Is water retention a good thing?

Question

According to this article on DivineCaronline.com (emphasis mine):

Even more encouraging for habitual coffee consumers is the finding that those with caffeine tolerance have reduced likelihood that a fluid electrolyte imbalance will occur. The more regular your caffeine habit, the more fluid your body is conditioned to retain.

My question is - is fluid retention in this context (conditioned as a result of caffeine consumption) a good thing?

Answer 1

• This was a study of 18 individuals so not really large enough to draw too many conclusions.
• This was under moderate use of caffeine so it doesn't say anything about the ability to tolerate large amounts of fluid retention.

What is, worryingly, not mentioned is the risk of hyponatremia from fluid retention.

Lastly, I'm not sure you can conclude that you would have a reduced risk of a fluid electrolyte imbalance from all sources; merely a reduced risk from the known diuretic impact of caffeine.