Best-Drinks-for-Hydration - GigaBrain (2024)

It definitely shouldn’t take you days to get rehydrated?? I played on tour, and I can recommend some drinks for you if you’re being serious.

But honestly, even after playing in 90 degree heat just chugging a few bottles of water should have you back to normal regarding hydration. Our bodies do an incredible job bouncing back. You’ll be tired unless you’re in great physical shape, but hydration wouldn’t be the issue

tldr; The best for rehydration (not necessarily taste) is Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS). You can buy them on Amazon, or simply make it from salt and sugar you have at home.

Longer response: The World Health Organization (WHO) has been in the business of determining the best formulation for rehydration. Turns out, we can kick many terrible GI illnesses (like cholera), if we can get past the acute dehydration. And when sterile saline and an IV are hard to get to, maximizing the intake of fluid orally is crucial. Thus, through empiric observations and experimentation, the WHO has fallen upon Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) as the optimal way to rehydrate someone through oral intake. ORS is a specific ratio of salt and sugar that enhances the amount of water that can be absorbed through the GI tract.

After longer runs (8+ miles), Ill typically make some of this or use a preformed packet of ORS bought on Amazon. It doesn't taste like Gatorade - a little salty.

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Final fun fact: People typically don't get sick during marathon's from not hydrating enough (causing hypernatremia), but typically from overhydrating with water that does not contain enough salt (getting hyponatremia).

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Source: MD and PhD training

This study was done a few years ago.

Which drinks hydrate best with link to actual study

In case you don't want to read the whole thing here are the main findings.

The researchers ranked the 13 beverages they tested, from most hydrating to least over a four hour period. Here is how they rank:

1. Skim milk
2. Oral rehydration solutions (like Pedialyte or Liquid I.V.)
3. Full fat milk
4. Orange juice
5. Cola
6. Diet Cola
7. Cold tea
8. Tea
9. Sports drink
10. Still water
11. Sparkling water
12. Lager
13. Coffee

It’s not necessarily the best drink for hydration, but the sugar makes it good for high intensity activity like sports. That kind of physical drain on the body is pretty much the only time that sugary foods and drinks are helpful instead of excessive when it comes to nutritional value.

This is why trail mix has M&Ms and Cliff Bars are high in sugar as well. Accessible, fast energy replenishment.

As /u/-DarknessFalls- says, it is a real thing. But there is a huge caveat there:

Soldiers, laborers and professional athletes working in the heat get dehydrated. A bit of acid, salt and sugars help the body absorb the water faster, but also replenish the salts you are losing through your sweat.

Famine victims and people suffering from prolonged diarrhea also get dehydrated. The same tactic is used to treat them. In those applications it is called Oral Re-hydration Therapy or ORT.

Now for the caveat: Almost no one else needs to use such products. You are not going to get dehydrated working in an office, or doing a light 1/2 hr work out at the gym. You merely get thirsty. And there is no need for fast replenishment either. Simply drinking water or fruit juices is sufficient to supply the fluids you need. (not anything with caffeine or guarana root in it, those are diuretics, leaving you with less body fluid than you started. )

Short version: They do work, and work exactly as described. But they are treating a condition you probably don't have.

Water.

Coffee will dehydrate you, tea too technically but it takes way more

Sports drinks are tasty but the added electrolytes are to help when you're sweaty, it won't help more than water will for a relatively sedentary DM sesh

Sodas are liquid sugar, delicious but unhelpful in the long run.

Cool filtered tap water is my top choice

Mix water in with your favorite drinks. Increase the water by 25% every month.

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If you could do it all in one go, you'd have done it, so better to take four or five months to make permanent changes than waiting around for your brain to suddenly want something it's never wanted before.

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My mother hated the taste of water, and wouldn't drink more than a few cups a day. I freaked out on her many times about it, and she eventually realized that she'd always seen water as a punishment drink. Now she likes it and finally drinks more.

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I used to drink AT LEAST 2 liters of Diet co*ke a day. Yes, you read that right. At least. I would occasionally wake up in the middle of the night and have a small glass. I was a true addict.

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As I got further into adulthood, I realized that it would cause health issues eventually, and started quitting. Cold turkey didn't work for me either, so I just started forcing myself to buy less, and drink less. It really took me more than a year, but I literally didn't drink ANY soda for years. Now, I can drink soda all I want - which is no more than a few times a month.

If I can do it, you can do it!!

My 2L hip pack does me well for most rides. My 3L pack for longer rides.

Make sure you're not starting your ride at a deficit. You should be drinking water before your ride, so that you're not thirsty to start off.

Some type of electrolyte might help you-- salts are important.

Sports nutritionist here... Though my speciality is more on endurance sports (marathons and cycling).

First, gatorade is essentially a marketing gimmick. Any beverage with enough electrolytes to really help would taste like sh*t. Gatorade has barely any.

Sodium, Potassium, Magnesium, and Calcium are the big ones that you need to constantly replenish. The key is making sure you get those in the right ratio to balance each other.

I really like electrolytes in capsule form, because they're easy to have with you all the time, just swallow them with a bottle of water, and you can measure EXACT dosages (and they are balanced correctly). I really like a product called "Rapid Rehydr8" (Amazon has it)... For endurance athletes, 2 capsules 20 minutes before starting.. and then 2 more every 30 minutes seems to work great for most people. (each "serving" should be taken with 5 to 12oz of water, depending on how much you're sweating).

I would assume tennis players need less than half what a marathoner or cyclist would be using.. But you'll need to experiment. Every person is different. Every sport is different.

It's amazing to be how many experienced athletes I work with who've never REALLY dove into this, and just drink lots of water (or gatorade)....... Once we start working on optimizing their electrolyte intake, their performance AND endurance both go through the roof.

Water is cheaper yes ;)

Liquid iv taste nasty but thats me, you have to try it for yourself. It is also pricey

I tried liquid iv and it works about as good as gatorade.

I never had any problem with just ice water too

checks top comment, hoping it's co*ke zero

f*ck