or ham.
10. Restaurant and Takeout Foods
Just like fast food, takeout meals like burritos, tacos, pasta dishes, and burgers can make you dehydrated because they often have a lot of added salt.
Takeout food, like burritos, is a big source of salt in what people eat and can have way more salt than you might expect. For instance, a burrito with steak from a chain restaurant can have as much as 1,520 milligrams of sodium, which is about two-thirds of all the salt you should have in a day.
Eating lots of high-salt foods on a regular basis can mess with your hydration and make you more likely to have health problems like high blood pressure and kidney issues.
Hydrating Foods To Enjoy
Besides avoiding foods and drinks that might make you lose water, it’s essential to pick foods that can keep you well-hydrated.
Here are some healthy foods full of nutrients that can help you stay hydrated:
1. Celery
2. Pineapple
3. Cucumber
4. Berries, like strawberries and blueberries
5. Watermelons
6. Citrus fruits, like grapefruit and oranges
7. Tomatoes
Fruits and veggies have lots of water in them, so eating more of these foods can boost how much water you get. And bonus: Eating lots of fruits and veggies is good for you in other ways too, like keeping your heart healthy and lowering your chances of getting certain cancers.
