While caffeinated tea isn't quite as good a hydrator as plain old water, it's still a great choice. Tea can help to mix things up flavor-wise and may help keep you from feeling bored drinking only water day in and day out.
If you're a regular tea drinker, you can continue drinking tea and it will contribute to your overall hydration level. It shouldn't replace water, though, especially if you're drinking more than six or seven cups of black tea per day. It's important to incorporate some water into your daily fluid intake.
A Summary of Whether Tea Counts as Water Intake
We then moved on to addressing the query, “Does Tea count as water intake?”, to which we concluded that yes, it does. While Tea has a diuretic effect, it does not offset hydration, so there's nothing to worry about in that regard.
Tea is a low-caffeine drink, so the diuretic effect is minimal. On the whole, tea gives your body much more water than it causes your body to lose. So drinking hot tea or iced tea helps to hydrate your body overall.
Daily fluid intake
The Eatwell Guide recommends that people should aim to drink 6 to 8 cups or glasses of fluid a day. Water, lower-fat milk and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee, all count. You may need to drink more fluids if you're: pregnant or breastfeeding.
While there aren't any drinks that can replace water completely, there are some that can partially substitute it and keep you hydrated. For example, the best water alternative drinks are FUL® sparkling spirulina drinks, coconut water, smoothies, and juices.
For example, many fruits and vegetables, such as watermelon and spinach, are almost 100% water by weight. In addition, beverages such as milk, juice and herbal teas are composed mostly of water. Even caffeinated drinks — such as coffee and soda — can contribute to your daily water intake.
However, on average a cup of tea contains 47mg of caffeine. Doctors recommend a caffeine intake of no more than 400mg to reduce your chance of negative symptoms like restlessness, insomnia, headaches, dizziness, and dehydration. Therefore, in terms of caffeine, many consider more than 8 cups of tea to be too much.
They adjusted for risk factors such as health, socioeconomics, smoking, alcohol intake, diet, age, race and gender. Higher tea intake — two or more cups daily — was linked to a modest benefit: a 9% to 13% lower risk of death from any cause vs. non-tea drinkers.
While all beverages restored hydration status equally, the researchers found that milk may be more effective than water or sports drinks at maintaining normal hydration status after exercise, likely due to milk's electrolyte content and energy density.
Naturally hydrating, fruits and vegetables are an excellent way to supplement the fluids you're drinking throughout the day. Fruits like melons, peaches, oranges and strawberries are made of mostly water and can help fill in any hydration gaps.
Water and tea are both healthy options, but if you struggle to reach the recommended fluid intake by drinking water alone, try adding healthy teas to your diet. Tea may be more beneficial to your health, and unless you're anemic or have a low caffeine tolerance, there isn't much harm.
Excessive tea can lead to disturbed sleep
While it can have calming effects when consumed in moderation, excessive consumption can lead to anxiety, stress, and restlessness. This is because tea contains caffeine, a natural stimulant that can interfere with sleep and trigger the release of stress hormones in the body.
Caffeine found in coffee, tea, soda, and foods can also place a strain on your kidneys. Caffeine is a stimulant, which can cause increased blood flow, blood pressure and stress on the kidneys. Excessive caffeine intake has also been linked to kidney stones.
Different studies have varying thoughts on this. While some say two to four cups in a day is normal, there are others that claim the upper limit as 10 cups per day. On an average, three to five cups of tea in a day would be okay to have. Rest it depends on the way your body responds to compounds present in tea.
“If you don't get enough water, hard stools and constipation could be common side effects, along with abdominal pain and cramps.” Dull skin. Dehydration shows up on your face in the form of dry, ashy skin that seems less radiant, plump and elastic. Fatigue.
You'll probably experience more comfortable digestion (less heartburn). Bowel movements might be easier and more regular. Your teeth and gums will be healthier and more resilient. Your skin will be more supple and moisturized.
The body requires a lot of water to maintain an internal temperature balance and keep cells alive. In general, a person can survive for about three days without water. Certain factors, such as the amount of water required by an individual body and how it uses it, can, however, impact this.
The good news is that tea – and coffee – do count towards your daily water intake. Both are made with water, so it stands to reason. But there are often question marks over tea and coffee's diuretic nature, the caffeine contained in both, and whether or not they will even dehydrate you.
That said, drinking multiple cups of coffee or tea without also drinking water could end in dehydration. "A cup of coffee is not going to dehydrate you that much," integrative medicine doctor Bindiya Gandhi, M.D., says, "but many cups of coffee without water intake will."
In addition to beverages, many foods provide fluids. Examples include ice cream, yogurt, gelatin, pudding, soups, sauces, and juicy fruits.
Drinking two or more cups of tea per day is linked with a lower risk of death, compared with not drinking tea, according to a recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Tea is known to contain beneficial compounds, such as antioxidants, that boost your overall health.
Herbal Teas
Hibiscus, rose or chamomile are great options because they're caffeine-free and will have less diuretic effects. “All herbal teas are great for hydration,” Giovanni says. “The main thing to look for is that it's a decaffeinated tea – a tea like black tea, for instance, wouldn't be hydrating.”