While a moderate amount of red wine may provide health benefits, consuming too much alcohol can cause devastating health effects. One study also showed that consuming 2–3 glasses of dealcoholized red wine per day may lower blood pressure (20). When comparing the dehydration effects of wine and beer, it all comes down to their alcohol content. Beer typically has about 4% to 6% alcohol, while wine steps it up with around 11% to 14%. This higher alcohol level in wine means it’s more likely to dehydrate you per glass.
How much alcohol does it take to dehydrate you?
- Additionally, many teas may also contain high levels of sugar from sweetened milk, sugars, or syrups, which may not be the most hydrating for quenching thirst.
- Once you’ve opened a bottle, reseal it as tightly as possible to minimize oxygen exposure.
- People who are well-hydrated usually have regular bowel movements.
- Dehydration can occur in POTS because the condition interferes with your ability to retain fluids.
Peanuts, blueberries and cranberries also have some resveratrol. It’s not yet known whether eating grapes or other foods promotes heart health the way drinking red wine might. And it’s not known how much resveratrol is needed to protect the heart. The amount of resveratrol in food and red wine can vary widely. O’Keefe wasn’t surprised that the best results came from the group drinking red wine—which had resveratrol levels 13-fold higher than the white wine, according to the study. “Partly it’s the benefits of the alcohol, but red wine also contains a lot of unique antioxidants that are hard to get other places,” O’Keefe says.
Why Does Alcohol Dehydrate You?
In people with cystic fibrosis, mutations in a gene called the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) damage the CFTR protein. When this protein is dysfunctional, it cannot move chloride, a component of salt, to the cell surface. Without chloride to attract water to the cell surface, the mucus in various organs becomes thick and sticky. In celiac disease, gluten promotes an immune response that attacks the villi (small fingerlike projections that line your small intestine), which are responsible for nutrient absorption. Damaged villi can increase your risk of malabsorption (an inability to absorb minerals and vitamins from your food). Whether you’re popping a bottle to celebrate a big event or just celebrating Wine Wednesday at home, there’s nothing like that first sip of a well-aged pinot noir or a crisp sauvignon blanc in its prime.
Causes of dehydration
- A 2020 study notes that dehydration may increase glucagon, a hormone used to maintain glucose or sugar levels in the blood.
- Not only does drinking alcohol while exercising increase the risk of injury, but it also can exacerbate dehydration related to physical activity.
- The most common symptoms of alcohol dehydration include thirst, a dry mouth, headaches, muscle aches or cramps, fatigue, and dark-colored urine.
- Those who drink regular, limited amounts of alcohol, including red wine, seem to have a lower risk of heart disease.
- Scientists believe that if you have a family history of misusing alcohol, you have a 50% chance of being prone to alcohol abuse and addiction.
This precaution extends to those planning to get pregnant and to those who are breastfeeding. In a few studies of people with slightly elevated blood pressure, red wine extract lowered readings. The studies concluded that the polyphenols in red wine were responsible.
IV Treatments or Drinking Water: What’s the Best Treatment for You?
Alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, and liquor, can change your body’s fluid balance by reducing the secretion of vasopressin, a hormone involved in the regulation of urine output (6, 7, 8, 9). A small study in 10 people found that consuming 537 mg of caffeine, or about 6 cups of coffee, significantly increased urine production. Meanwhile, consuming 269 mg of caffeine, or about 3 cups of coffee, didn’t affect fluid balance (3, 4). Besides dehydration, alcohol can have other negative effects on the body. For this reason, a person should drink alcohol in moderation and avoid binge-drinking or chronic heavy drinking.
Nutrition Facts of Alcohol
If you’ve been drinking and are experiencing alcohol dehydration symptoms, you need to restore your body’s fluid balance. Here’s how to rehydrate properly and recover from alcohol dehydration. Learning to listen to your body, recognizing the signs of dehydration, and drinking plenty of water during the day can also ensure you’re meeting your fluid needs. Interestingly, a review of 49 studies even reported that caffeinated energy drinks, wine, and spirits can all significantly increase urine production (14).
If you are a nondrinker, health experts do not recommend that you start drinking alcohol. But if you enjoy alcohol in moderation, red wine is worth considering. The findings build off previous findings about the potential health benefits of drinking red wine — at least compared to the benefits of drinking other types of alcohol. That makes beer the clear contender as the least dehydrating, with a big caveat. As important as alcohol content may be, even more important is how much you drink in a given sitting. Drink too many beers too quickly, and you’ll end up as dehydrated as you would taking a shot at the bar.
Other health benefits of drinking red wine
Even though we often drink more beer in a sitting than wine, wine’s higher alcohol strength still nudges it ahead in the dehydration stakes when you compare equal alcohol volumes. Resveratrol, a polyphenol in red wine, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties and may reduce the risk of cancer by discouraging cancer cell growth. Although more human studies are needed to confirm this effect, early research on resveratrol in wine has shown its cardiovascular benefits. It’s possible, however, that compounds other than resveratrol in red wine are responsible for a lower risk of certain cancers, including colon and prostate cancer. Red wine is an alcoholic drink with a deep red color that comes from dark-colored grapes. To produce red wine, winemakers ferment crushed grapes, including the grape skin.
- There are also many dessert wines that are made from dried grapes, providing a deep sweetness.
- It is important for a person to be aware of the signs and symptoms of alcohol-induced dehydration and the ways to avoid it.
- Although the kidneys remove waste products, most of the water loss is due to the effect of vasopressin.
- However, when too much salt is lost, as occurs in cystic fibrosis, you may not feel thirsty even if you have lost a lot of body fluid.
- When necessary, IV treatments are prescribed by a healthcare provider and administered by a medical professional trained in inserting an IV and monitoring your response to treatment.
This is likely because of the interaction of sugar and water within the cells. Higher sugar intake causes the cells in the body to transfer does alcohol dehydrate you more water and increase urination. Drinking 2–3 cups of coffee a day may be an acceptable practice to maintain moderate coffee consumption.
Many drinkers, especially those who drink heavily, which is defined as eight or more alcoholic drinks in a week in women and 15 or more in men, underreport their alcohol consumption. While some studies have shown the health benefits of drinking red wine, you should weigh the benefits against the risks and keep in mind the dangers of alcohol abuse. Antioxidants are important for maintaining good health because they protect your cells from damage. The antioxidants found in wine are polyphenols, which are compounds found in plants. One polyphenol in red wine that is of interest to scientists is resveratrol, which may have benefits including protection for your brain, heart, and body. As a result, the extra sugar passes into your urine along with extra fluid, making you urinate more frequently.