The daily grind

The daily grind:
To drink or not to drink, that is the question.

According to Dr. Armstrong of the University of Connecticut athletes can enjoy their cup of coffee, or caffeinated beverage of choice without fearing the “dehydrating” effects of caffeine. We all know from experience that after drinking a cup of coffee or a big gulp of coke we need to use the bathroom, and often more than once. The diuretic capabilities of caffeinated beverages are negligible according to Armstrong.
He found that increased urine output due to caffeine normalizes after 4 hours and leaves no net dehydrating effects on the body in a 24-hour period. So enjoy your cup of Joe, even re-hydrate with it if you want. Dr. Armstrong found that individuals who re-hydrated with water retained 86% of the fluid they ingested and individuals who re-hydrated with caffeinated fluid retained 84% of what they took in.
Tolerance does occur with caffeine intake. This tolerance is not the common notion that it takes two cups of coffee to wake up in the morning, where as a few months ago one left you jittery all day. Instead this tolerance is actually a decrease in urine output. Becoming tolerant to caffeine means that the substance no longer has the diuretic effect it once had- less trips to the bathroom.
So enjoy your cup of coffee, take in a PowerGel with caffeine, if you want, and rest assured that you are not sacrificing your state of hydration.