Delicious hot or cold, tea is a very popular drink. In fact, 159 million Americans drink tea each day. It’s widely renowned for its purported health benefits and a variety of flavors. However, does tea hydrate you?
While many may think that tea counts as water, the high caffeine teas can produce diuretic effects. In this blog, we will explore if tea hydrates you, the diuretic effect, and smart choices for teas that will hydrate your body.
Tea and Hydration
Does tea hydrate you? The answer is yes. When you drink tea in moderation, it supplements your fluid intake and helps you stay hydrated. Research shows that drinking tea in modest amounts may be just as hydrating as drinking water.
However, regular tea contains caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic, which causes your body to expel water. Drinking too much caffeine that can upset the fluid balance in your body and cause you to become dehydrated. In fact, studies have found that tea can affect your hydration status if you drink five or more cups per day.
Tea Diuretic Effect
When you consume a caffeinated drink like tea, caffeine moves from your stomach into your bloodstream. From there, it is transported to your liver, where it’s broken down into different compounds that aid your body processes.
One of the impacts of consuming caffeine is an increased need to urinate. When your urine production increases, your body expels fluids and electrolytes more rapidly than normal. If you don’t replenish those nutrients and water, dehydration can set in.
The signs of dehydration include low blood pressure, extreme thirst, and dry mouth. The drop in blood pressure can reduce blood volume and decrease blood flow, leading to neurological symptoms, including headaches, dizziness, and fainting. Left untreated, dehydration can become severe and may require hospitalization.
Fortunately, you can minimize your risk of dehydration by limiting your caffeine intake and monitoring your hydration levels. Being smart about what kind of tea you choose to drink can help you stay hydrated.
How Different Teas Can Affect You in Other Ways
Some teas contain larger amounts of caffeine, making them more likely to dehydrate you due to the diuretic effect.
The teas that contain caffeine are teas that are made from the tea plant known by the botanical name Camellia sinensis. These teas include black tea, green tea, white tea, oolong tea, and pu-erh tea. Herbal teas, teas that don’t fall into the above categories, don’t contain naturally occurring caffeine and thus won’t have diuretic effects.
If you’re worried about dehydration, you don’t have to give up drinking tea. While some teas contain caffeine that creates a mild diuretic effect, tea can also help increase your water intake if you don’t drink enough water regularly. If you want to drink tea, but don’t want to affect your hydration status, choose a tea variety with a low caffeine content or a caffeine-free tea.
Tasty Tea Alternatives That Manage Dehydration
If you’re looking for a tasty alternative to tea that doesn’t contain caffeine and can actually help you manage dehydration, DripDrop can help. DripDrop is a tasty beverage with medically relevant electrolytes to help manage dehydration. For cases of mild to moderate dehydration, DripDrop is a fast, effective, and great tasting remedy.
Its convenient packaging allows you to have DripDrop when you need it, where you need it. Instead of iced tea, you can sip a cold glass in the summertime or opt for one of our tasty hot flavors to warm up in the winter without dehydrating caffeine.
Instead of drinking a few cups of tea a day, you can alternate between your favorite tea and DripDrop. It comes in a variety of delicious hot flavors like Hibiscus, Spiced Apple Cider, Honey Lemon Ginger, and Decaf Green Tea.
Plus, DripDrop contains vital nutrients and vitamins that your body needs to hydrate, making it a great alternative to teas and other diuretics like coffee.
Instead of iced tea, cold flavors like Watermelon and Berry are the perfect choice for a refreshing, ice-cold drink. Or, if you’re looking for something tart and tangy, our Orange and Lemon flavors will hit the spot.
Want the cozy comfort of a cup of hot tea, but don’t want caffeine that can increase your dehydration risk? Opt for cold weather favorite, Spiced Apple Cider.
Not only is DripDrop a tasty alternative to tea, but it also contains electrolytes such as sodium and potassium to help you avoid dehydration. Get started with our most popular multi-flavor pouch for dehydration relief fast. Or, learn more about how you can save up to 25% on every purchase when you subscribe.
Popular Products