Will Sports Drinks Rehydrate An Alcoholic?

An alcoholic and a social drinker are quite different beings. A social drinker can enjoy a few alcoholic beverages, then might not drink again for days or weeks. An alcoholic will most likely drink past intoxication, then repeat the cycle the next day. Alcoholism is a physical need for alcohol that doesn't end. Although sports drinks might help the occasional hangover, an alcoholic would have to maintain a steady diet of them to have any effect on his body's dehydration.

Diuretic Effect of Alcohol

Dehydration is one of two prime causes for a hangover, along with sleep deprivation when alcohol interrupts REM sleep. Drinking causes excessive urination, because ethanol, or alcohol, disrupts the brain's output of vasopressin. Vasopressin is a hormone that cues the kidneys to reabsorb excess water. If you drink 50 g of alcohol, the equivalent of just less than 2 oz. of liquor or a generous shot, with about 8 oz. of a mixer, you can eliminate up to a quart of water over a few hours, according to "Alcohol Health & Research World."

Associated Deficiencies

As your body eliminates fluid through urinary output, your urine is taking with it vitamins, minerals and electrolytes, particularly potassium and sodium. A lack of potassium can make you thirsty and might cause you to drink more. A lack of sodium further inhibits your body's ability to hold onto water content. If you continue drinking and continue a high urinary output that depletes your body of sodium and potassium, the dehydration and continued drinking process becomes a cycle, robbing your body of the water content it needs.

Effect of Sports Drinks

For an isolated hangover, sports drinks can provide a quick cure. They replace the fluids you've lost through dehydration and also contain electrolytes to restore potassium and sodium balance. They'll rehydrate the body, but only until an alcoholic begins drinking again. Then the body will start flushing out water, electrolytes, vitamins and minerals all over again, so their effectiveness is minimized.

Tips

Some sports drinks may contain caffeine, and caffeine is also a diuretic. You might actually dehydrate yourself further if you choose the wrong one. Healthy consumption of water can usually restore hydration just as well as sports drinks, although water does not have the benefit of added electrolytes. If you're struggling with continuous drinking, seek professional help. A repetitive cycle of depleting your kidneys of water only to restore those levels again temporarily can eventually result in kidney disease.