Do cola drinks really make one thirty thirsty?

No, cola drinks won’t make you thirsty, but cola does count as liquid just like water does. I don’t think you are planning on increasing your soft drink intake, but in case you were, don’t. It’s tons of sugar as you know (although you said diet coke) and other stuff in there that block absorption of minerals. I’m not being preachy about soda, I think in moderation it isn’t a horrible, thing, but it certainly isn’t something you want to drink a ton of.

If you want to try giving it up that would be a good thing. Just remember the caffeine.

I know Cola counts as a liquid. And what’s there to remember about the caffeine? Today I have a 32 oz thing of tea from Sonic and don’t plan to refill it with water. I’m doing well, I think. We’ll find out when I go in for blood work next week.

I believe that soft drinks are loaded with sodium and, yes, do make people thirsty. A small serving or a few sips might not have any effect, but sodas are often gulped in large quantities.

Looks like it has about 3% of the daily recommended sodium suggestion. I wouldn’t call that “loaded.”

@Dutchess_III If you reduce your diet coke consumption then remember you will withdraw off of the caffeine unless you replace it with somethng else with caffeine. Tea, would suffice as a replacement.

Oh, people will try to tell you tea or coffee is dehydrating and it is something to be ignored in my opinion. The way we (Americans especially) drink tea, especially iced tea, and coffee, there is too much liquid in the drink to talk about any of the dieuretic properties, salts or sugar (unless you are diabetic). You said you drink diet, so the sugar is not a factor anyway.

I had caffeine withdrawal once. When I got pregnant with my first baby I quit coffee cold turkey. I had a headache for 3 days but didn’t associate it with quitting coffee so I didn’t know what to do about it. I remember thinking it was odd because, in general, I don’t ever get headaches.
Since then I rarely drink much coffee. Only picked it up again when Rick and I got together. Now I drink less than a cup a day. And what is Espiritus_Covus DOING up there?? He’s flashing in and out like a strobe light!

@SadieMartinPaul “I believe that soft drinks are loaded with sodium and, yes, do make people thirsty.”

Quite the contrary. Soft drinks are actually rather low in sodium.

There’s Espiritus_Corvus again, flashing in and out! He’s following me!

Cola cannot quench my thirst in humid, 90+ degree weather. Even on ice, it’s like drinking syrup. Water is what I crave in that weather. Maybe with a lemon or lime wedge to freshen it. Every once in a while I’ll over do it on deck in this sun, get a little dizzy, get shaky at the tiller, then chug something iced with sugar and electrolytes in it and the symptoms disappear almost instantly. But I prefer water in this heat and lots of it, and fruit juices at night.

@Dutchess_III It’s my damn SatComms. They’ve been worthless on this latest trip—in and out. That little missive above took about 45 minutes to get through.

That’s true @Espiritus_Corvus. Beer doesn’t quench my thirst either. Just water. And lemonade. But mostly water and LOTS of it. I remember playing in the heat for hours as a kid, then coming in and chugging about 5 glasses of water without taking a breath. It was heavenly.

Thank you for sticking it out @Espiritus_Corvus. I always look forward to your responses!

@Dutchess_III Were you drinking all that water daily because you were thirsty? Or, because you had the idea you needed to drink a lot of water for your health?

Well, trying to figure that out now. I think I was doing it because I thought it was healthy for me. But I’ve been doing it for so many years it’s become a habit that’s hard to break. I’m drinking less now, and I think I feel a little thirsty but…maybe that’s just my body withdrawing. Is that even possible?

Any drink containing caffeine (like most cola drinks) are diuretics and cause you to be thirsty. Also, the sugar doesn’t help.

I mostly avoid sugar. I’ve heard that caffeine is a diuretic but this disputes that.

“Regular coffee and tea drinkers become accustomed to caffeine and lose little, if any, fluid. In a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha measured how different combinations of water, coffee and caffeinated sodas affected the hydration status of 18 healthy adults who drink caffeinated beverages routinely.

“We found no significant differences at all,” says nutritionist Ann Grandjean, the study’s lead author. “The purpose of the study was to find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking normal amounts of it. It is not.

The same goes for tea, juice, milk and caffeinated sodas: One glass provides about the same amount of hydrating fluid as a glass of water. The only common drinks that produce a net loss of fluids are those containing alcohol — and usually it takes more than one of those to cause noticeable dehydration, doctors say.

I heard that a boy drank cola every day and finally all his teeth fell out.

Um @CocoSmith Well, if he never brushed them the of course they’d fall out, whether he drank cola or not. I drink cola every day. I have no problem with my teeth.