Can a cup of tea be added as a cup of water?

jagar07

I drink Earl Gray tea with 2 tables spoons sugar and a little fat free milk. Could this count towards my water intake?

fbmandy55

Water=Water

snookumss

Absolutely! Milk and juices as well

andreacord

Um .. if you're adding sugar I would say no? I don't know, people count different things as different intakes. Personally I count my tea only if I drink it unsweetened which I do most of the time, but I'm sure someone smart will come along with a right answer for you.

DeckerDude

I wish I knew the answer because i drink a lot of tea but not much water. Hope someone can tell us.

HMonsterX

Haven't had to post this for a while!


You need the equivalent of 8 cups of water a day on average, from any source. These sources can be pure water/tea/coffee/juice/soda/milk/fruit/veg etc. It does NOT have to be pure neat water!

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

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/


As for coffee being a diuretic, so many people just spout that word as a reason, without actually understanding what "diuretic" means.

di·u·ret·ic (d-rtk)
adj.
Tending to increase the discharge of urine.
n.
A substance or drug that tends to increase the discharge of urine.

Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.


http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what

http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/06/14/caffeine-does-not-dehydrate/

http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm

http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/04/surprise-caffeinated-tea-does-not-dehydrate-you/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

http://www.sharecare.com/question/does-caffeine-dehydrate-not

http://www.artofdrink.com/2009/12/caffeine-in-coffee-does-not-increase-dehydration-during-hangovers.php

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/do-caffeinated-beverages-cause-dehydration.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5552790&page=1#.TrQWc0O5_oo

lijparsons

My rule is, if it has calories (the sugar), or caffeine, it doesn't count as water.

mhotch

Yes. You can use it as water intake.

andreacord

My rule is, if it has calories (the sugar), or caffeine, it doesn't count as water.

Yeah, that's what I go by.

Umeboshi

I always count my coffee and tea as water. No reason not to! I think the only thing you shouldn't count towards water intake is soda.

Fatbuster205

You are kidding right?

Becoming_A_Butterfly

I count tea as part of my water intake. If you use sugar, just log it in your food diary.

rml_16

Yes.

morganadk2_deleted

My rule is, if it has calories (the sugar), or caffeine, it doesn't count as water.

Yeah, that's what I go by.

me too!!!

therealkittymao

I am a big unsweetened tea and coffee drinker, myself, and I had kind of wondered... hm, if I drink 80 oz of green tea in a a day can I call that my water intake (this has happened before). But I usually go by the caffeine content. Green and Black tea are good for you and have antioxidants, BUT they also have a lot of caffeine which can actually be dehydrating. So I only count herbal teas towards water intake.

rml_16

My rule is, if it has calories (the sugar), or caffeine, it doesn't count as water.

If that's your personal rule, that's fine. However, scientifically speaking, a cup of tea is a cup of water.

HeidiMightyRawr

Yes I would count water, juice (not pure juice, just the concentrated kind you water down) tea and coffee all towards your daily count.

Cr8tive_Ingenuity

Tea can be treated as water but COFFEE CANNOT! Its a diuretic and makes you lose water, even though it composes of water, it makes your pee more and thus lose water.

jagar07

Haven't had to post this for a while!


You need the equivalent of 8 cups of water a day on average, from any source. These sources can be pure water/tea/coffee/juice/soda/milk/fruit/veg etc. It does NOT have to be pure neat water!

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

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/


As for coffee being a diuretic, so many people just spout that word as a reason, without actually understanding what "diuretic" means.

di·u·ret·ic (d-rtk)
adj.
Tending to increase the discharge of urine.
n.
A substance or drug that tends to increase the discharge of urine.

Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.


http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what

http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/06/14/caffeine-does-not-dehydrate/

http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm

http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/04/surprise-caffeinated-tea-does-not-dehydrate-you/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

http://www.sharecare.com/question/does-caffeine-dehydrate-not

http://www.artofdrink.com/2009/12/caffeine-in-coffee-does-not-increase-dehydration-during-hangovers.php

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/do-caffeinated-beverages-cause-dehydration.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5552790&page=1#.TrQWc0O5_oo

thank you so much, finally an intelligent answer (please everyone else, don't take that wrong) I am just glad to see that this is backed up. I have heard so many opinions I was a bit confused, which is why I asked :flowerforyou:

jagar07

I count tea as part of my water intake. If you use sugar, just log it in your food diary.

that's what I do anyway! :happy:

jagar07

no, I'm not, i really wanted to know, no need to be rude

abigail1977

Yes, but lose the sugar!

Gail3260

I only log pure water in that section which means it rarely shows more than 2 cups because I don't like the stuff!!! I don't stress about it because I know that it's the fluid from all your food and drink intake that matters and I eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables.

jagar07

You are kidding right?

No I'm not, I really wanted to know, no need to be rude

RedHatPatti

Thank you so much.. I was afraid I wasn't getting enough but now I know I am!!! I'm Glad the question was asked since I am NEW and there are others out here that probably didn' t want to ask for seeming to be "dumb".. I think we should all be polite and those that have been here longer, a bit more tolerant ..MAYBE the person is NEW TO DIETING as well.. I appreciate all the questions and am 63 but still learning a lot of things here!! THANKS

Also Asparagus acts as a diuretic for me!! FYI

Justjoshin

My rule is if it's water. I count it as water..

I don't add tea, coffee, milk, beer, vodka, etc..

Just drink a couple glasses of water throughout the day and you'll be over your 8.

jagar07

Yes, but lose the sugar!

I am thinking of putting less in, I just don't like it completely unsweetened

DrNicoleRed

My nutritionist said to count any "non-caloric" beverage--so unsweetened tea, coffee. I agree with adding any calories from juice and sweeteners to the diary…calories in/calories out! And anyone who has suddenly increased their water intake knows water is a diuretic…much more so for me than coffee (as a 2 cup a day girl)!!

ElizabethRoad

Why do the calories make it not count as water?

Justjoshin

My nutritionist said to count any "non-caloric" beverage--so unsweetened tea, coffee. I agree with adding any calories from juice and sweeteners to the diary…calories in/calories out! And anyone who has suddenly increased their water intake knows water is a diuretic…much more so for me than coffee (as a 2 cup a day girl)!!

So your nutritionist would count Coke Zero as water? Could be the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.

snookumss

It still counts as water. If I drink a glass of orange juice, I include it in both the food diary for calories, then add another tally to my water intake. You can't tell me that dumping sugar into water makes it any less watery! My body will still use the water, plus the added sugar as it normally would if they were separated. There is no difference. I even count my single cup of coffee because since I drink it daily it doesn't affect me like it used to restroom wise I have read sources provided here on MFP, my nutrition book also says coffee can be included because the body adjusts to it.

You can soak up all that water into a slice of bread, eat that soggy bread and STILL count it toward you water intake Hon