The Study
Hydration, Arginine Vasopressin, and Glucoregulatory Health in Humans: A Critical Perspective
This study is like a teacher summarizing what other scientists have found about drinking water and blood sugar, but it didn't do any experiments itself. It says 'maybe' and 'could' a lot because the evidence is mixed and not strong enough to say for sure.
Analysis score
Maximum 5 for a narrative review.
Where the score came from
Some people think drinking more water helps control blood sugar by reducing a hormone called AVP. This study looked at all the science and found it's not that simple.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 51 / 100
Quality score
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of cohort studies. They sit above a single cohort study but below a single randomized trial, because the underlying evidence is still observational.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though AVP can raise blood sugar in lab settings with very high doses, everyday changes in how much you drink don't seem to affect your blood sugar in real life.
- 2When healthy people lost 2% of their body weight from sweating and not drinking, their blood sugar didn't change.
- 3When they drank 3 extra liters of water a day for a week, their AVP dropped 15%, but blood sugar stayed the same.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Nutrients
Year
2019
Authors
H. Carroll, L. James
Related Content
Claims (5)
When healthy adults lose 1.9% of their body weight through fluid restriction and sauna use, their blood glucose and insulin levels during a glucose tolerance test remain unchanged, even though markers of dehydration increase.
Drinking an extra 3 liters of water per day for one week does not lower arginine vasopressin levels or improve blood sugar control in healthy adults.
People who drink less water tend to have higher blood sugar levels in observational studies, but this link may be due to other healthy habits like eating more fiber, and drinking more water has not been proven to prevent diabetes.
A high-dose intravenous infusion of arginine vasopressin raises blood glucose levels by about 0.8 mmol/L in healthy adults without changing insulin levels, and this increase is caused by glucagon triggering the breakdown of glycogen in the liver.
When people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes stop taking their medication and become dehydrated, their blood sugar after meals rises higher than when they are properly hydrated, and this rise is caused by less glucose being excreted in urine, not by changes in arginine vasopressin or cortisol levels.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.