A Dietitian Says The Finest Hangover Treatment Is Coconut Water

January 9, 2025

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Image of a woman drinking coconut water, which registered dietitian Staci Gulbin recommends as the best hangover remedy. — This is why Registered Dietitian Staci Gulbin believes coconut water is the perfect hangover treatment.Credit score: Unsplash Curated Life-style

With the world’s elevated curiosity in well being and wellness during the last couple of a long time, there’s one pure beverage that has emerged as a fan favourite because the finest hangover treatment and hydration resolution: coconut water. Manufacturers like Vita Coco have made this tropical beverage accessible to the plenty, by means of merchandise like their Pure Natural coconut water and their Pressed cocon ut water.

Right here’s why coconut water’s distinctive pure profile of wholesome fat and minerals is the very best dehydration resolution.

In my 15 years of expertise as a registered dietitian, I’ve labored with shoppers on every kind of objectives, from long-term vitamin plans to easier objectives like staying hydrated. Whereas many individuals flip to water or sports activities drinks to beat hangovers or to pair with train, I like to advocate coconut water because the smartest thing to drink for dehydration.

To know why, let’s dig into what dehydration is, the science behind hangovers, and how one can add coconut water to your every day routine because the finest hangover drink and hydration assist.

What Is Dehydration?

Dehydration happens when your physique doesn’t acquire the right quantity of fluids it must operate. It may be attributable to quite a lot of circumstances comparable to:

Fever
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Extreme sweat
Frequent urination
Alcohol

Image of a woman sitting on a reclined beach chair with a book in her lap and a brown coconut beside her with a straw and a flower. — *Dehydration may cause a variety of inconvenient and painful signs, which could be averted by ingesting drinks like coconut water.* – Credit score: Pexels Taryn Elliott

While you turn into dehydrated, you may develop quite a lot of signs, starting from gentle to extreme. The longer dehydration is left untreated, the upper the chance of extreme signs. Examples of gentle to average signs embrace¹:

Much less frequent urination
Thirst
Headache
Dry mouth
Dizziness
Fatigue

Extra extreme signs of dehydration embrace lack of urination, speedy heartbeat, speedy respiration, confusion, and fainting.

The Essential Function of Electrolytes

To deal with dehydration, it’s important to switch any electrolytes misplaced. A scarcity of electrolytes can influence all features of well being, from cardiovascular well being to immunity. Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electrical cost, which is launched when the electrolytes dissolve in fluids within the physique like urine or blood².

When your electrolyte ranges are balanced, the fees from these highly effective minerals assist regulate your coronary heart rhythm, fluid steadiness, and nerve and muscle operate. However, an electrolyte imbalance within the physique may cause fatigue and negatively influence nerve and muscle operate. This is the reason it’s essential to go for drinks with electrolytes when dehydrated. In different phrases, in the event you’re in search of what to drink for dehydration, water may really not be the perfect resolution!

The Science Behind Hangovers

Alcohol is a diuretic, which suggests it causes an elevated manufacturing of urine within the physique. In different phrases, there’s a cause why you retain working for lavatory breaks at completely happy hour! Consuming alcohol in extra can dehydrate you and trigger dizziness or weak spot. Different widespread hangover signs embrace fatigue, headache, and focus issues — and in the event you don’t create good hangover habits, you possibly can be making your signs worse.

Image of a woman laying in bed recovering from a hangover, with a pillow over her head. — *Most of us have skilled the damaging results of a hangover — which is why it’s good to have a go-to treatment.* – Credit score: Unsplash Curated Life-style

Whereas some hangover signs could seem gentle, extended alcohol abuse over time may cause way more extreme points. Extreme or persistent alcohol consumption causes a sequence of physiological processes that may finally end in kidney injury. To begin with, blood quantity and blood strain are lowered after alcohol consumption, which in flip will increase the discharge of hormones like antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and aldosterone.

These hormones then stimulate thirst and water consumption, in addition to the discharge of renin — an enzyme which helps regulate the extent of electrolytes within the physique. In an effort to assist hold your electrolytes balanced by means of the onslaught of alcohol, your physique then reduces urine manufacturing.

Electrolytes are minerals that carry an electrical cost, which is launched when the electrolytes dissolve in fluids within the physique like urine or blood.

Whereas lowered urine manufacturing might assist stop electrolyte imbalance, it can also cease waste from leaving the physique — which might enhance the chance of sickness or an infection within the kidneys³. Treating hangovers isn’t nearly relieving instant signs, it’s additionally about stopping dehydration to keep away from long-term injury. As a Registered Dietitian, right here’s why I’ve discovered coconut water is the perfect hangover treatment.

The Dietary Advantages of Coconut Water

So why is coconut water a great hangover treatment drink? Conventional rehydration or electrolyte drinks are inclined to fall brief on offering optimum rehydration due to their greater sodium content material. This will negatively have an effect on blood strain and have the alternative of the meant hydration impact. To not point out that many electrolyte and sports activities drink choices comprise synthetic flavors and sweeteners. General, coconut water is a more healthy, extra pure various to traditional electrolyte drinks to assist with every little thing from dehydration to hangovers.

Listed here are the vitamin details for one cup of coconut water from contemporary coconuts⁴:

45.6 energy
1.73 grams protein
0.48 grams fats
8.9 grams carbohydrate
2.64 grams fiber

One cup of coconut water additionally contains the next electrolytes, which assist cement its repute as the perfect hangover treatment:

57.6 milligrams calcium
60 milligrams magnesium
600 milligrams potassium
252 milligrams sodium

My Favourite Coconut Water Model

Image of a hand holding up a bottle of Vita Coco Pure Organic Coconut Water. — *My favourite model of coconut water to advocate to shoppers for hydration and hangovers is Vita Coco.* – Credit score: Vita Coco

With regards to recommending a coconut water for hangovers, I like Vita Coco.

Their drinks provide superior hydration advantages attributable to their pure extraction means of coconut water. This implies their drinks have the balanced fluid and electrolyte composition of coconut water with none added flavors, preservatives, or colours. And I can personally attest to the refreshing, coconutty taste and hydrating high quality of VIta Coco merchandise. They style nice alone or combined together with your favourite fruit juice or flavored water.

How Vita Coco Can Assist You Hydrate

The nice sources of electrolytes like potassium in Vita Coco assist speedy rehydration by offering ample electrolytes — however with out overloading the you with sodium and sugar that may additional dehydrate. This in flip offers quicker restoration, particularly as in comparison with water alone, which doesn’t comprise ample electrolyte content material.

Why Is Coconut Water the Finest Hangover Treatment?

Coconut water can mitigate hangover signs naturally by replenishing the physique with vitamins and electrolytes to keep up fluid steadiness. And by treating dehydration, you may as well stop the damaging impacts on mobile and molecular immunity attributable to a scarcity of fluid within the physique. So not solely is it the perfect hangover treatment, it’s only a nice on a regular basis hydration resolution.

Why We Love Vita Coco

With regards to selecting your coconut water, there are a couple of causes to select Vita Coco. My preliminary suggestion is at all times the org anic model of Vita Coco, which is sourced instantly from natural farms within the Philippines and is made out of a single ingredient: coconut water⁵. Meaning no added sweeteners, coloring, or anything — it’s USDA licensed natural and all pure. Even the packaging is made out of plant-based supplies, and we love that there’s actually nothing synthetic concerned in any a part of the manufacturing course of.

Image of a bottle of Vita Coco Pressed Coconut Water on a table, arranged next to a salmon grain bowl and a little dish of almonds. — *Vita Coco’s Pressed Coconut Water is a superb possibility for many who wish to keep hydrated whereas additionally getting the utmost coconut taste.* – Credit score: Vita Coco

One other one in every of my favs is Vita Coco’s Pressed coconut water, which is nice for people who find themselves in search of a extra concentrated coconut taste. Some folks simply don’t love the style of coconut water — however Vita Coco’s pressed possibility drinks a bit extra like a contemporary, tropical coconut smoothie. It’s made with natural coconut puree, a little bit of natural sugar, ascorbic acid (vitamin C for freshness!), and a few naturally-derived Gellan gum for texture. This selection is good for somebody who needs the electrolyte advantages of coconut water however with a thicker consistency and stronger taste.

Incorporating Vita Coco Into Your Day by day Routine

With regards to including Vita Coco into your weight-reduction plan, attempt merely swapping one or two of your typical cups of water consumption with coconut water — and even higher, drink coconut water along with common water.

Is Coconut Water Good for a Hangover?

Sure, there’s a cause I like to recommend coconut water as the perfect hangover treatment — you may undoubtedly use coconut water to assist stop dehydration and deal with hangovers! As a dietitian, I’d advocate that similar to another beverage that accommodates sugar (pure or not), it is best to eat carefully. That is very true in the case of the Vita Coco Pressed coconut water, as a result of it’s barely greater in energy than common coconut water (60 energy per cup versus 45 energy per cup) and accommodates 10 grams of sugar per serving. To keep away from overdoing it, attempt to restrict your consumption to 16 ounces every day for dehydration, together with loads of plain water.

Image of a clear glass of coconut water, with two halves of a brown coconut behind it. — *A straightforward manner so as to add potassium and electrolytes into your weight-reduction plan is to swap one or two of your every day glasses of water with coconut water.* – Credit score: Unsplash Towfiqu Barbhuiya

Understanding tips on how to stop a hangover is all about hydration. In case you’re participating in ingesting alcohol, be sure you hydrate with coconut water previous to ingesting, after which drink one glass of water for each serving of alcohol. In case you want, you possibly can additionally make coconut water cocktails to offset a number of the dehydrating signs of consuming alcohol.

Methods to Forestall Dehydration

Hydration is necessary for day by day optimum well being, however significantly in conditions the place we could also be in danger for dehydration — like when ingesting alcohol, sweating from train or scorching climate, or after we’re sick and dropping electrolytes.

Listed here are a couple of tricks to stop dehydration, irrespective of the state of affairs:

Devour water-rich meals every day like soup, in addition to juicy vegatables and fruits like watermelon, strawberries, peaches, cucumbers, and zucchini.
Drink a minimum of 8 to 16 ounces of low to no-calorie fluid with each meal and snack you eat all through the day.
Carry a bottle of coconut water or plain water with you wherever you go so that you at all times have a supply of fluid.

When to Search Medical Consideration for Extreme Dehydration

In case you expertise any of the next signs of extreme dehydration, a easy glass of coconut water isn’t going to chop it. Instantly search skilled consideration for medical-grade rehydration in the event you⁶:

Have had diarrhea for twenty-four hours or extra
Are irritable or disoriented
Really feel a lot sleepier or much less energetic than ordinary
Can’t hold down fluids
Have bloody or black stool

Conclusion

As a registered dietitian, coconut water is my favourite drink to advocate for hydration and electrolytes. Vita Coco is a naturally sourced coconut water possibility with a wholesome steadiness of pure sugars, optimum ranges of electrolytes, and a scrumptious and refreshing style.

Hydration is a crucial a part of residing your healthiest life — it’s actually important for the operate of the physique’s cells and regulating fluid and electrolyte steadiness⁷! Be your individual well being advocate and educate your self on efficient hydration by means of pure fluids like coconut water.

Sources:

Staci has been a registered dietitian since 2010 and has handled lots of of sufferers for nutrition-related points ranging from … Extra about Staci Gulbin, Registered Dietitian

Tags: coconut water dehydration hangover treatment hangovers hydration vita coco

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A Dietitian Says The Finest Hangover Treatment Is Coconut Water