Hydration Guide - Flipbook - Page 8
WHAT COUNTS AS HYDRATING FLUIDS?
What counts as hydrating fluids?
Alcoholic drinks increase urination and
can over-stimulate the bowels, therefore
alcohol cannot count as one of your
hydrating 6-8 cups of fluids a day. It’s
best to keep within the government’s
recommendations of 14 units a week,
spread across 4 or more days and having
2 days a week alcohol-free. A unit of
alcohol is 1 x 25ml spirit measure e.g. gin,
whereas a standard glass of ~12% abv.
wine or regular strength beer is ~2 units.
This is what 14 units looks like:
6 pints of
4% beer
6 (175ml)
glasses of
13% wine
14 (25ml)
glasses of
40% spirits
It’s recommended that you check with your Doctor or
Pharmacist whether your medications or immediate
health may be affected before drinking alcohol.
There is mixed research regarding the
hydrating effects of fizzy, sugary drinks
like cola/lemonade etc. and the research
is not specific to those with stomas. We
absorb fluid from our gut into our blood
through osmosis, where water will move
from the least concentrated fluid to the
greatest concentration i.e. from our guts
to our blood. Sugary drinks, including
fruit juice or smoothies, are ‘hypertonic’
meaning that they have a higher osmolality
(concentration) compared to our blood.
Hypertonic fluids can be harder to absorb
and can cause water to leave our blood
and enter the gut, causing looser stools
and loss of fluid and electrolytes. It’s best
to choose ‘hypotonic’ (less concentrated)
or ‘isotonic’ fluids (a similar concentration
to our blood) most of the day.
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Water
Well-diluted squash or cordial
Diluted fruit juice (~½ to
water vs. juice)
Milky smoothies
Milk-based drinks e.g. milky
decaffeinated coffee
Coconut water
You shouldn’t need to choose sports or
electrolyte drinks most of the day, but
when it’s hotter weather or after sweating
you may need to drink more because of the
electrolyte and fluid losses. Sports drinks
labelled as ‘electrolyte’ or ‘rehydrating’
can be helpful, but be careful as they can
sometimes contain lots of sweeteners
which can cause looser stools. If you do
choose to consume sports or electrolyte
drinks, have ~500ml either during or after
the heat/sweating, or throughout the day,
and choose other hypotonic/isotonic drinks
for the rest of that day.