Water/Tea confusion

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  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
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    I got dehydrated from reading about 3 pages of this post lol.................i dont count my water intake anymore but if i did i would log the liquid and then the cals if any from sugar etc..
  • Spinach_Brigade
    Spinach_Brigade Posts: 17
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    Most entertaining MyFitnessPal thread ever! I'd really like to extend thanks to SassyGirl, who made the whole discussion super extra hilarious.

    To those brave souls trying to talk sense, with support for their arguments, responding in a civilized way: you rock. I'm glad people like you are patient enough to contribute.

    Water is water. There can be other stuff in your drink -- stuff you ought to avoid -- but the water in it is still water. Even the water in fruit is water. It hydrates. While I wouldn't want to say much about someone who drinks only soda-pop, certainly there are people in this world without access to sanitized water who drink ONLY tea!

    Science is helpful in sorting these matters.
  • 10kaday
    10kaday Posts: 177
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    Of course you can, it's all liquid! If you sweeten it, add the calories as food.
  • pink_and_shiny
    pink_and_shiny Posts: 1,036 Member
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    Just ran across this picture on a friend's FB page and it reminded me of this thread...

    overthinking-142259-499-619.jpg
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
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    Holy cow you guys! Your food journal says GLASSES OF WATER, not GLASSES OF FLUID. You should only be logging H2O in that counter, everything else needs to be detailed in your diary along with its respective calories, sodium, etc. Simple as that.

    To the people who say that tea/soda/juice is just as hydrating as water -- I want to know, after you've gone for a run or done some time on the elliptical, do you thirst and reach for Dr. Pepper or plain old water?

    Water, chocolate milk, Gatorade or similar drink, juice. I have even had beer. I am not a pop drinker. As long as its cold, which is why I wouldn't choose tea and wet.
  • Tkwild
    Tkwild Posts: 116 Member
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    I've been counting wine and vodka as water, that's ok right?

    *runs and ducks for cover*
  • pink_and_shiny
    pink_and_shiny Posts: 1,036 Member
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    I've been counting wine and vodka as water, that's ok right?

    *runs and ducks for cover*

    *finds your hiding spot and asks for some of that wine and vodka you've got*
  • LilMermaid6411
    LilMermaid6411 Posts: 28
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    I drink 1 to 2 cups off herbal green tea with a little honey every day. Because of the honey, I just started a new food category.

    Drinks (Not water).

    That's where I'll put wine, sweet tea, soda, coffee or any other liquid that I consume that's not water. And then on top of that I still try to drink at least 4 cups of water a day as I strive for 8. When I workout I can easily get 6 so I shouldn't have any excuses.

    I also got a little tired of the confusion and just started counting water as water and that's it.
  • LilMermaid6411
    LilMermaid6411 Posts: 28
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    LOL Yeah, I think we are over thinking this a bit.
  • sumnerfan
    sumnerfan Posts: 244 Member
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    you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

    The bottom line is if it has caffeine or sugar in it, natural or otherwise, you can't count it was water.
  • chicklidell
    chicklidell Posts: 275
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    you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

    The bottom line is if it has caffeine or sugar in it, natural or otherwise, you can't count it was water.

    Your bottom is a law? a MFP rule? it's pure silliness.
  • eellis2000
    eellis2000 Posts: 465 Member
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    just from experience i don't count my soda towards water but for a long time all i drank was soda and it didn't dehydrate me. However I have started limiting my pop to one a day and drinking actual water and can feel a huge difference in the way i feel. You can count soda as water if you want to but it's probably not a good idea to get all your water from soda, coffee or tea. Reason: plain water or flavored water is much healthier for you so if you try to drink 8 cups of soda as your water intake that is 64 ounces of soda which is roughly 747 cals. That is why i don't use it as my water intake. I'm not a doctor and I don't drink tea or coffee so I don't know about how many cals it has. Side note my mother drinks nothing but coffee and tea and I would say she stays dehydrated but I'm sure caffeine affects everyone differently.
  • wftiger
    wftiger Posts: 1,283 Member
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    Just quoting below from an article I found. All liquids count. Believe a Dr. or someone that hangs out in a forum. Everyone has their own choice.

    Caffeine is a mild diuretic, but “it’s not very pronounced,” says Franz H. Messerli, M.D., a professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University in New York City.

    Still, diuretics make you have to pee. The more often you go, the more fluids you lose.

    And you'll feel more dehydrated because you’re losing more fluids than you’re taking in.

    “I wouldn’t drink a double espresso before a run, but would have no problem drinking a 12-ounce Coke,” Messerli explains. That’s because all fluids, even those with caffeine, contribute to the body’s daily fluid total.
  • Rhea30
    Rhea30 Posts: 625 Member
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    As caffeine dehydrates.

    Sigh.


    Here we go again!


    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

    sigh
    here we go again
    SODA does not count as water! But hey if you want to count soda into your "diet" feel free and good luck cuz your gonna need it!



    I have to disagree, I use to for many years just drink tea and soda and I've never had an issue with dehydration, that is all I use to drink and never would drink water, it was my water so yes it can count as water, if not I probably should be dead since we can't live without water :)
  • Rhea30
    Rhea30 Posts: 625 Member
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    you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

    The bottom line is if it has caffeine or sugar in it, natural or otherwise, you can't count it was water.

    double post basicly
  • Rhea30
    Rhea30 Posts: 625 Member
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    you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

    The bottom line is if it has caffeine or sugar in it, natural or otherwise, you can't count it was water.

    Actually if you don't count the caffeinated or sugar drinks as water and also drink normal water, you can end up intaking to much water (depending how much you are drinking) if you refuse to count the sugar and caffeinated drinks since they are water. Its not accurate not to count them.
  • TourThePast
    TourThePast Posts: 1,753 Member
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    you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

    false.

    http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

    Dont bother...ive linked like 9 different sites and articles saying it doesnt dehydrate, yet people still post that crap...they just dont want to see the truth..
    People are simply not thinking about this clearly.

    If, as so many people persist in claiming, drinks with caffeine in don't count as water, and if they're not specifying the amount of caffeine that it takes for a drink not to count as water, what happens when they have a double espresso and then drink four glasses of water?

    The moment the water hits the stomach and it all gets mixed in together, the espresso would "contaminate" the plain water, and mean that none of it would count as water. Does that sound plausible?

    So, if caffeinated drinks didn't count as water, how long would it have to be since your last caffeinated drink before you could "safely" drink water and how long after drinking water would it be before it was "safe" to have a cup of tea?

    Just... Please... Stop spouting stuff you've read on a message board for just a minute and reflect on what you are really claiming... Ask yourself, does it really seem credible?
  • tracy9301
    tracy9301 Posts: 150 Member
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    Posted my water intake in the Water Consumption section and all other liquids in the food intake part. Hope that's the correct way to do it.
  • Fit_Canuck
    Fit_Canuck Posts: 788 Member
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    The only extra question I'll add to the mix. Many people keep saying that drinking soda or tea/coffee is dehydrating them, how is everyone so confident with that statement? Are you running a urinalysis or a bio-impedance test after drinking it to comparing the results? Seems many people like to come up with "absolutes " but have data to back it up.

    If you ask your doctor or even research online you'll find a mountain of data to show that caffeine is a mild diuretic but the notion that it dehydrates you to the point of causing any harm was dis-proven some time ago with scientific testing. I think everyone can agree that sugar soda is not healthy for you in any way but it doesn't magically transform the water it contains into a liquid that doesn't provide hydration.
  • JennieAL
    JennieAL Posts: 1,726 Member
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    Americans want a doctor telling them what to do. Few of us actually prefer to think for ourselves, and even fewer want to take responsibility for ourselves. You'd think a place like MFP wouldn't be so riddled with fuzzy brains who believe all the junk science out there... I'd think more people actively choosing to join a site such as this would have more of an edge on what's commonly accepted as the latest in science these days rather than wives tales.

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