Tea Debate

bellydancer72

Okay I have a question. Being a heavy iced tea drinker I want to know if it counts towards your hydration or not. I mean the side of the Lipton tea box says it does, my doctor says no because it has caffeine, and I've heard it does because it's made with water. So which is it? This drives me crazy and I need to know since I do drink tea on a regular basis (unsweetened of course).

bellydancer72

Okay I have a question. Being a heavy iced tea drinker I want to know if it counts towards your hydration or not. I mean the side of the Lipton tea box says it does, my doctor says no because it has caffeine, and I've heard it does because it's made with water. So which is it? This drives me crazy and I need to know since I do drink tea on a regular basis (unsweetened of course).

MisoSoup79

Tea is a diuretic. It flushes excess water from your body, which can actually cause dehydration if you are drinking it excessively and not getting enough plain water to balance it out.

I don't usually count it, but then I only have maybe one or two glasses a day and I drink tons of plain water.

havingitall

caffeine is dehydrating.If you are drinking iced tea that has caffeine, you also need to get more fluids elsewhere.

Nothing like a cold glass of water with a wedge of lemon

debmac63

I count it but I drink decaffinated tea.

bellydancer72

Thanks, that's what I needed to know. I started drinking 96 oz of water a day and have a glass or two of iced tea as well, so I think I'm okay.

ngwife4life

Only if it's decaf and I personally only count one to two flavored, non-calorie, decaf drinks as water. Our body needs water, just plain ol' H2O! If you hate water, then start small and work your way up.

erikazj

As the title of this thread would suggest, I think it is open to debate. Here is a news article from 2006 which discusses a study which was done, but I'm sure if you search around a bit you'll be able to find a study which says the complete opposite:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/5281046.stm

Perhaps moderation is the key. I think the 'scientists' all agree that both black and green tea have health benefits. I suspect that it can count towards your hydration, but you wouldn't want to be drinking it on an exclusive basis. I personally don't struggle to drink enough water in addition to my tea intake, I don't think 8 cups (approx 2 litres) is actually all that much, especially if you are exercising and stuff. The air conditioning in my office makes me thirsty enough to drink this amount just during the work day! However, if you are drinking the majority of your intake as plain water and a little bit of it as tea, it probably wouldn't cause you any harm....this is my opinion though, I don't claim to be an expert!!