Somebody heard from the person who does her facials that carbonated water is not hydrating. That for every glass of carbonated liquid you drink you have to drink a glass of non-carbonated water to get the hydrating effects of water. Any truth to that? Sounds crazy to me, and I hope the answer isn’t yes.
— Bubbles in Portland
Dear Bubbles,
I don’t think there’s any truth to this. There was some concern about carbonation leaching calcium out of bones and contributing to osteoporosis, but this has since been disproved. That person may have been thinking of some research done on the dehydrating effects of caffeinated beverages.
Caffeine acts as a diuretic — this makes you pee. If you leave the faucet on in your kidneys, you can lose too much water and become dehydrated. It is recommended that you drink one glass of good-quality water (i.e. filtered, not from a plastic bottle, not distilled) for every caffeinated beverage you drink. Remember that caffeinated beverages can include tea and soda. Some of the “super charged” sodas currently on the market contain more caffeine than two strong cups of coffee! (The Maine state legislature recently tried banning sales of these nasty drinks to minors but the bill didn’t pass.)
Water is, in fact, nature’s best facial. Ponce de Leon tried in vain to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. He roamed all over the Caribbean, slogged through the swamps of Florida and eventually died from a poisoned arrow wound. Talk about a rough spring break! If only he had known his personal fountain of youth was all around him — good-quality water has been shown to decrease wrinkles, prevent aging spots, reduce cellular damage and help reverse risk factors for illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
How does this miracle drink do it all? We all know from our collective grandmother wisdom that it’s important to stay hydrated. Water acts as a universal lubricant, oiling all the cellular machinery that makes us run. Drain the oil out of our engines and we overheat — this is called inflammation. Inflammation, something I talk about a lot, means tissue damage, oxygen free radical production, DNA disruption, mitochondrial electron transfer chain decoupling. Trust me folks, it’s bad. A lot of the healthy things we treat ourselves to — a good diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, moderate exercise, stress reduction — serve to reduce inflammation.
So back to water. How much do we need? A lot of us have heard the old “drink 8-10 glasses every day.” But this is a myth, and may be too much water! I tell my patients to listen to their bodies. If your urine is light yellow or clear, you’re probably drinking enough. You can drink purified water, herbal tea (green is best), sparkling water (with a little fruit juice if you like) and diluted fruit juice. Eight servings of fruits and vegetables a day also gives you plenty of water. And so much cheaper than a face lift! So drink up, Bubbles, and be well.
Sean McCloy, MD, MPH, MA is the medical director at Maine Integrative Wellness in Portland. He is dual board-certified in family medicine and holistic medicine. He specializes in integrative family medicine and can be seen walking around the Old Port with his therapy dog, Hershey. Send questions for Sean to editor@themaineswitch.com.