Does drinking tea dehydrate you?

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03-23-2010, 09:14 AM
Super_Geo

Does drinking tea dehydrate you?

I've been plowing through 4-6 cups of green tea a day at work without drinking any water. Sure I piss like a race horse, but I'm doing it mostly so my body will more readily use fat as an energy source during cardio (I've been using a heart rate monitor to train for a half marathon in May, one of the key points was to keep your HR low enough to be using fat as an energy source instead of carbs so you can run long periods of time).

I quickly looked into whether or not tea dehydrates you before starting this green tea kick back in January and according to this article it doesn't: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5281046.stm

However, a lot of my co-workers are still telling me that it does, and they point out that the study that I was using as gospel is actually funded by The Tea Council... fuck.

Anyone know of any scientific sources that has tested this? I searched Google and most of what I find is from Yahoo Answers with people spouting urban myths as answers.
03-23-2010, 09:19 AM
A790

Re: Does drinking tea dehydrate you?

Quote:

Originally posted by Super_Geo
I've been plowing through 4-6 cups of green tea a day at work without drinking any water. Sure I piss like a race horse, but I'm doing it mostly so my body will more readily use fat as an energy source during cardio (I've been using a heart rate monitor to train for a half marathon in May, one of the key points was to keep your HR low enough to be using fat as an energy source instead of carbs so you can run long periods of time).

I quickly looked into whether or not tea dehydrates you before starting this green tea kick back in January and according to this article it doesn't: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/5281046.stm

However, a lot of my co-workers are still telling me that it does, and they point out that the study that I was using as gospel is actually funded by The Tea Council... fuck.

Anyone know of any scientific sources that has tested this? I searched Google and most of what I find is from Yahoo Answers with people spouting urban myths as answers.

Green Tea DOES NOT dehydrate you. If that were the case I'd be skin and bones, as I drink a ton of it. Numerous studies have shown that nearly any non-alcoholic drink will promote hydration on some level.
03-23-2010, 09:29 AM
Mar

The only thing I could think of is caffeine is a diuretic so you'll get dehydrated quicker that way.
03-23-2010, 09:46 AM
Wrinkly

I LIVE on tea of all colours/types, but mostly pekoe/black - I was raised on tea and have been drinking it daily for many many years (like eight cups or more almost without fail) and it never did me any harm ;)

Tea does contain Caffeine and it does seem to have a diuretic effect. But the benefits of drinking it far out weigh any negatives IMO.

I think if it caused too much dehydration you'd likely get headaches :dunno:
03-23-2010, 11:40 AM
Mar

Quote:

Originally posted by Wrinkly
Tea does contain Caffeine and it does seem to have a diuretic effect.

Tea often has more caffeine than coffee.
03-23-2010, 12:16 PM
Super_Geo

Quote:

Originally posted by Mar
Tea often has more caffeine than coffee.

I think you mean the other way around....

http://wilstar.com/caffeine.htm
03-23-2010, 05:28 PM
wintonyk

Caffeine Content

All figures are approximate, especially with coffee. Different varietals can have different caffeine content, and the way the coffee is roasted can also change the values.
Double espresso (2oz) 45-100 mg
Brewed coffee (8 oz) 60-120 mg
Instant coffee (8 oz) 70 mg
Decaf coffee (8 oz) 1-5 mg
Tea - black (8 oz) 45 mg
Tea - green (8 oz) 20 mg
Tea - white (8 oz) 15 mg
Coca Cola (12 oz can) 34 mg
Pepsi (12 oz can) 38 mg
Barq's Root Beer (12 oz can) 22 mg
7-up (12 oz) 0 mg
Chocolate milk (8 oz) 4 mg
Dark chocolate (1 oz) 20 mg
Milk chocolate (1 oz) 6 mg

As far as I know though some coffee houses have caffeine in their coffee as high as 200 mg. So you would have to drink 10 green tea to equate the amount of caffeine in one coffee.

But as far as your body is concerned its fluid in vs fluid out. At optimal level you need almost 2.5-3 L a day. This is to make up for approx 1 L urination, 1 L respriration, and the remainder sweat and defecation.

Caffeine rich foods still count as fluid they just make it more challenging for you to rehydrate.

Drink away your tea. I love green tea, I usually drink about 8 cups/day but use only 4 bags. Steeping each bag twice. The second time always tastes better.