Can unsweetened, sugar free 1/2 caff tea count as water??

hhcote
hhcote Posts: 78 Member
edited October 3 in Food and Nutrition
Can unsweetened, sugar free 1/2 caff tea count as water?? I sure hope so because I have such a hard time drinking all that water. Makes me feel like a balloon about to burst. But, for some reason the unsweetened, sugar free 1/2 caff tea doesn't make me feel that way. Weird.

:drinker:

Replies

  • RAFValentina
    RAFValentina Posts: 1,231 Member
    It counts towards your fluids for sure, just careful about the caffeine! I know you said its half caf. Sometimes you're body needs just a good glug of boring old water!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    EVERYTHING you drink counts as water. Don't listen to the propaganda from the bottled water companies. There has never been a scientific study that has proven that you need to drink water instead of anything else.
  • SusanMcAvoy
    SusanMcAvoy Posts: 445 Member
    Of course!! As long as you don't add anything to it. No sugar, no milk, nothing at all. Green tea is best because it assists with weight loss. Good luck!!
  • macylane4
    macylane4 Posts: 224
    Nope...anytime you add any flavors ect to water...it doesn't count! You have to drink good old boring water!! Drink green tea for breakfast, but other then that you should be drinking just water!
  • macylane4
    macylane4 Posts: 224
    Nope...anytime you add any flavors ect to water...it doesn't count! You have to drink good old boring water!! Drink green tea for breakfast, but other then that you should be drinking just water!

    This is what my trainer and nutrionist said!!!
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Nope...anytime you add any flavors ect to water...it doesn't count! You have to drink good old boring water!! Drink green tea for breakfast, but other then that you should be drinking just water!

    Can you explain why? A good scientific reason that drinking anything flavored doesn't hydrate you? Because there is none, it's a ridiculous idea.
  • heybrit
    heybrit Posts: 140
    It's my understanding that anything with caffiiene dehydrates the body. So when I drink any sort of tea I up my water intake to account for it. But I'm not a doctor. Every health professional I've been to (most recently a urologist) says water, water, water as your body is made up of water and you need to replenish your system and use it flush your body of the toxins you ingest.
  • jellyfishjen
    jellyfishjen Posts: 1,787 Member
    My mothers neighbour lived to 106. Never drank water. Loads of tea. She hated water, so it didn't hurt her any. I drink water, but each to their own.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    It's my understanding that anything with caffiiene dehydrates the body. So when I drink any sort of tea I up my water intake to account for it. But I'm not a doctor. Every health professional I've been to (most recently a urologist) says water, water, water as your body is made up of water and you need to replenish your system and use it flush your body of the toxins you ingest.

    This is false. Caffeine is only a diuretic is incredibly high doses, 10-20 times what an average person will ingest in a day. Also, tea is roughly 99% water, so there's no need to drink more water on top of it. Overhydrating is just as dangerous and deadly as under hydrating.
  • hhcote
    hhcote Posts: 78 Member
    Thanks everyone! I'm going to take everyone's advice to heart. Since it's 1/2 caff, I'll be sure to equal out the caff amount with plain old water.

    And, I'm going to switch to green tea when this gallon's done. I brew it by the gallon, makes it easier. Then, I just drink it cold or microwave with a dash of milk and have it hot.

    I love to see the passion out there! :flowerforyou:
  • rvanderpool3
    rvanderpool3 Posts: 12 Member
    I think drinking water is ideal. But to suggest that anything other than water does not count as a fluid is ludicrous in my opinion. As I said, water is ideal, but even water can be bad for you in too high a quantity. Keep everything in moderation and you should be fine. For me, it has served me well to steer clear of juices and sugary drinks. I still drink a good deal of coffee and water each day and my body seems to handle it ok(ok bp, weight is stable, cholesterol low, etc...).

    I strive to find a balance between keeping my body in good shape and enjoying my life. If it enhances your life to drink "xyz" instead of water, I say go for it as long as your health is not adversely impacted. It all comes down to your goals. If you are going for an ideal body(minimal body fat, etc...) you do have to make some more difficult choices. If you want to be healthy and happy, I think you can find a balance.
  • ATT949
    ATT949 Posts: 1,245 Member
    Yes, a million times yes.

    As far as caffeine is concerned, if you're a regular user of caffeine, the doses that we consume have zero real world impact.

    There's an expression in my profession (software) - "Measurable but irrelevant." Many things that we accept as conventional wisdom fall into that category. "caffeine is a diuretic" is another.

    Yes, caffeine acts as a diuretic. Water kills you. The key is not what a substance can do but how much of it has what probability of having what outcome.

    I see a lot of mention of "toxins" even though there's no definition of such here. Anything is toxic in a large dose. A key issue is how much of X are we ingesting or exposed to over what time period not are we exposed X because "it's toxic/it causes problem A/it brings on condition B".

    Drink all the tea, coffee, Coke (sugar free), etc. you want; cut your calories; exercise.

    I must confess that I find cruel irony when overweight people express concern about their health or weight loss progress if they consume a particular food item because it contains X, Y, or Z.
  • catwrangler
    catwrangler Posts: 918 Member
    Nope...anytime you add any flavors ect to water...it doesn't count! You have to drink good old boring water!! Drink green tea for breakfast, but other then that you should be drinking just water!

    This is what my trainer and nutrionist said!!!
    I'm going with the Mayo Clinic over your nutritionist:

    Although it's a great idea to keep water within reach at all times, you don't need to rely only on what you drink to satisfy your fluid needs. What you eat also provides a significant portion of your fluid needs. On average, food provides about 20 percent of total water intake, while the remaining 80 percent comes from water and beverages of all kinds.

    http://www.advancedhealthplan.com/Mayo_Clinic_Water.html
  • nkziv
    nkziv Posts: 161 Member
    EVERYTHING you drink counts as water. Don't listen to the propaganda from the bottled water companies. There has never been a scientific study that has proven that you need to drink water instead of anything else.

    don't think you can count alcohol as water. Or coffee. Those things both dehydrate you... also soda's not great either. I'd count flavored water, carbonated water, and tea towards your required 8 cups a day.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Hard alcohol can be dehydrating. Beer and wine are hydrating, as they are lower in alcohol and still mostly water. Caffeine is NOT dehydrating. That has been disproven time and time again. Also, if you regularly consume caffeine any diuretic effects are gone, it's no different than drinking water.
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