coffee

[flash]

I have a question about coffee. I know coffee dehydrates you because it is a diuretic which means that it extracts moisture from your body's tissues.

What I don't know, though, is whether this is because of the caffeine or not. More specifically, does decaffeinated coffee have the same diuretic effect or not?

Anybody know the answer?

 

[Drew Sailbum]

Coffee undoubtably has a myriad of organic chemicals floating around in that water. Caffeine is by far the best known of those, and I assume is the chemical with the greatest diuretic effect. I don't know about the effects of those other chemicals, but coffee has many times the amount of caffeine of the typical can of soda.

Decaffeinated coffees have much of the natural caffeine removed by various processing. But what I have read indicates there is still some small amount of caffeine.

My doctor strongly urged me to give up caffeine. He started telling me what to avoid, and specifically said that decaffeinated coffee was not acceptable for me to drink. ;-0

This would have been a killer for many people, but I never got the coffee habit to begin with.

 

[BillP]

Hey flash:

It is my personal opinion that the diuretic effect of coffee is frequently overstated by divers. Yes it is the caffeine in coffee that is a diuretic. But it is a fairly weak diuretic. Unless you're drinking some pretty darn strong coffee, you are still taking in more fluid with the coffee than you are peeing out due to its caffeine. For more info, take a look at this thread:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=7493

The decaffeinated coffee that I have in my kitchen cabinet is "99.7% caffeine free". That would mean it still has some caffeine in it as Drew said, but much less than regular "caffeinated" coffee. It should therefore have less of a diuretic effect.

HTH,

Bill

 

[lakesdiver]

And, may I add, if you drink 100% arabica coffee (rather than those hills bros./maxwell house/folger/etc blends) you're getting something like 1/2 the caffeine of the "blends".


Besides, it tastes better.

 

[flash]

Thanks all for good info.

BillP--thanks for that thread.

 

[Rick Murchison]

Originally posted by BillP
It is my personal opinion that the diuretic effect of coffee is frequently overstated by divers.

Thank you Doc... you've made my day. I happen to enjoy a really good robust, strong cup of coffee, and I've never noticed any kind of strong diuretic effect from it, despite all the hype in the literature.
Rick

 

[Ron Brandt]

Gotta have a coffee on the way to the dive site , other wise my students might have the upper hand !

Ron

 

[pasley]

Not a doctor or anything else qualified to comment. I just know the following personal observations:
1. Coffee or coke in at 08:00 a.m.
2. Water out at 09:00 a.m.

Sugar is a strong diaretic. This makes coke even worse than coffee as it has both caffene and lots of sugar (over 20 teaspons by one account). This is way the US Military encouraged us to drink water and not kool-aid or soda-pop, as the sugar would cause us to loose more than we took in.

Saw this one on TV, dog was stuck in a pipe with its ear sticking up through a hole in the pipe. The ear had swollen, keeping the dog from being extracted. Vet came, applied dry table sugar to the ear. Sugar became moist though osmosis, and the swollen ear went down, dog extracted, looking rater round faced.

The ability of salt and sugar to draw out moisture is why they are both used to cure ham and other meats.

Personally the day before a dive, I drink my last cofee at breakfast (I drink it black, and never more that 4 cups for breakfast). I hydrate the rest of the day wit;h straight water. The day of the dive I drink only water. I find hot water helps me not to miss the moring coffee so much.

Bottom line, it the output is not clear, (as in yellow), then you need more water.

 

[ScubaJorgen]

Just imagine...

You pick up some beans. You burn them. You pour water onto it. You drink the water, which have turned black by now. Would that be a good idea?

Bye

PS I drink 8 cups of coffee day... :grrr:

 

[martinseymour]

Anybody know which dehydrates more.....
Always advised not to drink beer before you dive because of the dehydrating effects and the increased risk of DCS (and also being drunk in charge of a 2nd stage) but nobody ever tells you not to drink coffee and coke !
Surely the dehydration argument holds good for both ??

Cheers and down the hatch

Martin.S

P.S A friend form the Parachute regiment told me... pee clear once a day and you`re fine !!!???!!!