Tea and Water Intake

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DBranchaud
DBranchaud Posts: 827 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I have a question.....For the 8 cups of water a day does it count with tea? Do some types of tea count as water but do some not? I drink Black and Green teas do they count for my daily water consumption?
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  • DBranchaud
    DBranchaud Posts: 827 Member
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    So I have a question.....For the 8 cups of water a day does it count with tea? Do some types of tea count as water but do some not? I drink Black and Green teas do they count for my daily water consumption?
  • allaboutme
    allaboutme Posts: 391 Member
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    aren't both considered diuretics? if so then no they wouldn't count as they help you eliminate fluid.
  • chrissyh
    chrissyh Posts: 8,235 Member
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    Tea is a diuretic (sp??) so I don't count it.
  • Sunibc22
    Sunibc22 Posts: 330
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    Even herbal teas?
  • allaboutme
    allaboutme Posts: 391 Member
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    green tea is for sure. Not sure about the other kinds.
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
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    I thought only caffinated teas are dieuretics?

    I count them towards my water intake, personally.
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
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    edit: post so good, MFP put it up twice.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I have been wondering about this also.

    I read somewhere that when your urine is clear, you have had enough water. If I drink 64 oz of water and NO tea, it is clear.

    When I drank 64 oz and 24 oz of tea, it was NOT.

    So, my guess is the tea is doing something.

    I would love to know more.

    Thanks for good post, D.
  • spazmother0727
    spazmother0727 Posts: 55 Member
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    I was wondering about tea as well. I personally do count it, but still thought that maybe I was not supposed to. I think I will not add that as water intake.... If it is, then it is just bonus water. :wink:
  • msarro
    msarro Posts: 2,748 Member
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    I have been wondering about this also.

    I read somewhere that when your urine is clear, you have had enough water. If I drink 64 oz of water and NO tea, it is clear.

    When I drank 64 oz and 24 oz of tea, it was NOT.

    So, my guess is the tea is doing something.

    I would love to know more.

    Thanks for good post, D.

    The issue with this is that vitamin b supplements will make your urine neon yellow, so it can't always be trusted :)
  • eHarris
    eHarris Posts: 160
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    being down here in the south...I drink lots of tea lol. I usually just count half of what I drank towards my water intake. The drink is based in water, and though its caffinated its extremly diluted ...unless we're talkin about hot tea. I just figure its midways so at least I accounted for both.
  • LovelyLady1977
    LovelyLady1977 Posts: 428
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    Here's my post from another topic about this:

    Technically diet soda, tea, etc. does count as water to your body. For years it was thought that caffeine was a diuretic. However, this is yet to be proven. Studies have shown that moderate consumption of caffeine has about the same diuretic effects as water.

    That said, any liquids other than water mean extra work for your kidneys, so it is probably a good idea to drink plain water whenever possible.

    Personally, I use Crystal Light and those Ocean Spray On the Go packets with my lunch and dinner and DO count it towards my water intake.
  • DBranchaud
    DBranchaud Posts: 827 Member
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    That said, any liquids other than water mean extra work for your kidneys, so it is probably a good idea to drink plain water whenever possible.

    Personally, I use Crystal Light and those Ocean Spray On the Go packets with my lunch and dinner and DO count it towards my water intake.

    At most I drink two cups of tea a day and the rest is all water. I think I should be okay then
  • laurenk182004
    laurenk182004 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    I drink tons and tons of decaf tea, and I do count it as water intake personally
  • Picky_nikki
    Picky_nikki Posts: 405 Member
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    As long as the tea is decaf you can count it towards your water... anything like Coffee including decaf as it does have caffeine in it... or other beverages the have caffeine do NOT count towards water intake as it is a diuretic.
  • Cowboy
    Cowboy Posts: 369 Member
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    Just FYI you can naturally decaffeinate any tea you'd like to. Take the tea and brew it for 30seconds. Throw out the tea you just made. Add your tea to another pot/cup of hot water and let brew as usual. You will have eliminated 98.7% of all caffeine from the tea (which is about the same as decaffeinated teas and coffees, without having the nasty chemicals). Caffeine is a diuretic, so if you are looking to 'retain' tea as part of your water liquid, this would be helpful. Hope this helps.
    Cowboy
  • DBranchaud
    DBranchaud Posts: 827 Member
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    Just FYI you can naturally decaffeinate any tea you'd like to. Take the tea and brew it for 30seconds. Throw out the tea you just made. Add your tea to another pot/cup of hot water and let brew as usual. You will have eliminated 98.7% of all caffeine from the tea (which is about the same as decaffeinated teas and coffees, without having the nasty chemicals). Caffeine is a diuretic, so if you are looking to 'retain' tea as part of your water liquid, this would be helpful. Hope this helps.
    Cowboy
    WOW!! very interesting...thanks for the tip
  • laurenk182004
    laurenk182004 Posts: 1,882 Member
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    hey that's pretty cool! I never knew that! How would it work with perk coffee? Maybe just dump out the 1st cup that brews? I personally like my coffee caffeinated..lol but someone else may not :)
  • bobby3188
    bobby3188 Posts: 2
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    I'm not sure how accurate this is but I read a Men's Health article (UK edition, where they drink lots of tea!) and they said scientists have found that tea counts towards your 8 glasses of water per day.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I have been wondering about this also.

    I read somewhere that when your urine is clear, you have had enough water. If I drink 64 oz of water and NO tea, it is clear.

    When I drank 64 oz and 24 oz of tea, it was NOT.

    So, my guess is the tea is doing something.

    I would love to know more.

    Thanks for good post, D.
    yeah, I guess Vit C will make it yellow too soooooo

    The issue with this is that vitamin b supplements will make your urine neon yellow, so it can't always be trusted :)

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