What does research show about beer and body hydration?
When it’s too hot, a cold beer is often the best thing? But is it so? What does science say?
If it’s just one, a cold beer won’t hurt you.
In several studies, researchers had people exercise until they warmed up and then compared how they moved while drinking alcoholic or non-alcoholic beer. In a 1985 study of people who exercised in a hot, humid environment, as you might expect, a “peak urine output” occurred after beer, which is not a good thing. It’s not good because it indicates that the body is losing, rather than retaining, fluid. But even with alcohol-free or low-alcohol beer, the difference was quite small.
A more recent study reached similar findings. While isotonic sports drinks and plain water are more effective at rehydrating, beer has also been found to be effective at rehydrating—much more so than expected. A Spanish study in which participants had to jog for 40 minutes found that water and beer contributed equally to hydration. No one knows exactly why this happens, but we do know that drinking beer increases the frequency of urination. One hypothesis is that the body is dehydrated and needs fluids. holds more liquid than beer compared to other drinks.
All of these studies were small and didn’t specifically look at body temperature, so they don’t prove that beer cools. But they show that one or maybe two small beers will hydrate you more than dehydrate you. So an ice