The Best Expert Tips for Staying Extra Hydrated!
Is tea hydrating? Can you drink tea instead of water?
If you want to know the truth about how caffeinated drinks hydrate you, this blog has answers. And if you hate drinking water, this blog has alternatives for you so you can mix up your water intake.
Without proper hydration, you run the risk of not functioning fully and developing certain sicknesses and ailments. When you’re dehydrated, you might struggle to trudge through the day. Water is essential for life and living.
But, how much water do you need? Is it really eight glasses? Can you drink other things instead of water and keep up with hydration?
By the end, you’ll understand why hydration is so important and the differences between water and tea hydration. You’ll also discover alternatives to drinking water so you stay hydrated and healthy all day long.
Why is Hydration Important?
Your body is made of mostly water so it’s important to maintain that water balance. This means you must replace the water you lose from sweating, breathing, and going to the restroom.
A loss of only one percent of water can reduce endurance and strength significantly. Dehydration can result in a lack of concentration and increased headaches.
Drinking enough water can help combat some health problems like kidney stones, urinary tract infections, constipation, and skin dehydration. Your body is made of 60% water. To live a full and healthy life, you must drink enough water every day.
Does Drinking Tea Count As Water?
You may have heard that tea and coffee have caffeine which makes them dehydrating. This is false.
According to several studies, both caffeinated and herbal teas are just as hydrating as water when enjoyed in moderate amounts.
Caffeine is a compound that can be dehydrating. It can also have a diuretic effect which pushes blood flow to your kidneys and produces more urine. But, going to the restroom more isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
And to feel this diuretic effect, you’ll likely have to consume about 6-13 cups of tea. Now, that’s a lot of tea!
Studies show that drinking coffee or tea when compared to water had no difference in hydration results.
Drinking caffeinated beverages means you may have to go to the bathroom more often. But using the restroom more doesn’t mean you are less hydrated. It means you are drinking enough liquid for it to pass through your body more frequently.
The bottom line is the diuretic effect you experience from caffeinated drinks doesn’t make you lose more liquid than you drink. Drinking coffee or tea for hydration is perfectly fine. Just make sure you’re getting enough healthy liquids to keep yourself hydrated all day long.
How Much Water Do You Need To Drink A Day?
There is no “one size fits all” rule when it comes to rules for drinking water. You’ve been taught that drinking eight, 8-ounce glasses of water is the goal, but that isn’t always the case. This myth was scientifically debunked.
Your activity levels, your body size, and even the climate you live in change the amount of water you need to drink on any given day. Eight glasses might be too much water for some people but not nearly enough for most active, healthy adults. Overall, most people should drink more than eight glasses of water a day to maintain optimal hydration.
Gauge your hydration by looking for clear, pale urine when you go to the restroom. If it is dark, consider drinking some water or tea for hydration.
To maintain a healthy level of hydration, drink water throughout the day even if you don’t feel thirsty. If you feel thirsty, it’s a good sign you need some water and are already dehydrated.
But, keep in mind that as you get older your sensation for thirst decreases. This means, that if you are older, you may need to remind yourself to consciously drink water regularly. This may also apply to people on certain medications or treatments.
Rules for Tea Hydration
When it comes to tea and hydration, stick with plain tea which can maintain or even boost your health. Tea; high quality, freshly brewed tea, is loaded with antioxidants and other compounds that promote oral health, heart health, weight maintenance or weight loss, and even anti-cancer properties.
Leave out the sugar to experience the most tea hydration. Eating sugar causes your body to pull water from your cells to help balance the sugar intake. Sugar leads to dehydration so it’s best to drink your tea without it and enjoy sweetened tea as a rare treat.
Thinking of adding milk to your tea? Milk, is NOT hydrating and if you're using dairy milk, the casein protein diminishes the nutritive value of tea. Drinking too much milk may have more adverse effects than benefits for most people. The paradox of the health benefits of tea drinking in Japan and the health outcomes of the tea drinkers in Britain is easily explained by the fact that the Japanese drink freshly brewed, high quality green tea and the British mainly drink low quality, grocery store black tea with milk and sugar added to every cup.
In Conclusion
Boost your hydration with healthy teas made with your wellness in mind. Tea Market blends clean, natural, healthy teas that are so delicious they are actually craveable for maximum enjoyment. Water is boring, our 125+ teas to choose from keep hydration fun and enjoyable every single day!
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