Tea and Water Intake

DBranchaud

So I have a question.....For the 8 cups of water a day does it count with tea? Do some types of tea count as water but do some not? I drink Black and Green teas do they count for my daily water consumption?

DBranchaud

So I have a question.....For the 8 cups of water a day does it count with tea? Do some types of tea count as water but do some not? I drink Black and Green teas do they count for my daily water consumption?

allaboutme

aren't both considered diuretics? if so then no they wouldn't count as they help you eliminate fluid.

chrissyh

Tea is a diuretic (sp??) so I don't count it.

Sunibc22

Even herbal teas?

allaboutme

green tea is for sure. Not sure about the other kinds.

msarro

I thought only caffinated teas are dieuretics?

I count them towards my water intake, personally.

msarro

edit: post so good, MFP put it up twice.

arewethereyet

I have been wondering about this also.

I read somewhere that when your urine is clear, you have had enough water. If I drink 64 oz of water and NO tea, it is clear.

When I drank 64 oz and 24 oz of tea, it was NOT.

So, my guess is the tea is doing something.

I would love to know more.

Thanks for good post, D.

spazmother0727

I was wondering about tea as well. I personally do count it, but still thought that maybe I was not supposed to. I think I will not add that as water intake.... If it is, then it is just bonus water.

msarro

I have been wondering about this also.

I read somewhere that when your urine is clear, you have had enough water. If I drink 64 oz of water and NO tea, it is clear.

When I drank 64 oz and 24 oz of tea, it was NOT.

So, my guess is the tea is doing something.

I would love to know more.

Thanks for good post, D.

The issue with this is that vitamin b supplements will make your urine neon yellow, so it can't always be trusted

eHarris

being down here in the south...I drink lots of tea lol. I usually just count half of what I drank towards my water intake. The drink is based in water, and though its caffinated its extremly diluted ...unless we're talkin about hot tea. I just figure its midways so at least I accounted for both.

LovelyLady1977

Here's my post from another topic about this:

Technically diet soda, tea, etc. does count as water to your body. For years it was thought that caffeine was a diuretic. However, this is yet to be proven. Studies have shown that moderate consumption of caffeine has about the same diuretic effects as water.

That said, any liquids other than water mean extra work for your kidneys, so it is probably a good idea to drink plain water whenever possible.

Personally, I use Crystal Light and those Ocean Spray On the Go packets with my lunch and dinner and DO count it towards my water intake.

DBranchaud

That said, any liquids other than water mean extra work for your kidneys, so it is probably a good idea to drink plain water whenever possible.

Personally, I use Crystal Light and those Ocean Spray On the Go packets with my lunch and dinner and DO count it towards my water intake.

At most I drink two cups of tea a day and the rest is all water. I think I should be okay then

laurenk182004

I drink tons and tons of decaf tea, and I do count it as water intake personally

Picky_nikki

As long as the tea is decaf you can count it towards your water... anything like Coffee including decaf as it does have caffeine in it... or other beverages the have caffeine do NOT count towards water intake as it is a diuretic.

Cowboy

Just FYI you can naturally decaffeinate any tea you'd like to. Take the tea and brew it for 30seconds. Throw out the tea you just made. Add your tea to another pot/cup of hot water and let brew as usual. You will have eliminated 98.7% of all caffeine from the tea (which is about the same as decaffeinated teas and coffees, without having the nasty chemicals). Caffeine is a diuretic, so if you are looking to 'retain' tea as part of your water liquid, this would be helpful. Hope this helps.
Cowboy

DBranchaud

Just FYI you can naturally decaffeinate any tea you'd like to. Take the tea and brew it for 30seconds. Throw out the tea you just made. Add your tea to another pot/cup of hot water and let brew as usual. You will have eliminated 98.7% of all caffeine from the tea (which is about the same as decaffeinated teas and coffees, without having the nasty chemicals). Caffeine is a diuretic, so if you are looking to 'retain' tea as part of your water liquid, this would be helpful. Hope this helps.
Cowboy

WOW!! very interesting...thanks for the tip

laurenk182004

hey that's pretty cool! I never knew that! How would it work with perk coffee? Maybe just dump out the 1st cup that brews? I personally like my coffee caffeinated..lol but someone else may not

bobby3188

I'm not sure how accurate this is but I read a Men's Health article (UK edition, where they drink lots of tea!) and they said scientists have found that tea counts towards your 8 glasses of water per day.

arewethereyet

I have been wondering about this also.

I read somewhere that when your urine is clear, you have had enough water. If I drink 64 oz of water and NO tea, it is clear.

When I drank 64 oz and 24 oz of tea, it was NOT.

So, my guess is the tea is doing something.

I would love to know more.

Thanks for good post, D.

yeah, I guess Vit C will make it yellow too soooooo

The issue with this is that vitamin b supplements will make your urine neon yellow, so it can't always be trusted

SoupNazi

I count it. Always have, always will.:drinker:

9726172000

Tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, it also has many other health benefits.

"Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so it's got two things going for it", said Dr Ruxton

They dispelled common belief that tea dehydrates. Tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, it also has many other health benefits.

"Studies on caffeine have found very high doses dehydrate and everyone assumes that caffeine-containing beverages dehydrate. But even if you had a really, really strong cup of tea or coffee, which is quite hard to make, you would still have a net gain of fluid."

"Also, a cup of tea contains fluoride, which is good for the teeth," she added

"In terms of fluid intake, we recommend 1.5-2 litres per day and that can include tea. Tea is not dehydrating. It is a healthy drink."

The green tea and dehydration study was published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2006.
11 months ago

LovelyLady1977

As I said earlier, it has not been proven that caffeine is a diuretic. That was something long thought by experts, but is yet to be proven. Caffeinated beverages actually have about the same diuretic effect as water.