"You need an iced Americano IV to survive?" You're borrowing tomorrow's energy today [Nom Nom Body]

[The Financial News] Cafes near subway stations on the morning commute, office streets after lunch—no matter the season, office workers in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) are holding iced Americanos, locally nicknamed "A-A." They say, "I need at least this to survive." As if they were getting an IV drip, they believe they have to infuse caffeine for their brain to function.
Some people comfort themselves by thinking that drinking coffee instead of water still gives them 2 to 3 liters of fluid a day. But from a sports reporter’s perspective, your body is in a drought right now. To put it bluntly, that black liquid you drink is closer to a "water seizure notice" than a life-giving drink.
The reason is simple: caffeine has a strong diuretic effect. When you drink one cup of Americano, your body tries to excrete nearly twice that amount of water. The more you drink, the drier your body becomes. About 70% of muscle is water. When you are dehydrated, your muscles lose elasticity and become stiff. Neck tension in the afternoon and swollen calves even though you did not work out? In large part, that is because you have been drinking coffee like water.
What about professional athletes on the field? Have you ever seen players in the dugout at the bottom of the ninth, right before extra innings, downing espresso shots while saying, "Let’s wake up"? That never happens. They drink sports drinks or plain water. Once dehydration sets in, performance collapses. Sports medicine widely accepts that even a 2% drop in body water can cut athletic performance by nearly 20%.

Even more alarming is the trap of the "energy loan." Many office workers believe coffee gives them energy. But caffeine does not create energy. It simply blocks the receptors that send the signal "I am tired" to your brain for a short time.
It is like this: the low-fuel warning light comes on in your car, but instead of refueling, you put black tape over the light so you cannot see it. The car still moves, but eventually the engine will stop. When the caffeine wears off, all the fatigue you have been holding back crashes over you like a tsunami. The energy you are using today thanks to coffee is actually tomorrow’s stamina, taken out in advance at a high interest rate.
Coffee itself is not evil. One or two cups a day can improve concentration. The real issue is the order and the ratio. True pros always drink a glass of water before they have coffee. It is a kind of defensive wall. If you drink a cup of coffee, you should at least drink the same amount of water to replace the fluid you lose.
On this Wednesday morning, are you heading to a café to shake off the fog in your head?
Before you tap your card to pay, the first thing you should do is stand at the water dispenser and down a glass of water.
Remember this: coffee is a "preference," but water is a "survival instinct."
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter