Tea is well-known as a healthy drink (especially when you have it unsweetened). However, some people have been asking our tea blog a pretty interesting question: does tea dehydrate you?
Our teatectives have dug deeper and got to the bottom of this question. Read on if you want to find out more.
The Health Benefits of Tea
Tea does have many very powerful antioxidants in it, making it one of the most appreciated drinks out there. For example, green tea is thought by most people to be one of the healthiest drinks available -- and for good reason! Green tea has also been studied extensively throughout history.
What Does Being Dehydrated Actually Mean?
Being dehydrated means that your body does not have enough water inside it to function properly. It can occur due to a number of reasons. If you don't drink enough water every day, then eventually your body will start to struggle.
The amount of water that a person needs to drink depends on which diet they are following, as well as many other factors. For example, if you're partaking in a high activity level then you will need more water than someone who does nothing at all.
When Does Tea Become Dehydrating?
The simple answer here is: when you add sugar or milk to it. Both sugar and milk have the effect of dehydrating you because the body absorbs both without question. In fact, according to medical studies both can make an individual twice as likely to become dehydrated.
So what does this mean for your daily cup of tea? Quite simply - if you enjoy your cuppa with sugar and/or milk, then you should be very careful about how much you drink (and how much sugar or milk you add to it). Ideally, you'd drop the sweeteners altogether and just have tea as it is (a high quality tea will be extremely flavorful anyway!)
Does Drinking Tea Rehydrate You?
In short, yes -- but only if you have it without milk or sugar. Having a cup of tea with your lunch does in fact rehydrate your body after the meal. It does this by washing out the sodium that was consumed during lunchtime.
Tea does not rehydrate you in the same way that water does, but when it's taken with a meal it does add extra hydration to your body. Tea also helps to prevent stomach cramps and nausea during periods of intense exercise. That makes it an excellent drink for athletes!
Tea and Dehydration: FAQs
Does tea dehydrate you like coffee?
No, tea does not dehydrate you like coffee does. Tea has some caffeine in it but is nowhere near as dehydrating as coffee is. The dehydration occurs when you drink tea with sweeteners or milk, however.
Does green tea dehydrate you?
The more sugar and milk you add to your tea, the least beneficial it will be for your health and the more it will dehydrate you. This stands just as true for green tea too.
Does caffeine free tea dehydrate you?
Caffeine is not the primary reason tea dehydrates -- the sugar and the milk in it are, however, reasons that may cause dehydration. Thus, caffeine free tea might dehydrate you if you have it with milk and sugar.
