Questions about water.....

tigersword

Tea is a diuretic. I would not count it as 'water intake' because of that.

But that's just me.

WATER IS A DIURETIC. You might want to learn what diuretics actually are before you start throwing the word around.

For hydration, everything counts. Water, milk, juice, tea, soda, coffee, beer, wine, it all hydrates you effectively. The only exception I can think of are hard liquors, due to their high ratio of alcohol to water.

penrbrown

Tea is a diuretic. I would not count it as 'water intake' because of that.

But that's just me.

WATER IS A DIURETIC. You might want to learn what diuretics actually are before you start throwing the word around.

For hydration, everything counts. Water, milk, juice, tea, soda, coffee, beer, wine, it all hydrates you effectively. The only exception I can think of are hard liquors, due to their high ratio of alcohol to water.

There was research that suggested for every cup of tea you drink you SHOULD compensate with 5 glasses of water. But new research suggests differently.

I am aware of what diuretic means but it is worse with tea then with water. Or at least that's what I was always taught but as I said new research suggests new things.

No need to get snarky.

chelsey202

ive heard that the "make sure you drink 8 cups of water" thing is a myth.. and just that you need an adequate amout of fluid, which could be anything. i just got this off the Mayo Clinic site:

"Everyone has heard the advice, "Drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day." That's about 1.9 liters, which isn't that different from the Institute of Medicine recommendations. Although the "8 by 8" rule isn't supported by hard evidence, it remains popular because it's easy to remember. Just keep in mind that the rule should be reframed as: "Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day," because all fluids count toward the daily total."

So, to answer your question, yes you should count your tea to your "water."

It's not a myth; you're supposed to have about 8 cups of water a day, but this includes tea, coffee, and even the water fruits are made up of and the like. count the tea

tigersword

Tea is a diuretic. I would not count it as 'water intake' because of that.

But that's just me.

WATER IS A DIURETIC. You might want to learn what diuretics actually are before you start throwing the word around.

For hydration, everything counts. Water, milk, juice, tea, soda, coffee, beer, wine, it all hydrates you effectively. The only exception I can think of are hard liquors, due to their high ratio of alcohol to water.

There was research that suggested for every cup of tea you drink you SHOULD compensate with 5 glasses of water. But new research suggests differently.

I am aware of what diuretic means but it is worse with tea then with water. Or at least that's what I was always taught but as I said new research suggests new things.

No need to get snarky.

You would need to separate the caffeine from the water from 20 glasses of green tea, and then consume all of the caffeine without drinking any water, in order for it to have any type of diuretic effect. There is nowhere near enough caffeine in any beverage to come anywhere near dehydrating a person.

Besides, diuretics have nothing to do with dehydration.

HMonsterX

Tea is a diuretic. I would not count it as 'water intake' because of that.

But that's just me.

WATER IS A DIURETIC. You might want to learn what diuretics actually are before you start throwing the word around.

For hydration, everything counts. Water, milk, juice, tea, soda, coffee, beer, wine, it all hydrates you effectively. The only exception I can think of are hard liquors, due to their high ratio of alcohol to water.

There was research that suggested for every cup of tea you drink you SHOULD compensate with 5 glasses of water. But new research suggests differently.

I am aware of what diuretic means but it is worse with tea then with water. Or at least that's what I was always taught but as I said new research suggests new things.

No need to get snarky.

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 tea/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

penrbrown

Tea is a diuretic. I would not count it as 'water intake' because of that.

But that's just me.

WATER IS A DIURETIC. You might want to learn what diuretics actually are before you start throwing the word around.

For hydration, everything counts. Water, milk, juice, tea, soda, coffee, beer, wine, it all hydrates you effectively. The only exception I can think of are hard liquors, due to their high ratio of alcohol to water.

There was research that suggested for every cup of tea you drink you SHOULD compensate with 5 glasses of water. But new research suggests differently.

I am aware of what diuretic means but it is worse with tea then with water. Or at least that's what I was always taught but as I said new research suggests new things.

No need to get snarky.

You would need to separate the caffeine from the water from 20 glasses of green tea, and then consume all of the caffeine without drinking any water, in order for it to have any type of diuretic effect. There is nowhere near enough caffeine in any beverage to come anywhere near dehydrating a person.

Besides, diuretics have nothing to do with dehydration.

That's not what I was taught but I am learning new things every day. I wonder what new research will say in a couple of years? Seems like the story is constantly changing.

Also, this is a place to learn and people can't learn if they don't feel comfortable voicing their misconceptions. Just sayin'.

penrbrown

Here we go again!

Thanks for the links. I never cared enough to do THAT much research but it's good somebody has all the info handy.

Interesting to watch how the story changes over the years. Somebody should do a collage of these articles over the past 50 years to show how ideas have changed. And then perhaps we'd have a better idea why you are constantly correcting misinformation.

josephine_x

I wouldn't be worried about the caffeine, more the nasty chemical processing it goes through to remove the caffeine in decaf

TerriKate0308

Thanks Amanda. I also use the sweetner in my drinks just to get the fluid in. I need to be careful how much aspartame I take in because I know its not good for me, but for now....it's helping me get the water down. Every once in a while I will drink plain water....super cold!

Terri.

Boshnivay

it's not caffeinated and its unsweetened, so it's going to act like water, but have maybe the benefits of what kind of tea it is.