According to a 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 228.4 million Americans aged over 12 reported drinking alcohol at some point in their lifetime. Almost 10% of the same population reported an alcohol use disorder. While we often use it as an excuse for fun, it can quickly turn into a worrying issue if we don’t control our urge to consume our favorite beer or wine after a hard day at work.
If you’ve ever woken up after a heavy night out, you’ll be familiar with feeling worse for wear in the morning. Your head hurts, you’re tired, and you feel dizzy. That delicious bottle of water perched next to your bed becomes increasingly more vital as you fight the excessive thirst and dry mouth. Unless this is your first time reading our blog, you’ll have noticed by now that these are common symptoms of dehydration, meaning that your electrolyte levels are running low.
Understanding how alcohol affects our fluid and electrolyte levels is important to prevent potential dehydration and maintain good health. So, does alcohol dehydrate you? We’ve broken this question into its key components below.
Does Alcohol Dehydrate You?
Yes, alcohol can dehydrate you, especially when it’s consumed in large amounts. The extent of this depends on the amount and type of alcohol, alongside its water content. In this case, sticking to one type of alcohol with a higher water content can help us maintain better hydration.
So, does beer dehydrate you, and does wine dehydrate you? Well, wine and beer have very different alcohol contents, which is one of the primary factors influencing your body's response. Wine will dehydrate you more than beer due to its higher alcohol content. Wine tends to be around 11-14% ABV, while beers are typically 4-6%.
If alcohol is dehydrating, how does it actually work once we’ve consumed our favorite pint? Dehydration occurs when your body doesn’t have enough fluids and electrolytes to function normally. In this case, you lose more fluids than you take in.
Diuretics are substances that increase your urine production. This means that you’ll lose a higher volume of body water and increase the chance of dehydration occurring. Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning that when you drink it, your body removes more fluids through its renal system. This includes your kidneys and bladder.
Why Does Alcohol Dehydrate You?
We know that alcohol dehydrates you, with the level of dehydration depending on the type of drink and its alcohol content. However, what happens once you’ve taken a drink to the point you become dehydrated? Let’s take a look!
You drink on an empty stomach
After consuming an alcoholic drink, both the liquid and the alcohol content pass through your stomach lining. From here, they go into your small intestine before entering your bloodstream.
If you drink other fluids or eat while drinking alcohol, it generally takes a fairly long time to absorb. However, if you drink on an empty stomach, the alcohol can be absorbed into your bloodstream within minutes.
Alcohol builds up in your bloodstream
Alcohol can travel anywhere in your body once it’s entered your bloodstream, including your brain. This is the main reason why you feel a little crazy and your judgment is impaired when you continue drinking.
Alcohol also enters your lungs, getting released when you exhale. This is why breathalyzer tests are used to measure your blood alcohol content if someone suspects you of doing something you shouldn’t be doing while under the influence.
Alcohol is slowly metabolized by your body
The alcohol you drink is slowly metabolized in your body. Some of the alcohol you consume is turned into nutrients and energy. This happens at a rate of approximately one beer or a small glass of wine per hour.
Unless you’re drinking at the same rate (which for most of us reading probably won’t be the case), alcohol will build up in your body due to it being slowly metabolized.
Once it’s converted in your liver, it acts as a diuretic
Once the alcohol has been used for energy, it’s processed in your liver using enzymes. It’s here that it’s turned into acetaldehyde, a common substance that can become toxic in high doses. In order to break this down, your liver uses most of its energy to turn it into acetate.
Alongside this, alcohol reduces the amount of vasopressin that your body makes. This is the part that you need to be familiar with when it comes to alcohol and dehydration. Vasopressin is an antidiuretic hormone, which means that it causes your body to hold onto water. This means that it limits your urine output, allowing you to hold onto your body water content.
The fact that alcohol suppresses vasopressin is a key factor in its diuretic effect. More alcohol leads to less vasopressin, which leads to dehydration.
The components of alcohol are flushed from your body
Now that the alcohol has been metabolized and processed, your body starts to remove the waste products. Acetate and other potentially harmful waste products are removed as carbon dioxide and water, primarily through your lungs.
Your kidneys do remove most of these waste products. However, most of the water loss is due to the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin.
During this removal process, water is flushed out much faster than the alcohol can be processed. Unless you continue to replenish your body’s water supply, your BAC will increase significantly.
What To Do If You’re Dehydrated?
We might not be able to escape feeling rough after a night out with our friends. However, we can implement some healthy habits to counteract the dehydration and start to feel better. Here’s what to do.
Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods
Consuming nutrient-dense, whole foods offers a natural and effective way to restore and maintain your electrolyte balance following a heavy night out. Electrolyte-rich foods are high in sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, all key electrolytes that help maintain proper body functioning.
Remember, you don’t need to overcomplicate things. Eat a balanced meal consisting of a wide variety of colors. For example, bananas and avocados contain lots of potassium, leafy greens and dairy provide calcium, while nuts and seeds are full of magnesium. Lightly salting your meal can also help replenish your sodium levels.
Adding water-rich foods such as cucumbers and watermelon helps deliver key nutrients while helping with rehydration. Prioritize these foods, and you’ll be well on your way to recovery.
Consume Electrolyte Drinks
Electrolyte beverages and commercial sports drinks provide convenient ways to replenish your electrolytes and top up your fluid levels. Stick with a natural daily intake while monitoring signs of dehydration when working out your daily intake.
Many of them are specifically formulated to contain a good balance of key electrolytes such as sodium and potassium. Others are naturally high in the electrolytes that can benefit us when we’re feeling down.
These are the electrolyte-rich drinks to focus on:
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Coconut Water – The clear liquid found inside a coconut. It contains several key electrolytes and is naturally low in sugar.
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Fruit Juices – These provide excellent sources of potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus. Some good examples include orange juice, cherry juice, and watermelon juice.
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Commercial Sports Drinks – You’ll find these at your local supermarket and see your favorite athletes or influencers sipping on their chosen brand. While high in added sugars, they provide a convenient electrolyte-rich solution.
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Smoothies – Besides tasting amazing, smoothies offer an excellent mix of electrolyte-rich foods. Focus on whole food sources and use our favorite electrolyte drink recipes.
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Milk – As a liquid designed to bring a cow up from birth, it's no surprise that it's highly nutritious. It's high in calcium, sodium, potassium, and contains essential macronutrients.
Consider Electrolyte Supplements
Pre-made electrolyte powders like the ones we make here at DASH Hydrate provide highly practical rehydration solutions at a fraction of the cost of most commercial drinks. They can be added to water or other liquids to provide rehydration and get you feeling better in no time.
Here’s an example. Our Strawberry Electrolyte Powder contains:
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240 milligrams of sodium
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210 milligrams of potassium
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50 milligrams of magnesium
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493 milligrams of chloride
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100 milligrams of vitamin C (11% of your DRV)
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300 micrograms of vitamin B12 (12,500 % of your DRV)
It’s sugar-free and comes in two other exciting flavors. Whether you’re a first responder working hard or an average Joe who’s simply woken up after enjoying some time with your friends, our DASH Hydrate electrolyte packets offer a solid rehydration aid. Try them immediately upon waking the next morning, or before you go to bed if you’re not too busy tucking into your favorite takeaway!
Wrapping Things Up
We all deserve to enjoy one or two drinks from time to time. We might even have several more on a weekend after a hard week at work or simply to enjoy some time with those whom we love. However, consuming alcohol leads to dehydration, which affects our normal body functioning.
Pay attention to how your body responds to alcohol, monitoring the common dehydration symptoms discussed above. Implement some of our handy rehydration methods, and above all, drink safely and responsibly!
