Coffee DOES count!

 

OK, I take it back: I apologize to anyone I've ever told, that "Coffee and tea don't count toward our liquid intake, because they're diuretics."

I learned something new this week, while researching things to do about a medical condition I've been fighting for the past month, and was advised to drink plenty of fluids to flush my kidneys and gallbladder. Firstly, yes it's true that caffeine is a diuretic, so that part was never wrong. But in the course of all my searching, I've learned something new to me: Modern medical research has concluded that the fluid in your coffee or tea easily balances out the mild diuretic effect of the caffeine. It absolutely counts toward keeping you hydrated and flushing your system. Which is great news for me!

 

So drink up, enjoy your morning latte (which DOES count toward those eight glasses of water we're supposed to be drinking), and forgive me for my years of spreading old information!

Of course, as my cousin mentioned when I posted this on Facebook, fluid intake is one thing, and the effects of caffeine itself are another thing entirely. It's important to know that the FDA recommends limiting your daily caffeine to 400mg -- unless you're a fan of irregular heartbeat, chest pain, and stroke. And, of course, for those that are sensitive to it, caffeine can have adverse effects on sleep, especially when drinking it late in the day.

 

Here's a good reference from the Mayo Clinic for the curious.