# Dying of dehydration and I find a beer. Should I drink it? (alcohol dehydrates you)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 28, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090 "2021-05-28T14:05:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/1 "2021-05-28T14:05:19Z")
I am lost in the desert and dying of dehydration. I come across a beer. Will the water in the beer help me more than the alcohol in the beer hurts me in this circumstance?
What about wine?
Vodka?
Everclear?
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### Author:  [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/2 "2021-05-28T14:12:22Z")
Yes, beer is mostly water and won’t dehydrate you.
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### Author:  [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/3 "2021-05-28T14:19:56Z")
Having only the memory of the best beer I ever had (an ice-cold one after finishing 18 holes of golf and being really thirsty) to guide me, I looked for reliable sources on the matter (excluding sites like [geeIhaveahangover.com](http://geeIhaveahangover.com) which predominate).
Here’s one suggesting that in a pinch, relatively low-alcohol drinks will at least keep you from dying of thirst.
> **[On a desert island, would it be better to drink wine or go thirsty?](https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/on-a-desert-island-would-it-be-better-to-drink-wine-or-go-thirsty/)**
>
> It's not a mirage, it's a bottle of wine floating ashore... and it might just help keep you alive!
Another challenges the idea that booze has a terrible effect on your fluid balance:
> **[Does Alcohol Really Cause Dehydration? Alcohol & Dehydration](https://zbiotics.com/blogs/journal/alcohol-and-dehydration)**
>
> Ethanol and acetaldehyde cause a tangle of issues your body has to deal with when you drink. But does alcohol really cause dehydration? See here.
I’d think that guzzling Everclear would probably hasten one’s death from dehydration in the desert, but beer could be a lifesaver.
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### Author:  [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/4 "2021-05-28T14:56:26Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> I’d think that guzzling Everclear would probably hasten one’s death from dehydration in the desert, but beer could be a lifesaver.
Well I think you might get into the territory where drinking enough Everclear to get you the water you need would give you alcohol poisoning. But from that second link:
> Basically, when you spend a night drinking alcohol, _you pee just one extra time compared to if you were spending the night drinking water_ .
> So unless you are not getting that extra micturation worth of water in through your drinks, they might dehydrate you, but if they’re low enough in alcohol that you could just maintain a buzz until you are rescued, just keep drinking, bud!
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### Author:  [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/5 "2021-05-28T16:03:34Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#):
>
> Here’s one suggesting that in a pinch, relatively low-alcohol drinks will at least keep you from dying of thirst.
Alcohol gets metabolized down to water and carbon dioxide, so it’s perfectly fine to stay hydrated with beer. With liquor it would probably be difficult to drink enough to stay hydrated without suffering from alcohol poisoning first.
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/6 "2021-05-28T16:26:12Z")
I thought alcohol was a diuretic which made you expel more water than you get by drinking it.
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### Author:  [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/7 "2021-05-28T16:34:48Z")
From everything I’ve ever read that is just not true. Alcohol is a diuretic but water hydrates you, most commonly consumed alcoholic drinks are primarily water, and the hydrating effects of a solution that is 93-95% water (for beer) or 80-85% water (for wine) are going to be more significant than the minor diuretic effect of the alcohol in those drinks. Liquor might even still be more hydrating than is the diuretic effect of the alcohol, but actually getting “enough” hydration from liquor would be really hard because the high alcohol content means you’d suffer probably fatal alcohol poisoning if you tried to solely use liquor to hydrate.
I’ve seen some rough figures like “one unit of alcohol will cause you to lose upward of four units of water”, but even if that ratio is correct, a solution like beer which is frequently 95% or more water, would definitely be hydrating.
If you drink a lot of beer or wine you’ll get hungover and be sick, which is another problem.
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### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/8 "2021-05-28T16:39:53Z")
If it’s resolved that beer is better than nothing, is beer better than water? Suppose you’re on an island with no food, but you can either have unlimited clean, fresh water, or unlimited clean, fresh beer. Which would keep you alive longer? Beer has calories, so presumably you’d starve less quickly. But would the alcohol kill you in some other way, drinking so much of it?
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### Author:  [@MonkeysBrother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeysBrother)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/9 "2021-05-28T16:40:45Z")
Yes, alcohol is a diuretic because it suppresses vasopressin (also known as anti-diuretic hormone (ADH)). Vasopressin signals your kidneys to hold onto water. But the effect isn’t huge. Here’s a study that suggests that drinking stronger alcoholic beverages results in a mild, temporary diuresis. Beer? Not so much. So, go ahead and drink the beer.
> **[The Diuretic Action of Weak and Strong Alcoholic Beverages in Elderly Men: A...](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5537780/)**
>
> With ageing, there is a greater risk of dehydration. This study investigated the diuretic effect of alcoholic beverages varying in alcohol concentration in elderly men. Three alcoholic beverages (beer (AB), wine (AW), and spirits (S)) and their...
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### Author:  [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/10 "2021-05-28T16:42:40Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#):
>
> From everything I’ve ever read that is just not true. Alcohol is a diuretic but water hydrates you, most commonly consumed alcoholic drinks are primarily water, and the hydrating effects of a solution that is 93-95% water (for beer) or 80-85% water (for wine) are going to be more significant than the minor diuretic effect of the alcohol in those drinks.
The same is true of coffee and caffeinated drinks. They might make you pee more, but the _net_ effect is not dehydrating.
> Drinking caffeine-containing beverages as part of a normal lifestyle doesn’t cause fluid loss in excess of the volume ingested. While caffeinated drinks may have a mild diuretic effect — meaning that they may cause the need to urinate — they don’t appear to increase the risk of dehydration.
[Caffeine: Is it dehydrating or not? - Mayo Clinic](https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/caffeinated-drinks/faq-20057965#)
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### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/11 "2021-05-28T17:07:47Z")
Seawater is mostly water but you don’t want to drink it. It will kill you faster than not drinking it.
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### Author:  [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/12 "2021-05-28T17:14:52Z")
That’s due to the sodium content. Sodium ions can’t be metabolized any further, so they have to be excreted along with water. In the case of seawater, the amount of water required to adequately dilute it is greater than the amount originally present. Beer doesn’t have any significant amount of sodium or any other substance which has to be excreted as is, so that isn’t of concern. In fact, the opposite tends to be the case. Hard core alcoholics sometimes don’t get enough sodium in their diet due to drinking just beer or wine and ignoring their food intake, leading to low sodium levels.
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### Author:  [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/13 "2021-05-28T19:00:12Z")
I would drink the beer, especially if its cold and a IPA, however if you opened it and left the bottle/can in the hot sand for a bit some of the alcohol would evaporate.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/14 "2021-05-28T19:20:13Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> Suppose you’re on an island with no food, but you can either have unlimited clean, fresh water, or unlimited clean, fresh beer. Which would keep you alive longer?
Interesting question. Medieval monks brewed doppelbocks as “liquid bread” to get them through periods of fasting. A quick check shows Celebrator Doppelbock has roughly 1 cal/1 ml (actually about 80% of that) so if you don’t exert yourself on that desert island. It takes roughly 1 liter/day of water to keep you alive under those circumstances, so you’re good there.
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### Author:  [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/15 "2021-05-28T19:36:57Z")
This guy has given up everything but beer for lent for the last couple of years.
[Link](https://www.foodandwine.com/news/ohio-man-all-beer-diet-fudraiser)
Your doctor may not approve.
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### Author:  [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/16 "2021-05-28T19:56:25Z")
> [@kanicbird](#):
>
> if you opened it and left the bottle/can in the hot sand for a bit some of the alcohol would evaporate.
Wouldn’t the water evaporate too?
ETA: I guess the alcohol would evaporate faster than the water. Maybe.
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### Author:  [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/17 "2021-05-28T20:35:17Z")
Alcohol does evaporate faster than water, but it’s not like all of the alcohol evaporates, then all of the water. You’ll end up with a weaker beer, but also less of it.
And I don’t think that the fact that sodium can’t be metabolized is relevant to seawater’s dehydrating effect, as the dehydration happens before anything would get a chance to be metabolize: Ordinarily, water in your intestines gets absorbed through the intestine walls into the bloodstream, but when the water concentration is low enough (because the concentration of something else, like salt, is high enough), water instead passes through the intestinal wall the other way, to dilute the seawater. And this effect should occur with any solute.
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### Author:  [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/18 "2021-05-28T21:32:15Z")
> [@FastDan1](#):
>
> Your doctor may not approve.
No. But your priest might. 😆
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### Author:  [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2021, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/19 "2021-05-28T21:37:15Z")
When I visited Death Valley National Park, I was surprised to learn that there were no water fountains inside the park boundaries (none, at least, that I could find), so I was forced to scrape by with the large case of beer I got from Costco before entering the park.
I found that it _did_ hydrate me somewhat, but obviously not as effectively as water. It basically did the bare minimum to prevent me from dying of dehydration during my hikes. I went to the bathroom fewer times than I expected, and my urine was consistently darker in color. It’s a good thing I visited in the winter, because in the summer I probably would’ve died even with all that beer.
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### Author:  [@EdwardFound](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdwardFound)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2021, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090/20 "2021-05-29T00:51:50Z")
Even if the beer is diuretic, just save the resultant and give it a second pass though the system. (And as luck would have, you now have an empty bottle.)
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dying-of-dehydration-and-i-find-a-beer-should-i-drink-it-alcohol-dehydrates-you/943090.md?page=2)