Tea and dehydration

[taitea]

What's the verdict?

[Mary R]

I think tea hydrates more than dehydrates. It is mostly water, and unless you're very caffeine sensitive, the diuretic effects of even the strongest imported whole leaf stuff (avg about 60 mg per 8 oz tea vs 40 for stuff like Lipton and maybe 15-20 for most non-Japanese greens...coffee's about 125 mg per 8 oz) won't do much.

[scruffmcgruff]

What Mary said. People see "caffeine is a diuretic" and automatically assume that because tea has caffeine, it is a diuretic and therefore dehydrates. That's equivalent to saying that almonds, which have some cyanide in them, are lethal.

What matters is not that there is caffeine or cyanide present, but rather how high its concentration is.

People argue the same thing with caffeinated cola beverages (and BPA leeching, but that's another topic); sure, they may not hydrate you quite as much as would water or a sports drink, but there is still a net gain in hydration.

[joelbct]

Interesting this should come up.

A recent ny times article about coffee and caffeine said:

"It was long thought that caffeinated beverages were diuretics, but studies reviewed last year found that people who consumed drinks with up to 550 milligrams of caffeine produced no more urine than when drinking fluids free of caffeine. Above 575 milligrams, the drug was a diuretic."


Personal experience might indicate otherwise, but I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you are drinking extraordinary amounts of Tea at a time.

[Wesli]

You should worry more about over-hydration.

[Proinsias]

You should worry more about over-hydration.

I'd suggest an overall decrease in worrying.

[Sydney]

I personally am extremely caffeine sensitive. If I don't drink lots and lots and lots of water to offset my tea consumption, I will dehydrate rapidly.

I also have to stop drinking tea early in the day or I'll have difficulty sleeping. And by difficulty, I mean maddening insomnia.

[brandon]

I personally am extremely caffeine sensitive. If I don't drink lots and lots and lots of water to offset my tea consumption, I will dehydrate rapidly.

I also have to stop drinking tea early in the day or I'll have difficulty sleeping. And by difficulty, I mean maddening insomnia.

This doesn't happen to me when drinking black tea at a decent hour, but if I drink some quality matcha I have a pretty serious headache a few hours later.
Drinking lots of water does help offset this.

[hop_goblin]

I would have to agree with MaryR. Although caffine is considered a diaretic, I think tea drinking is replenishing.

[taitea]

I definitely seem to pee more often when I'm drinking tea, although I don't feel dehydrated at all.

The BBC seems to agree with most of your comments: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5281046.stm

[hop_goblin]

Convert your tea to pee

[Space Samurai]

In basic we had charts like these over every toilet and urinal. I may have long since forgoten how to take apart my M-16, but I can't pee without checking the color.

[Mary R]

Boy, we just FLUNG this thread straight past euphemism, didn't we?

[scruffmcgruff]

Drink for more fluid? That's an awfully strange toast.

[geeber1]

Convert your tea to pee

That sounds like a recycling slogan ... I like it!