This Type Of Cocktail Won't Dehydrate You Like All The Rest
After a night out enjoying a few drinks with a few friends, we sometimes pay the price the next morning. Your body somehow manages to wake you up early, and as our eyes groggily adjust to the sunlight, all we can think about is chugging the nearest glass of water. The reason we tend to feel so thirsty after drinking is because alcohol dehydrates us. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcohol blocks the brain's release of vasopressin, a hormone whose job it is to tell our kidneys to hold onto fluid. Without this chemical communication, the body experiences greater fluid loss, especially since alcohol acts as a diuretic, making us pee more than usual.
Some alcoholic beverages can be more dehydrating than others. "The higher the alcohol content a drink has (or is absorbed in your body), the greater the diuretic and dehydration effect," Dr. Michael Richardson of One Medical told Bustle. This includes spirits like rum, gin, and whiskey, while having a glass of wine or a beer, on the other hand, may treat us a little more kindly the following morning. Although vodka sits alongside rum, gin, and whiskey as having a higher alcohol content, pairing it with soda may help ease that hangover the next morning.
A vodka soda contains water and is low in congeners
The reason why a vodka soda may not leave us as dehydrated as other cocktails is actually a bit multi-faceted. For one, different types of alcohol contain varying degrees of complex organic molecules known as congeners, according to 2010 research published in Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research. Acetone, acetaldehyde, and tannins are just a few of the different kinds of congeners found in most alcoholic drinks. In the study, researchers found a link between congener content and hangover severity in young adults, outlining thirst as one such hangover symptom. The study findings showed that participant hangover symptoms were more severe in relation to drinking bourbon over vodka, which is said to have 37 times more congeners than its clear counterpart.
The other, probably somewhat more obvious reason that a vodka soda is a less-dehydrating cocktail choice is because the beverage includes water, which may lessen rising blood alcohol levels (via Food & Wine).
A vodka soda may take you longer to finish
The third and final reason as to why a vodka soda may be our best, most hydrating bet is that we're likely not downing it as quickly as we might when taking a straight shot of liquor, for example, as Food & Wine points out. "If you are looking to find a drink that is less dehydrating, try choosing ones that you would enjoy over a longer period of time," Dr. Richardson told Bustle. While this applies to more than just a vodka soda, it essentially means that we're drinking less alcohol over the course of the evening when casually sipping on a cocktail rather than drinking multiple beers. No matter your beverage of choice, however, we can help mitigate alcohol's dehydrating effects by making sure we keep up with our water intake throughout the evening — not just the next morning.
If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).