Tea and Coffee

levittrh53
levittrh53 Posts: 1 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Can you count tea and coffee as part of your water intake for the day?

Replies

  • Carnivor0us
    Carnivor0us Posts: 1,752 Member
    I personally don't, but many do. You can if you want.
  • ShannonKirton
    ShannonKirton Posts: 304 Member
    I find that when I do, it's really not that many calories, but I guess it depends on how you take your tea or coffee. Milk, sugar, etc. If I was to have a "coffee" like a frappachino from a coffee bar then yes I would definitely put it in due to the calories and sugars in that drink.
  • bzign
    bzign Posts: 41 Member
    I wouldn't count them in your water intake as they are diuretics and alter your hydration, your body needs .30ml per kg of bodyweight as a starting point for intercellular hydration (good hydration) and to help with getting rid of any extracellular hydration (toxic water retention) more if you exercise and drink caffeine which dehydrates you.
  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    I count my iced tea as water (um, in my head -- too lazy to log as I drink between 10 and 18 glasses a day, on top of actual water, coffee, the occasional diet soda, etc.). I don't count coffee or diet sodas. I don't really know why I make that distinction -- the caffeine doesn't trouble me, as the so-called "diuretic effect" only kicks in at doses so massive they'd essentially give you a heart attack. I guess I just feel like iced tea is water and other stuff isn't.

    In other news, I eat enormous quantities of ice and also don't "count" that as water in my head. Why? No idea. It IS water. I am an insane person.
  • explosivedonut
    explosivedonut Posts: 419 Member
    I drink my coffee black, and it's like 5 calories for a large amount, so I don't really bother. 5 calories is like nothing.

    EDIT: because I misunderstood, I only count WATER for my water intake. Even if it is made primarily with water, if it doesn't come directly from a tap, it isn't water, IMHO.
  • aquarabbit
    aquarabbit Posts: 1,622 Member
    Tea yes, coffee no. I like a STRONG black coffee so I figure all that caffeine isn't helping my hydration. But I love it!
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Yes.

    And, no, there is not nearly enough caffeine to dehydrate you and water does not cease to be water because you add flavoring to it.
  • sullus
    sullus Posts: 2,839 Member
    I wouldn't count them in your water intake as they are diuretics and alter your hydration, your body needs .30ml per kg of bodyweight as a starting point for intercellular hydration (good hydration) and to help with getting rid of any extracellular hydration (toxic water retention) more if you exercise and drink caffeine which dehydrates you.

    Coffee and tea hydrate you just the same as water.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15467100
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21450118
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
    I keep a tab of fluid intake. I count most liquids I drink, as long as I keep track of any additional calories. It' s personal preference on whether you count them or not.
  • rainunrefined
    rainunrefined Posts: 850 Member
    I personally don't, but I just look at it as bonus liquid consumed. I still try to get my 8 glasses of plain ol' water on top of whatever coffee or tea I drink. If I don't get 8 glasses in, I'm not too hard on myself because I know I consumed other liquids.
  • HotAshMess
    HotAshMess Posts: 382 Member
    I never used to because of the caffeine being a diuretic, but then I read an article about the caffeine not being as dehydrating as you think. So I count it.
  • wanderlustlover
    wanderlustlover Posts: 84 Member
    I count all water I drink -- whether plain in a cup, tossed in my smoothie, or making my brewed tea at home.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    if it doesn't come directly from a tap, it isn't water, IMHO.
    That's why everyone died of dehydration before they invented plumbing.
  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
    It's up to you. I drink a lot of iced tea so I count it (though I don't actually count how much I drink in a day).
  • bobf279
    bobf279 Posts: 342 Member
    I don't count it as water but I do count the calories in my 10 mugs of tea
  • EDollah
    EDollah Posts: 464 Member
    I wouldn't count them in your water intake as they are diuretics and alter your hydration, your body needs .30ml per kg of bodyweight as a starting point for intercellular hydration (good hydration) and to help with getting rid of any extracellular hydration (toxic water retention) more if you exercise and drink caffeine which dehydrates you.

    Coffee and tea hydrate you just the same as water.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15467100
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21450118

    That second study may be my favorite bit of science from the last 100 years. Off to brew a pot now...
  • MarineCodie
    MarineCodie Posts: 256 Member
    Nah. I count water as water for hydration purposes.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    I wouldn't count them in your water intake as they are diuretics and alter your hydration,
    You would need to drink stupid and impossible amounts of caffiene fir diuretic effect that it has to have any significant or noticable effect.


    As for the 8 glasses of water a day

    http://www.mindthesciencegap.org/2012/10/22/you-need-to-drink-8-glasses-of-water-a-day-a-history-lesson/
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    This content has been removed.
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
    I drink herbal tea, iced in the summer, hot in the winter. It's fabulous.
  • thisismeraw
    thisismeraw Posts: 1,264 Member
    Yup! I count it. I count the calories for the drink plus mark it as water intake.

    Coffee is not dehydrating in normal amounts.. neither is tea.
  • MsDrJuris
    MsDrJuris Posts: 41
    I only count water when I'm tabulating my liquids in. Better to err on the side of caution.
  • herblackwings39
    herblackwings39 Posts: 3,930 Member
    I count any liquid as water. I also log anything that has calories which includes my coffee. If I drank a cup of almond milk I'd log it and tick the little glass up one as well.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I only count water when I'm tabulating my liquids in. Better to err on the side of caution.
    What caution? That's one of the oddest things I've read here, and that's saying something.

Categories