You’ve just finished eating a bowl of mint chocolate chip cereal when you get the need to sip something.
Do you recognize this ? It’s normal to feel thirsty after dessert, but why do sweets make us feel so dehydrated?We spoke with Caroline Apovian, MD, a professor at Boston University School of Medicine’s endocrinology, diabetes, and nutrition department, to find out more.
According to her, the cause is an increase in blood sugar levels since sugar enters the body through the stomach before entering the bloodstream.
Water enters your bloodstream from your cells once the sugar particles get there, bringing your blood back into equilibrium. Your cells notify the brain when they need more water when they lose water. What was the outcome? You have the want to take a drink.
“This [chain of events] happens pretty quickly,” sat Dr. Apovian. “Since glucose is absorbed by the gut and into the bloodstream fairly fast, you might feel thirsty within 5 or 10 minutes.” (Any thirst you feel immediately after noshing is likely induced by the act of eating itself, she points out, and not a change in your blood sugar.)
The best way to quench sugar-induced thirst is with a glass of good ol’ H2O, says Dr. Apovian, even though you may be craving something sweeter, like juice, lemonade, or hot cocoa. Having a sugary beverage on top of dessert won’t do you any good, she explains: “You’re not only confusing your energy balance system by putting more sugar into your body, but also getting a load of empty calories.”
