tea to replace 8 cups of water?

Can I use a cup of tea to replace one of my 8 glasses of water?

Replies

  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    It's pretty much water anyway, isn't it?

    And you don't necessarily have to drink eight glasses a day.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    If you mean for the purpose of hydrating your body, yes.
  • shanmackie
    shanmackie Posts: 194 Member
    if it's pure water (with nothing else, not even gas) log it as your water. if it's not, put it in your food diary.
  • Velum_cado
    Velum_cado Posts: 1,608 Member
    Of course you can.
  • Just watch out for the caffine...even decaf tea has some caffine in it.
  • hollyk57
    hollyk57 Posts: 520 Member
    It annoys me that people say you can't. Tea is water... log it as such.
  • NeverGivesUp
    NeverGivesUp Posts: 960 Member
    as long as your pee is light yellow it doesn't matter what you are drinking.
  • cbrrabbit25
    cbrrabbit25 Posts: 384 Member
    yep, i drink it instead since i hate water. hasnt hurt me so far.
  • schondell
    schondell Posts: 556 Member
    Yes, log the amount of water you used (1 cup? 2? etc)
  • thank you everyone!
  • crystalflame
    crystalflame Posts: 1,049 Member
    if it's pure water (with nothing else, not even gas) log it as your water. if it's not, put it in your food diary.

    Well in that case, I guess I never get to log any of my hydration. :noway:

    All fluids hydrate you. If your tea is decaf, it doesn't have a diuretic effect and is basically water. There's no reason you can't log it as such. Make sure you log calories like sugar and cream, though.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    if it's pure water (with nothing else, not even gas) log it as your water. if it's not, put it in your food diary.

    Well in that case, I guess I never get to log any of my hydration. :noway:

    All fluids hydrate you. If your tea is decaf, it doesn't have a diuretic effect and is basically water. There's no reason you can't log it as such. Make sure you log calories like sugar and cream, though.

    If your tea isn't decaf it still isn't a diuretic unless you are consuming gallons of it.
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    It takes 8 liters of water to make a liter of beer. I get to log a lot of water.
  • caffeine inhibits the body's ability to make antidiuretic hormone (ADH) which is a chemical secreted by the kidneys to concentrate urine (pull water out of the mix to keep you hydrated). It's not a big deal so long as you drink enough water to overcome the effects of the caffeine. So in order to be safe you might want to drink more fluids that you might otherwise think you need. But listen to your body: if you're peeing regularly, it's clear in color, and you feel well...you should be good to go!
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    It takes 8 liters of water to make a liter of beer. I get to log a lot of water.

    ?? There's about a liter of water in a liter of beer. While it may take more to make beer, most of that is evaporated away during brewing. If you make pasta, you don't log the water you boiled the pasta in, do you?
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    caffeine inhibits the body's ability to make antidiuretic hormone (ADH) which is a chemical secreted by the kidneys to concentrate urine (pull water out of the mix to keep you hydrated). It's not a big deal so long as you drink enough water to overcome the effects of the caffeine. So in order to be safe you might want to drink more fluids that you might otherwise think you need. But listen to your body: if you're peeing regularly, it's clear in color, and you feel well...you should be good to go!

    The reality is, to counteract the effect of a cup of coffee, you might need an extra sip or 2 of water during the day.
  • Doodlewhopper
    Doodlewhopper Posts: 1,018 Member
    I love plain ole water; but you dont need water to stay hydrated. In fact, you could go forever without having to drink anything.

    http://www.rodale.com/water-foods
  • I am an avid tea drinker, and agree with most of you... Tea does have caffeine, and therefore is a diuretic; however, this mainly depends one what type of tea you are drinking. For instance, green teas have only about one fourth the amount caffeine as a cup of coffee, and is therefore not nearly as much of a diuretic.

    Here are a few stats- number of mg of caffeine per cup.

    Coffee, drip 115-176mg
    Coffee, brewed 80-135mg
    Tea, white 6-25mg
    Tea, green 15-30mg
    Tea, black 40-60mg

    Depends on how it's made, so sources differ slightly. Also there are other teas (such as mate, rooibos, and herbal teas) that range from NO caffeine to MORE caffeine than a cup of coffee... Teas also have a host of other health benefits.

    In my opinion, It's all about doing your homework, knowing what you are consuming, and doing what works for you. I will continue to drink my tea daily, and post it in my "water consumption." I feel that tea if the lesser of two evils when it comes to the tea vs. coffee debate. With either tea or coffee the main thing to be wary of is whatever you choose to add such as: milk, cream, or sweeteners...
  • EvgeniZyntx
    EvgeniZyntx Posts: 24,208 Member
    It takes 8 liters of water to make a liter of beer. I get to log a lot of water.

    ?? There's about a liter of water in a liter of beer. While it may take more to make beer, most of that is evaporated away during brewing. If you make pasta, you don't log the water you boiled the pasta in, do you?

    For the pasta, I weigh it before and after and log the difference.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    It takes 8 liters of water to make a liter of beer. I get to log a lot of water.

    ?? There's about a liter of water in a liter of beer. While it may take more to make beer, most of that is evaporated away during brewing. If you make pasta, you don't log the water you boiled the pasta in, do you?

    For the pasta, I weigh it before and after and log the difference.

    :D
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    The bigger question is why you think you need a quota of 8 cups of water per day. Total myth. I'm with Evegni, I take mine in beer! :drinker:
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    caffeine inhibits the body's ability to make antidiuretic hormone (ADH) which is a chemical secreted by the kidneys to concentrate urine (pull water out of the mix to keep you hydrated). It's not a big deal so long as you drink enough water to overcome the effects of the caffeine. So in order to be safe you might want to drink more fluids that you might otherwise think you need. But listen to your body: if you're peeing regularly, it's clear in color, and you feel well...you should be good to go!

    The diuretic effect of caffeine is minimal

    http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/12834577 t

    "...nor does it cause significant dehydration or electrolyte imbalance during exercise."


    http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/12187618

    "The literature indicates that caffeine consumption stimulates a mild diuresis similar to water, but there is no evidence of a fluid-electrolyte imbalance that is detrimental to exercise performance or health"

    "Investigations comparing caffeine (100-680 mg) to water or placebo seldom found a statistical difference in urine volume."
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    I am an avid tea drinker, and agree with most of you... Tea does have caffeine, and therefore is a diuretic; however, this mainly depends one what type of tea you are drinking. For instance, green teas have only about one fourth the amount caffeine as a cup of coffee, and is therefore not nearly as much of a diuretic.

    Here are a few stats- number of mg of caffeine per cup.

    Coffee, drip 115-176mg
    Coffee, brewed 80-135mg
    Tea, white 6-25mg
    Tea, green 15-30mg
    Tea, black 40-60mg

    Depends on how it's made, so sources differ slightly. Also there are other teas (such as mate, rooibos, and herbal teas) that range from NO caffeine to MORE caffeine than a cup of coffee... Teas also have a host of other health benefits.

    In my opinion, It's all about doing your homework, knowing what you are consuming, and doing what works for you. I will continue to drink my tea daily, and post it in my "water consumption." I feel that tea if the lesser of two evils when it comes to the tea vs. coffee debate. With either tea or coffee the main thing to be wary of is whatever you choose to add such as: milk, cream, or sweeteners...


    Caffeine has negligible diuretic properties .Water is a far greater diuretic.

    http://europepmc.org/abstract/MED/12187618

    "The literature indicates that caffeine consumption stimulates a mild diuresis similar to water, but there is no evidence of a fluid-electrolyte imbalance that is detrimental to exercise performance or health"

    "Investigations comparing caffeine (100-680 mg) to water or placebo seldom found a statistical difference in urine volume."

    http://www.jacn.org/content/19/5/591.short

    "This preliminary study found no significant differences in the effect of various combinations of beverages on hydration status of healthy adult males. Advising people to disregard caffeinated beverages as part of the daily fluid intake is not substantiated by the results of this study."

    You are not agreeing with most posters - you are actually disagreeing with most.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    I don't log water. I just stay hydrated. My body has never failed to tell me I'm thirsty.
  • Oishii
    Oishii Posts: 2,675 Member
    It takes 8 liters of water to make a liter of beer. I get to log a lot of water.

    ?? There's about a liter of water in a liter of beer. While it may take more to make beer, most of that is evaporated away during brewing. If you make pasta, you don't log the water you boiled the pasta in, do you?

    For the pasta, I weigh it before and after and log the difference.

    :laugh: What about fruit?
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
    too be safe, switch to herb tea.
  • mystikfairy61
    mystikfairy61 Posts: 80 Member
    A cup of tea alone would not be a bad thing for water replacement, but if you add sugar etc then it needs to be logged because it has more calories. Here is something I found to tell how many ounces of water a day a person needs to drink.

    To figure out how much water you need, divide your body weight by 2. This is the number of ounces you should drink per day.

    Body weight (lbs) / 2 = ounces of water per day

    For example: A 200 pound person should drink 100 ounces of water every day.

    •Drink 16oz upon rising
    •Drink 8-16oz 30-60 minutes before each meal
    •Sip a maximum of 8oz during a meal
    •Resume drinking 1 hour after each meal
    •Drink 8oz 1 hour before bed


    There are also bad, good, and better times to drink water.

    1.After sleeping for several hours it makes sense to drink a good portion upon rising.
    2.Stop drinking at least 30 minutes before each meal. Water dilutes stomach acid therefore lessens its digestive efficiency.
    3.Sip only small amounts of water during a meal for the same reason.
    4.Allow 1 hour following a meal before resuming water intake to assure food has moved properly through the stomach and upper digestive tract.
    5.Stop drinking 1 hour before bed to lessen the need to get up during the night to use the bathroom.
  • Tea is most likely to be 80% water or more so I would definitely log that.
    Also anyone with a basic biological knowledge would know that the caffeine in tea isn't high enough to dehydrate you.
  • If it has calories, sugar or milk added, I log under food....No calories, Splenda, Stevia, or Truvia sweetend, I log as water, Same for any other additional things to flavor water. (Mio, True Lemon, etc.)
    If it has calories, log
    No calories, water.