Do fizzy drinks relieve your thirst?

cleremy jarkson

For me, they don't.

Human beings only evolved to drink water (and, as babies, breast-milk) so it doesn't surprise me that my brain is calibrated to notice that the fizzy sweet liquid passing from a metal can down my throat does not hydrate my body to the same extent as pure water does.

The worst drinks for this are: club lemon and pepsi max.

Billy86

No

A cold can of Club Orange* or something similar I find far more thirst quenching on a hot day, or when eating a meal - for some reason if I drink just water when I am thirsty (apart from after/during exercise) it leaves my mouth feeling drier than before no matter how much I drink. Although obviously yeah, plain water does more to rehydrate you in the long run.

Most soft drinks though (Coke especially in my opinion) are designed to make you thirstier 30 seconds down the line so you keep going back for more.

*Is it just me, or has this stuff taken a significant turn for the worse in the last five-or-so years?

rubberdiddies

if I'm really thirsty i'll always choose water over a fizzy drink, because I find that not too long after drinking a can of coke for example I'm thirsty again.

I presume the sugar content has something to do with making you thirsty as I'd always be thirsty after a bar of chocolate or sweets also.

moonflower

No

I find Club Orange relieves my thirst and some other fizzy drinks work too. A lot of them, mainly Sprite and Fanta, make me much thirstier.

olaola

No

When I'm really thirsty, or hungover - fizzy is really the only option for me.
Cold beer, Lilt, *fizzy* fizzy water, Coke Zero, Rock Shandy...

youcancallmeal

The funny thing is most soft drinks such as Coke, Pepsi, Sprite etc are actually diuretics which means they will actually make you more dehydrated and thirsty!

kenmc

I find that fizzy water sorts out my thirstiness better than still does. drink a lot if it at home, bought a soda stream machine recently to save buying and dumping so many plastic bottles

Faith

I prefer isotonic drinks to quench my thirst, but when I'm hungover, fizzy drinks sometimes work for me.

The Hill Billy

As Faith said - isotonic drinks are good thirst quenchers. As is a pint bottle of Bulmers over a pint glass of ice.

Mr Simpson

Nope as much as i like them i need to have a glass of water if i'm thirsty.

the beer revolu

I remember, as a kid, we would spend the whole day out in a boat with nothing to drink but maybe a 2l bottle of cidona or lilt between about 4 of us.
Now, I imagine a horrible death of slow dehydration if I'm cut off from water, and lots of it, for more than an hour!!
How did we survive our childhoods?

ZuluPunch

Cuppa black tea or just plain water seem to work best for me

hillbilly999

For me they do but they are really addictive

Tar.Aldarion

No

They do and taste so good. Just not as well as water!

WindSock

An ice cold glass of Coke is the best thing for me for a hangover, unless I have been drinking it as a mixer the night before. Water makes me feel more quesy.

Herb Powell

Yeah, the sugar in them dries out you cells, due to osmosis. I think. Anyway, it is scientifically proven sugary drinks do make you more thirsty

rubadub

No

youcancallme>al wrote: »

The funny thing is most soft drinks such as Coke, Pepsi, Sprite etc are actually diuretics which means they will actually make you more dehydrated and thirsty!

Coke & pepsi have caffeine which is a diuretic, but it is quite a low dose compared to the likes of coffee -and though coffee is diuretic studies have shown it is not supposed to dehydrate you, i.e. the liquid intake from the coffee more than offsets any diuretic effect.

AFAIK Sprite has no caffeine or diuretics in it.

LimeFruitGum

I never drink fizzy drinks at work as they always give me the hiccups. Strangely, that doesn't happen when they're added to vodka or rum:D
I keep tonic water or ginger ale at home, but they're just for mixing purposes :cool:
I do like Coke, but I'll only buy it if I get a massive, persistent craving for it. And it has to be really cold!

Lantus

Theres no real benefit to fizzy drinks, even the sugar free variety's are sweet which enhance your craving for more sweet things and they all leach calcium from your bones, so regular consumption is great for anyone wanting to increase the risk of osteoporosis. fill your stomach with gas, need I go on?

rubadub

No

Lantus wrote: »

they all leach calcium from your bones

Have you any info on this? I have heard phosphoric acid can do this but it is usually only found in colas, most others have citric acid which I have actually heard could be good for the bones as it is supposed to have an alkalising effect on the body. But I am not certain, if you have any studies please post them.