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Does unsweetened tea count towards daily water intake?

Posts: 1 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
always wondered about this as I am an iced tea addict. Thoughts?

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Replies

  • Posts: 25,763 Member
    Yes, it does. Just about any liquid does (except for alcohol). You also get a lot of hydration from the foods that you eat.
  • Posts: 13,575 Member
    I would count it. Steeping some tea leaves does not remove the water.
  • Posts: 1,403 Member
    Everything but booze. Including food, especially fruits and veg.

    Also...you don't need to measure your water. All that stuff has been debunked. Drink when you are thirsty, extra when you've had a lot of salt.
  • Posts: 4,647 Member
    Yes. Even sweetened tea does.
  • Posts: 2,694 Member
    All day tea? A little bit of reading about calcium.
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/292166-tea-and-calcium-absorption/
    (I have osteopenia, that's why I mention it).
  • Posts: 7,574 Member
    All day tea? A little bit of reading about calcium.
    http://www.livestrong.com/article/292166-tea-and-calcium-absorption/
    (I have osteopenia, that's why I mention it).

    Completely random and no where did they say they only drink tea all day,
  • Posts: 7,739 Member
    edited July 2016
    Yes
  • Posts: 7,739 Member
    I haven't been to Livestrong in a few years. Why? Because I've seen a few articles from them where they cite studies, but state the exact opposite of what the studies show and conclude.
  • Posts: 25,763 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    I haven't been to Livestrong in a few years. Why? Because I've seen a few articles from them where they cite studies, but state the exact opposite of what the studies show and conclude.

    IMO, it's a really poor source for nutritional/fitness information. I have seen posts there that are blatantly wrong, as well as posts that make conclusions that just aren't supported by the evidence they cite. They also have contradictory information.
  • Posts: 19,809 Member
    Yes your tea counts towards hydration.

    Personally I don't feel the need to consciously monitor something that we (like all other animals) regulate naturally.


  • Posts: 2,694 Member
    Oh boy. Sorry.
  • Posts: 5,256 Member
    All liquids that you eat or drink count.
  • Posts: 9,487 Member
    What else would it be? You put flavor in WATER - that's still water, it still hydrates! Enjoy your tea! :)
  • Posts: 1,079 Member
    kgirlhart wrote: »
    All liquids that you eat or drink count.

    As calories yes, as water no.
  • Posts: 1,079 Member
    Unsweetened tea is pretty much water, but caffeine is a diuretic so it can end up dehydrating you if you drink too much. I work with a woman who hates water and only drank iced tea, she ended up with kidney stones that her doctor said most likely was due too not enough hydration.
  • Posts: 25,763 Member
    kikicooks wrote: »
    Unsweetened tea is pretty much water, but caffeine is a diuretic so it can end up dehydrating you if you drink too much. I work with a woman who hates water and only drank iced tea, she ended up with kidney stones that her doctor said most likely was due too not enough hydration.

    This is a myth.

    The oxalate in tea can contribute to kidney stones. This would be the likely issue for your co-worker, not the lack of hydration.

    Tea, even with caffeine, counts as water.
  • Posts: 26,368 Member
    Is your pee clear? Then you're good. You're way overthinking it.
  • Posts: 1,079 Member

    Why do you believe this? Because you couldn't be more wrong.

    In a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha measured how different combinations of water, coffee and caffeinated sodas affected the hydration status of 18 healthy adults who drink caffeinated beverages routinely.

    "We found no significant differences at all," says nutritionist Ann Grandjean, the study's lead author. "The purpose of the study was to find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking normal amounts of it. It is not."

    The same goes for tea, juice, milk and caffeinated sodas: One glass provides about the same amount of hydrating fluid as a glass of water. The only common drinks that produce a net loss of fluids are those containing alcohol — and usually it takes more than one of those to cause noticeable dehydration, doctors say.



    http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

    OK well if I'm trying to count actual glasses of water, I'm not counting milk, soda, coffee etc as a glass of water, not necessarily saying I get no hydration from them so maybe I misunderstood the op's question.
  • Posts: 1,079 Member

    This is a myth.

    The oxalate in tea can contribute to kidney stones. This would be the likely issue for your co-worker, not the lack of hydration.

    Tea, even with caffeine, counts as water.

    Which part is a myth? Caffeine being a diuretic? I'm really just curious because if I'm drinking coffee or tea I do pee more than if that was equal amounts of just water.
  • Posts: 25,763 Member
    kikicooks wrote: »

    Which part is a myth? Caffeine being a diuretic? I'm really just curious because if I'm drinking coffee or tea I do pee more than if that was equal amounts of just water.

    It's a myth that drinking tea will make you dehydrated. If tea was a contributing factor to the kidney stones your co-worker had, it was the oxalate in the tea (a known factor in kidney stone formation) -- not dehydration -- that was the likely cause.

    That you choose not to count water, tea, soda, or coffee as hydrating beverages is your personal choice and that's fine. We can all consider things to be whatever they want, regardless of what they are in reality. But the fact is that they do hydrate the body and they do "count" towards daily water intake.
  • Posts: 4,647 Member
    kikicooks wrote: »

    OK well if I'm trying to count actual glasses of water, I'm not counting milk, soda, coffee etc as a glass of water, not necessarily saying I get no hydration from them so maybe I misunderstood the op's question.

    That's fine if you don't want to count them as water, but you could. Whatever floats your boat.
  • Posts: 16,356 Member
    kikicooks wrote: »

    Which part is a myth? Caffeine being a diuretic? I'm really just curious because if I'm drinking coffee or tea I do pee more than if that was equal amounts of just water.

    For illustrative purposes:

    Drink 8oz of a caffeinated beverage, the caffeine will cause 1oz as a diuretic response. You're still ahead 7oz of hydration. There are no caffeinated drinks that cause more of a diuretic effect than the amount of liquid consumed.

    This is why it is a myth.
  • Posts: 519 Member
    kikicooks wrote: »
    Unsweetened tea is pretty much water, but caffeine is a diuretic so it can end up dehydrating you if you drink too much. I work with a woman who hates water and only drank iced tea, she ended up with kidney stones that her doctor said most likely was due too not enough hydration.
    Just no!
  • Posts: 1,258 Member
    Everything but booze. Including food, especially fruits and veg.

    Also...you don't need to measure your water. All that stuff has been debunked. Drink when you are thirsty, extra when you've had a lot of salt.

    Totally agree. Since cutting down a lot in salt and sugar I don't find I'm thirsty even in warmer weather. I used to be so much more thirsty when I ate junk food all the time.
  • Posts: 572 Member
    I don't bother tracking any drinks because I know I always drink 2-3l per day without any especial effort.

    Only worth tracking if you're the type to go 4 hours without drinking so you can avoid the loo trip.
  • Posts: 5,527 Member
    Yes
  • Posts: 31 Member
    kikicooks wrote: »

    Am I understanding this differently?
    She said the calories in anything other than water would count. Is that because water had no calories?

    The hydration of water, tea, juice or soda is roughly the same, but the calorie content isn't. Juice, soda etc would contain more calories due to the sugar content.
    Is that what she meant?
  • Posts: 14,464 Member
    Conclusion; love your tea, count your tea.
This discussion has been closed.