Can Someone Become Dehydrated By Drinking Only Sodas, No Water?

Not as such. If you drink only sodas, you will hydrate. It’s just that they don’t hydrate as well as water. So if you’re outside on a hot day and doing lots of exercise and drinking only soda, then you may have a problem. But just sitting around won’t cause you to dehydrate. Of course, there’s a lot of other reasons not to drink soda, but that’s a different question.

You won’t, but don’t anyway.
One of my best friend’s grandfather used to drink only sodas, he ended up having diabetes and having one of his legs amputated because of that (not able to give you the details but you get the point, i presume)

If drinking water isn’t enough drink fruit juices, possibly ones you made yourself, that’s the only good aternative.

crystal light, a good way to make water taste good so you drink it more often.. :)

I personally get dehydrated if I only drink soda, especially while pregnant!!! What soda are you drinking? You don’t necessarily need to drink water, I drink juice with a lot of water put into it, because I hate the taste of water.

Let me draw upon my years of medical training and experience for a moment…

If someone is dehydrated, it isn’t always a fluid problem as is commonly believed. Instead, it is more of an electrolyte deficiency. When someone comes to the hospital dehydrated, they are given an IV of saline solution, which is basically sterile water with 0.9% sodium chloride.

In the real world (outside the hospital), folks have been lead to believe that drinking water is the answer. Well, I’m sad to say that you were mislead. What you need to do is replace the electrolytes you lost by becoming dehydrated in the first place. While I don’t have the patience to explain it all in gory detail, what you need is a mixture of amino acids, salt, and simple sugars.

You could go to the supermarket and mix all of these components into a bottle of water, if you wanted to, but you don’t need to as Gatorade was developed a long time ago for this very same reason. Orange juice is a great alternative as well, but it contains a lot of natural sugars.

And as for the soda component, drinking soda when you are dehydrated or think you may be dehydrated is always the worst idea. Soda contains carbonated water, carbonic acid, and sugar, all of which, if taken in excess during a period of dehydration, can lead to renal failure. If the person happens to be diabetic or have other medical problems, this can lead to a medical nightmare, the details of which I will spare you.

So to sum it all up, skip the water and soda, and drink Gatorade or another comparable sports drink that replaces your electrolyte balance.

I want to add that many sodas contain caffeine, which is a diuretic and contributes to dehydration. Hot or Iced Tea – Black, Green or White Teas – also contain caffeine. Herbal teas (which don’t actually contain ‘tea leaves’) are generally caffeine-free.

@geniusatwork All true, but when pregnant..it’s almost like a different sort of dehydration. You need more fluids while pregnant, and likr @hearkat said, caffeine is a diuretic so it’s not helpful to drink while pregnant. Whenever I’ve suffered dehydration while pregnant, I was given saline…it would stop the contractions immediately.

It isn’t the best idea, but will work to hydrate you if necessary.

I had acute kidney failure that lasted 3 months instead of the usual 7–10 days and my nephrologist eventually told me to drink anything I could keep down, which happened to be unsweetened iced tea, full of caffeine.

@dingus108 Bad Idea! Crystal Light has aspartame in it. Artificial sweeteners of any sort are not good, but aspartame is a killer.
Here are some articles at the FDA website.
http://google2.fda.gov/search?q=aspartame&x=0&y=0&client=FDAgov&site=FDAgov&lr=&proxystylesheet=FDAgov&output=xml_no_dtd&getfields=*

Article On Aspartame
http://www.sustainablelivingsystems.org/Mindful%20Eating%206.doc

My best advise is to stay the hell away from anything that has an unnatural sweetener. Stick with only stevia as a sweetener. Also, Gatorade doesn’t have a lock on the electrolyte market. There are plenty of ways to get electrolytes, not just from sports drinks that contain dangerous artificial sweeteners or High Fructose Corn Syrup.

@Darbio16 Just to say, you should check your sources before posting. First, that last article is unavailable. And the first result on that first page you linked has this to say:

“EFSA’s review of ERF’s study concluded, among other things, that on the basis of all evidence currently available to EFSA:

* ERF’s conclusion that aspartame is a carcinogen is not supported by the data; and
* EFSA sees no need to further review its earlier scientific opinion on the safety of aspartame or to revise the Acceptable Daily Intake.”

FDA has not made a ruling yet, but the original data was flawed. From what I remember, the test subjects were given ridiculous amounts of it, like 50% body weight. I agree that artificial sweeteners are bad, but they are not carcinogenic. At least, no more then most everything is.

… while i’d like to let that pass, I can’t. I just showed how your own link says that aspartame is not dangerous! Why is that nit-picking! I think it tastes bad, and gives people a bad impression that some things are ‘healthy’ because they have no sugar, when it’s anything but. High fructose corn syrup is unhealthy, too. Probably worse, but I’m not about to attack people’s right to eat the stuff.

I’m sorry If I offended you, but your sources to not agree with your statements. At the least, I was suggesting you should check your links. Good day.

[Mod says:] Personal attacks/ name calling removed. Please stay on topic.

POWERTHIRST!

@Darbio16: Stevia was limited in this country for years because it is a suspected carcinogen. Just because something is natural doesn’t make it safe for human consumption. Like most artificial sweeteners, it tastes like crap. Honey and Cane sugar for me, if a sweetener must be used at all.

I see that the name calling is being removed as I write this. Here on Fluther, we disagree politely; and when possible, offer further explanation and evidence to back-up our position. This is why I am glad that Fluther is moderated.

Stevia is safe.

http://www.stevia.net/safety.htm

The second section of this article deals with the carcinogenic effect, which is none, of stevia.

The FDA put a ban on it because of their bias towards chemically produced aspartame and other deadly sweeteners. Even sugar, which is much safer than aspartame, effects blood sugar levels and insulin production. Doesn’t anyone ever question the reason why we are faced with a diabetes epidemic? Stevia is on of the only sweeteners that doesn’t effect insulin levels and is calorie free. It also is nutritious because it has vitamins and minerals in it, unlike sugar and other sweeteners.

Darbio16: I find it interesting how you say that only the manufacturer’s of artificial sweeteners say they’re safe… yet the reference you site to support Stevia is Stevia.com? No bias there, I’m sure.

And no, I won’t click on the link or read the research, because safe or not, Stevia still tastes like crap in my coffee or on fresh fruit. For some reason, it isn’t too bad in tea. Again, I’ll stuck with sugar and honey, in moderation.

I just kicked a 18+ can a day diet soda habit for the last couple of years its pretty much all I drank, I never felt dehydrated but I do feel alot better now that I mainly drink water.

I think it does! Your bodies are designed to have water! Water is delivered to every cell! I haven’t had pop in 5 years!!! i just wanted to be healthier

I was once dehydrated as a kid, and they told me soda was a bad idea. I was put in the hospital and was not allowed to drink water, instead i only drank gatorade. Gatorade provides one with the salt and electrolytes that your body needs during the time of dehydration.