Water/Tea confusion

Holy cow you guys! Your food journal says GLASSES OF WATER, not GLASSES OF FLUID. You should only be logging H2O in that counter, everything else needs to be detailed in your diary along with its respective calories, sodium, etc. Simple as that.

To the people who say that tea/soda/juice is just as hydrating as water -- I want to know, after you've gone for a run or done some time on the elliptical, do you thirst and reach for Dr. Pepper or plain old water?

Again this is not a debate about what is healthier for you the original question was is tea considered water for hydration purposes the answer is yes. It doesn't mean that tea should be your sole method for hydrating but it does count as water and will hydrate you

A) I was legitimately asking a question about what these people wanted to drink after they worked out. I'm curious.

I guess I see the water counter on here as MFP's way of helping people train themselves to learn new healthier lifestyles. By justifying that other liquids count in that, it seems like you're cheating yourself out of learning a new healthier way of being. Skirting around the issue.

Just my two cents, and I really don't feel like arguing. Just add me to the camp of people who say, in regards to your water counter on MFP, a glass of water water = water.

you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

false.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

Dont bother...ive linked like 9 different sites and articles saying it doesnt dehydrate, yet people still post that crap...they just dont want to see the truth..

I'll be honest - I don't care what studies say or what an article says. For me, I prefer to only count pure water towards my water intake. Yes, I consume other things like sugar free energy drinks or coffee - but, I prefer to not count them.

Do what works for YOU - as you can see people get all riled up over this question. It really isn't THAT big of a deal, so do whatever is going to work best for you.

*like*

I'll be honest - I don't care what studies say or what an article says. For me, I prefer to only count pure water towards my water intake. Yes, I consume other things like sugar free energy drinks or coffee - but, I prefer to not count them.

Do what works for YOU - as you can see people get all riled up over this question. It really isn't THAT big of a deal, so do whatever is going to work best for you.

Just that. A preference for you is fine, for YOU. I personally drink plenty of water (usually a gallon a day), and I don't log my coffee or tea at all... but that's my preference. It's fine for me.


*but I do take the mayo clinic's word for stuff... I just still don't count it. :-p

I was curious so searched a bit myself. It seems there is some conflicting information on the subject and your best bet would be to do some of your own research and reach your own conclusions based on knowledgeable experts. I'm leaning toward the belief that as long as it isn't a large amount of caffeine, it can count toward your water intake. See below...

via http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

Researchers used to believe that caffeinated drinks had a diuretic effect. This means that you would urinate more after drinking them, which could increase your risk of becoming dehydrated. Recent research shows that this is not true and that caffeine has a diuretic effect only if you consume large amounts of it — more than 500 to 600 milligrams (the equivalent of 5 to 7 cups of coffee) a day.

Still, caffeinated drinks can make you jittery, sleepless or anxious. Water is probably your best bet to stay hydrated. It's calorie-free, caffeine-free, inexpensive and readily available.

via http://www.livestrong.com/article/270979-will-the-caffeine-in-tea-dehydrate-you/

According to Balz Frei, Ph.D., director of the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, moderate amounts of caffeine --- up to 500 mg per day --- do not cause dehydration. The liquid content of tea compensates for the diuretic effect of the caffeine.

Most entertaining MyFitnessPal thread ever! I'd really like to extend thanks to SassyGirl, who made the whole discussion super extra hilarious.

To those brave souls trying to talk sense, with support for their arguments, responding in a civilized way: you rock. I'm glad people like you are patient enough to contribute.

Water is water. There can be other stuff in your drink -- stuff you ought to avoid -- but the water in it is still water. Even the water in fruit is water. It hydrates. While I wouldn't want to say much about someone who drinks only soda-pop, certainly there are people in this world without access to sanitized water who drink ONLY tea!

Science is helpful in sorting these matters.

Just ran across this picture on a friend's FB page and it reminded me of this thread...

I've been counting wine and vodka as water, that's ok right?

*runs and ducks for cover*

I drink 1 to 2 cups off herbal green tea with a little honey every day. Because of the honey, I just started a new food category.

Drinks (Not water).

That's where I'll put wine, sweet tea, soda, coffee or any other liquid that I consume that's not water. And then on top of that I still try to drink at least 4 cups of water a day as I strive for 8. When I workout I can easily get 6 so I shouldn't have any excuses.

I also got a little tired of the confusion and just started counting water as water and that's it.

you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

The bottom line is if it has caffeine or sugar in it, natural or otherwise, you can't count it was water.

just from experience i don't count my soda towards water but for a long time all i drank was soda and it didn't dehydrate me. However I have started limiting my pop to one a day and drinking actual water and can feel a huge difference in the way i feel. You can count soda as water if you want to but it's probably not a good idea to get all your water from soda, coffee or tea. Reason: plain water or flavored water is much healthier for you so if you try to drink 8 cups of soda as your water intake that is 64 ounces of soda which is roughly 747 cals. That is why i don't use it as my water intake. I'm not a doctor and I don't drink tea or coffee so I don't know about how many cals it has. Side note my mother drinks nothing but coffee and tea and I would say she stays dehydrated but I'm sure caffeine affects everyone differently.

As caffeine dehydrates.

Sigh.


Here we go again!


You need the equivalent of 8 cups of water a day on average, from any source. These sources can be pure water/tea/coffee/juice/soda/milk/fruit/veg etc. It does NOT have to be pure neat water!

http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/13/myth-eight-glasses-water-day

http://junkfoodscience.blogspot.com/2008/07/wellness-water-8x8-myth.html

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2010/12/08/the-myth-behind-drinking-8-glasses-of-water-a-day/


As for coffee being a diuretic, so many people just spout that word as a reason, without actually understanding what "diuretic" means.

di·u·ret·ic (d-rtk)
adj.
Tending to increase the discharge of urine.
n.
A substance or drug that tends to increase the discharge of urine.

Neat water is also a diuretic. The diuretic effect of caffeine is far, far outweighed by the actual water in the tea/coffee. Also, regular consumers of caffeinated beverages will build up a tolerance to said effect, eventually reaching the point where caffeinated drinks provide practically the same amount of hydration as a cup of neat water will.


http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated-say-what

http://worldofcaffeine.com/2011/06/14/caffeine-does-not-dehydrate/

http://advance.uconn.edu/2002/020722/02072207.htm

http://nomoredirtylooks.com/2011/04/surprise-caffeinated-tea-does-not-dehydrate-you/

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/04/health/nutrition/04real.html

http://www.sharecare.com/question/does-caffeine-dehydrate-not

http://www.artofdrink.com/2009/12/caffeine-in-coffee-does-not-increase-dehydration-during-hangovers.php

http://www.caring4cancer.com/go/cancer/nutrition/questions/do-caffeinated-beverages-cause-dehydration.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5552790&page=1#.TrQWc0O5_oo

sigh
here we go again
SODA does not count as water! But hey if you want to count soda into your "diet" feel free and good luck cuz your gonna need it!

I have to disagree, I use to for many years just drink tea and soda and I've never had an issue with dehydration, that is all I use to drink and never would drink water, it was my water so yes it can count as water, if not I probably should be dead since we can't live without water

you can count tea as your water as long as it is decaffeinated. As caffeine dehydrates.

The bottom line is if it has caffeine or sugar in it, natural or otherwise, you can't count it was water.

Actually if you don't count the caffeinated or sugar drinks as water and also drink normal water, you can end up intaking to much water (depending how much you are drinking) if you refuse to count the sugar and caffeinated drinks since they are water. Its not accurate not to count them.

Posted my water intake in the Water Consumption section and all other liquids in the food intake part. Hope that's the correct way to do it.

Americans want a doctor telling them what to do. Few of us actually prefer to think for ourselves, and even fewer want to take responsibility for ourselves. You'd think a place like MFP wouldn't be so riddled with fuzzy brains who believe all the junk science out there... I'd think more people actively choosing to join a site such as this would have more of an edge on what's commonly accepted as the latest in science these days rather than wives tales.