Is Milk Really More Hydrating Than A Simple Glass Of Water?

It's a hot summer day and you're playing soccer out on some sun-baked field. You've been sweating, of course, and now you're parched. Taking a quick breather, you dig into a cooler on the sidelines and pull out an ice-cold bottle of .

.. milk? Okay, so it may not hit like an ice-cold bottle of water.

But milk — whole or skim — might be even more hydrating. That's according to a , in which a team of researchers developed a "beverage hydration index" to judge the relative hydrating properties of a slew of drinks, from water to beer to soda. It's important first to note that the study wasn't huge, so the conclusions aren't surefire.

But out of 13 liquids under analysis, researchers found that four outperformed water when it came to keeping the body hydrated: whole milk, skim milk, orange juice, and oral rehydration solution — the type of stuff sold on pharmacy shelves under names like Pedialyte. So the next time you're out shopping for something to keep the thirst at bay, you might want to (there are plenty of good reasons to do that) and head straight for the dairy aisle. Why hydration is important Proper hydration helps the kidneys flush waste from the bloodstream, improves brain function, facilitates a good heartbeat, and gives the body what it needs to properly digest food.

This is important not just on a day-to-day basis, but also over the course of your life: A found that proper hydration may "slow down aging and prolong a disease-free life," in the words of one of it.