One last consideration is which fluids count toward hydration. Many popular health practitioners and advocates will boldly state that only water and a few other “natural” beverages count toward hydration. They discount anything with caffeine or alcohol or even sugar as a viable rehydrating beverage. The statement has actually been made that “You wouldn’t wash your car with a diet soft drink – why would you use it for hydration?” Such an attitude demonstrates a misunderstanding of the mechanism by which water is absorbed from the gut: anything that contains water, even food high in water, counts toward water consumption. Water itself is the best rehydrating fluid since it can be taken up faster than commonly consumed commercial beverages (if that is actually a practical consideration in normal hydration situations), but every fluid consumed contributes. The water content of a 20-ounce diet cola counts toward hydration even though it contains caffeine and artificial sweeteners. A 20-ounce regular cola full of high-fructose corn syrup also counts even though it contains caffeine and sugar. Alcoholic beverages have been quite effective hydrating agents at various points in human history. Beer and wine, in more primitive times, were major rehydrating fluids necessary for survival, since they were safer than the available untreated water supply, as was the grog – rum mixed with water – of the British Navy in the eighteenth century. We are not proposing that soft drinks, beer, and wine should be staple components of the training diet, but honesty compels the consideration of the realities of the American lifestyle and how it may affect recovery. Aside from the question of their other benefits or detriments, moderate consumption of these beverages does in fact contribute to hydration.
