Tea as a fluid intake

[Moore-cox]

I have a question for everyone, I read that even when I drink tea I can use it as part of my fluid intake.  Does anyone know if that is true or a good idea?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Odyssey13]

Hi @Moore-cox  we've been talking about this for at least as long as I've been on the forums. Everyone is different, but to me, liquid is liquid. It doesn't matter if it's tea, milk, juice, water, soda or lemonade as long as it's liquid. Some people like to be more strict and only count water. If we counted every bit of liquid, we'd be counting what we get from soup, watermelon or other things, too. Don't worry about being precise, just estimate.

[emili]

agree with Odyssey, do what feels right for you. The only thing I would add to this is caffeine drinks can be dehydrating, so if you are drinking more tea than water, you aren't really hydrating your cells. Make sure you have a good balance of liquids in your day and don't stress the actual number. drink if you are thirsty, drink after you workout, drink before meals or with them and check in with how you "feel" to ensure you are hydrated. 

[MichaelAdamski]

I totally agree with the comments above! I would like to clarify that there is even more caffeine in tea than in coffee, so I would not advise you to overdo it. Everything should not be too much!

[YojanaFitbit]

Hey @Moore-cox, nice to see you here. As far as I can tell the Eatwell Guide says we should drink 6 to 8 glasses of fluid a day. Water, lower fat milk and sugar-free drinks, including tea and coffee, all count. 😁

[Gryllotalpa]

iMHO even beer counts but do not forget to log thé calories!

[RodrigoMFitbit]

@Gryllotalpa Great to see you again at the community. Totally, every drink counts. Of course, one has to consider calories as well. That is pretty important as well. 

I try to stick with sugar free drinks. Meaning tea without a tbsp of sugar or plain coffe. Smoothies without added sugar. Honey is a great substitute, but one should not abuse either. 

Have a great day!

[Katiebel]

Tea leaves contain more caffeine than coffee beans, but since you use more coffee beans and a hotter temperature to brew the coffee, you end up with more caffeine in a cup of coffee than a cup of tea.

[YojanaFitbit]

@Katiebel You might be right, I've heard that before a cup of coffee has around double the amount of caffeine compared to black tea. But like tea, a lot of factors can influence the caffeine content of coffee including the type of coffee beans, the roasting process and the type of coffee. Are you talking about any specific brand?

[AnderoooliosAnd]

Tea is water, just with some extra flavor, usually with some positive effects.

[shipo]

I typically drink four to six liters of whole leaf Oolong (a type of green tea) per day; there is some caffeine in the first (of four) steepings, however, even at its strongest, green tea has less than a tenth of the caffeine of coffee by volume.  In my case, the daily liquids I consume are well over 95% green tea; in addition, I might have a small glass of milk, or a single beer, or a single glass of wine; and every so often I might even have a glass of water if I'm really thirsty.  With the above said, a while back I tried to drink a cup of coffee; I only made it through half of the cup before my hands started shaking; would you believe I felt the effects of the coffee for nearly 8-hours?

[YojanaFitbit]

I'd like to add that while tea and coffee have a mild diuretic effect, the fluid loss caused by this is much less than the amount of fluid consumed in the drink. So tea and coffee still count towards your fluid intake in general.