Can you consider Iced Tea...as water for the purposes of wat

People say caffeine dehyrdates you... so anything that has caffeine shouldn't be counted. but who knows!

Iced Tea : YES
Hot Tea: YES
Coffee: YES
Fruit Juices (Orange, Cranberry, Apple, etc.): NO
Club Soda (Seltzer Water): YES

The only caveat with the coffee is that if you drink more than just a few cups (more than 500-600 mg of caffeine), then the caffeine will start to have a diuretic effect, which negates some of the water, but I never drink that much so I don't worry about it. Tea has even less caffeine than coffee, so I don't worry about that either.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

I asked my health instructor this very question when I was in college. She said, "No. You can't consider anything water, except water. Once it goes through those coffee grounds, its coffee, not water. Same with tea. Those things have health benefits, and are good, but you can't consider them water. As far as soda or energy drinks....RUN from them!
Soda water is water, though.

I say it depends on what you are putting in it. If you are having hot or Iced Tea without and sugar or sweeteners, then you can count it as water. Same with coffee. If there are sweeteners, milk or creamer in them, then you'd want to add it into your calories. I say no to pop/soda or juice though!

Here's a good article on water, by the way. It addresses some of the myths about water consumption.

http://www.experiencelifemag.com/issues/june-2010/health-wellness/drink-to-your-health.html?ht=

Nope. Caffeine is a diuretic, so it pushes out just as much water as you drink. So if anything, it decreases your hydration level. Don't count it. Doesn't matter what you do or don't add to it. Once it is no longer water...it is no longer water.

I was told by a doctor once that ied tea counts as water. I was dehydrated because i didnt like the water where I lived. OMG it was bad. When I had kids I was worried about how much water they were getting, another doctor told me not to worry they were getting their water from the juice and milk they were drinking. So I would say yes it counts. Another way to make water better is with an orange slice( or a little orange juice) or lemon in it. that is if you don't like the lack of taste in water.

Ohh and for every carbonated/caffeinated drink you have you should drink an additional glass of water.

I count hot or cold herbal tea (unsweetened) as water, it has no caffeine, calories, ect... everything else I dont count no matter how high or low the calories are because they all contain other ingredients like caffeine, sugar, flavorings ect... that must be processed by your body.

I was told by a doctor once that ied tea counts as water. I was dehydrated because i didnt like the water where I lived. OMG it was bad. When I had kids I was worried about how much water they were getting, another doctor told me not to worry they were getting their water from the juice and milk they were drinking. So I would say yes it counts. Another way to make water better is with an orange slice( or a little orange juice) or lemon in it. that is if you don't like the lack of taste in water.

Ohh and for every carbonated/caffeinated drink you have you should drink an additional glass of water.

ooohhh I would have to disagree with your dr, based on information from my sister's kids pediatrician and articles I have read, as well as my experience as a kid. I was prone to headaches, tiredness and general crankiness as a kid. Looking back I cannot recall that I ever really drank water no matter how much activity or how hot the day. milk, juice & the occasional soda was all I had. Juice & milk arent bad but looking at the amount of sugars (natural & added) in juice (and even in milk) this is not giving your (or your kids) bodies what they need.

Your advice on the orange & lemon slices are good though, my sister got her kids to drink more water by mixing half juice & half water, and slowly upping the water % until thats all it was. Her kids are more likely to ask for water than anything else now!

Iced Tea : YES
Hot Tea: YES
Coffee: YES
Fruit Juices (Orange, Cranberry, Apple, etc.): NO
Club Soda (Seltzer Water): YES

The only caveat with the coffee is that if you drink more than just a few cups (more than 500-600 mg of caffeine), then the caffeine will start to have a diuretic effect, which negates some of the water, but I never drink that much so I don't worry about it. Tea has even less caffeine than coffee, so I don't worry about that either.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

This is from the article you quoted below, it goes against the advice you were giving above. Just FYI.

For example, says Vasey, drinks like coffee, black tea and cocoa are very high in purines, toxins that must be diluted in large quantities of water to be flushed from the body. “The consumption of these drinks might bring a large quantity of water into the body, but a large portion of this water is used to eliminate the toxins in these drinks,” he says.

Bottom Line: Don’t think you can toss back a few cans of Red Bull and call it a day. Moderate consumption of beverages like coffee and tea is fine, but be aware that while some of the fluids in nonwater beverages may be helping you, certain ingredients may be siphoning away your body’s water stores. So, when you’re drinking to hydrate, stick primarily with water. And, if you’re looking for a pick-me-up, try sparkling water with a squeeze of citrus.


And my own Bottom Line: Your pee should look like Lemonade, not Apple Juice. That is what I tell my athletes. lemonade, you're good. Apple Juice, dehydrated.

I take everything with a grain of salt... There is contradicting "advice" out there on almost any subject. It's our job as individuals to look at different information and decide what makes the most sense to us. Experience Life is a magazine produced by Lifetime fitness. I'll take info from the Mayo Clinic regarding the diuretic effect (or not) of caffeine over what Lifetime Finess says. I posted the article because overall it has some excellent info on why water is important. Perhaps I shouldn't have, since that's not what the topic of this particular thread is. I wasn't posting it because of what it does or doesn't say about caffeine.

Sorry to confuse anyone.

Edited to add: I'm not saying caffeine doesn't have a diuretic effect, nor is the Mayo Clinic... but it seems reasonable to me that at low to moderate caffeine levels, that effect is minimal or non-existant. I know people will disagree, but my personal experience tells me that my body is just fine with my current hydration methods, which includes both water and a cup or two of coffee a day. I don't drink an extra cup of water to make up for the coffee, and I do just fine.

Well that really cleared everything up! :laugh: Personally, I am a purist. Water is water, coffee is coffee, tea is tea, you get the idea. There have been studies that say you can include the water that you get through food as part of your intake. The concept here is to get people to drink more water and if you drink a glass or two before eating you will be less likely to overeat. The human body is composed of 70% water -- so I would say that drinking the 8 glasses per day is a reasonable goal.