By what percentage does tea hydrate you less than water?!
Answers: I mean normal tea, not herbal or red bush
Tea hydrates as well as water. Its diuretic properties are largely due to its liquid content, not caffeine.
"The researchers state that tea hydrates the body as effectively as water with the added antioxidant benefits. This is completely contrary to the popular belief that tea is dehydrating due to the caffeine content; a wives' tale often perpetuated in media reports and even by some health care professionals."
-- http://www.teasetc.com/tea/article.asp?I...
"During the Spring of 2004, the Institute of Medicine issued new hydration guidelines that now advise women to consume 91 ounces of fluid (2.7 liters or approximately eleven 8-ounce cups), and men, 128 ounces (3.7 liters or sixteen 8-ounce cups), and, different from before, all beverages count. The report also stated that available research evidence does not support the argument that caffeine leads to cumulative body water deficits. Approximately 80 percent of an individual's total water intake comes from drinking water and beverages, including caffeinated beverages, while the other 20 percent comes from food. The report concluded, then, that caffeinated as well as non-caffeinated beverages contribute to total fluid intake."
-- http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/2963....
Normal tea or black tea contains caffeine, which is a diuretic, which means that it encourages you to go for a pee. So even though the tea you drink is made mostly from water it will still cause you to go to the toilet more often! Do you see what I'm getting at?
I don't know of an actual percentage, but water is more effective at hydrating your body. It is also recommended that you should drink at least 3 litres of water a day. Try that and then see how often you go to the toilet!
i'd like to know the answer to this one. i know i drink on my husbands sweet tea and i feel thirstier than ever!
The effect of actually getting fluid in your body far outweighs the diuretic effect. The same goes for beer and other infamous drinks like cola. So I'm guessing it's a negligible percentage.
Tea does not have a diuretic effect due to caffeine, unless the amount consumed at one sitting contains more than 250 - 300mg caffeine, which is equivalent to between five and six cups of tea. The average person in the UK drinks three cups of tea per day.