# Is there enough water in beer to keep me hydrated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 19, 2002, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714 "2002-12-19T01:59:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/1 "2002-12-19T01:59:51Z")
If I were to only drink beer, nothing else (I’m not going to do this) would there be enough water in it to keep me hydrated? We all know that booze diuretic, so of course it will make you go, but…well, you get the gist of my question. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/2 "2002-12-19T02:05:30Z")
I think it would become a losing proposition after a while, because whatever you took in would go out of you very quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/3 "2002-12-19T02:10:16Z")
What about all those people who would drink (weak) beer in the time when the water supply was pretty filthy? Admittedly, they might very well have all died of dehydration, for all I know. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/4 "2002-12-19T02:24:55Z")
Only if it’s lite beer. Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D. writes in the January 2003 issue of _Running Journal_: “While low-alcohol beer allows for proper rehydration, regular beer sends athletes running to the bathroom. One study showed that athletes who drank beer eliminated about 16 ounces more urine (over the course of four hours) than those who drink low-alcohol (two percent) beer or alcohol-free beer. (Sherreffs. \* J. Appl Physiol \* 83 (40:1152,1997).” ---
**Author:** ![roadrunner70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@roadrunner70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roadrunner70)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/5 "2002-12-19T02:29:17Z")
Please, Dr. Somebody, come along and straighten this out. I don’t know the specifics, but I’m sure the answer is NO. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/6 "2002-12-19T03:52:01Z")
After countless dry mouth, dry heave, dead ass hangover mornings I can certainly attest to the fact that you loose more than you take in. Why else would I piss a thousand times and still wake up in need of two gallons of water to get myself hydrated? Case closed. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/7 "2002-12-19T07:50:51Z")
From: [http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/ALCOHOL/HP9045EffectsofAlcoholontheBody.pdf](http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/ALCOHOL/HP9045EffectsofAlcoholontheBody.pdf) > [@](#): > > Some studies show that for every 100 mL of full-strength beer consumed the kidney will expel 200 mL of fluid through urination. Best I could come up with. It’s not a direct reference, and only says “some studies show”, but it’s from a reasonably reputable source. OTOH, I’ve heard from other reputable sources that it’s closer to 1:1, not 1:2. Just can’t find anything to back that up yet. ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/8 "2002-12-19T08:36:23Z")
This site: [http://www.nutrition.org.uk/conferences/keyfacts/beverages.htm](http://www.nutrition.org.uk/conferences/keyfacts/beverages.htm) says > [@](#): > > Alcohol has a more potent diuretic effect and 1g is sufficient to increase urine output by approximately 10ml If that’s correct, you’d need to drink around 20 mL of full-strength beer to increase urine output by 10 mL. If that’s the case then there _is_ sufficient water in beer to keep you hydrated. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/9 "2002-12-19T15:50:17Z")
I remember reading that to compensate for the water used to metabolize the alcohol and the water lost from the diuretic effect, one would have to drink 8 oz. of water for every 12 oz. of beer to break even. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2002, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-enough-water-in-beer-to-keep-me-hydrated/143714/10 "2002-12-19T16:09:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Celyn \* > \*\*What about all those people who would drink (weak) beer in the time when the water supply was pretty filthy? Admittedly, they might very well have all died of dehydration, for all I know. \*\* ‘Small beer’ was widely consumed in days before safe sources of drinking water were available; it was only mildly alcoholic though, but since making it involved boiling the water, it was quite safe to drink. In 1849, there was an epidemic of cholera in London; John Snow noticed that the cases were clustered around a water pump in Broad street, but there were no deaths among the workers of a nearby brewery, because the workers drank only beer.