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Does Tea Count as Water Intake?
Water is something we can’t live without. Not only does the human body consist of up to 60% of the stuff, but its consumption is paramount to our functionality.
Water, however, arguably comes in many forms - or at least finds itself in many of the things we eat and drink. What we intend to look into in the following article is, “Does Tea count as Water Intake?” keep reading to find out more.
Regardless of what we discover, few would disagree that Tea is wholesome, delicious and invigorating. Which is why we recommend that you buy the finest Leaf Tea or Fresh Coffee from The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company.
Our family-run establishment takes pride in packing every product fresh to order, thereby ensuring its quality and consistency.
Table of contents
Why Do We Need Water?
Allow us first to address the questions, “Why is water important?” and “Why is water good for you?” The fundamental fact is that we need water because we are, in many respects, water.
According to H.H Mitchell, Journal of Biological Chemistry 158, the heart and brain are 73% water. Then there are the lungs at 83%, the skin at 64%, muscles and kidneys at 79% and even the bones at 31%.
That’s a lot of H2O - and it’s just the beginning of its significance. Water carries nutrients to the cells in the body, as well as oxygen to the brain. It allows the body to absorb and assimilate vitamins, minerals, amino acids, glucose and other substances.
Water also flushes out toxins and waste while helping to regulate body temperature. So how much should we be drinking each day?
How Many Litres of Water a Day to Drink?
Mixed messaging exists when it comes to how much water per day you should consume. According to the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, an adequate daily intake differs depending on your assigned sex at birth.
A man should have about 15.5 cups (3.7 litres) of fluid, while a woman should have 11.5 cups (2.7 litres). However, it gets a little more confusing than that.
The unofficial advice, regardless of sex, is the so-called 8x8 rule. This recommends that people drink eight 240ml (8-oz) glasses of water daily, totalling just under two litres on top of any other drinks.
Not even that is backed by concrete scientific findings. Such is the speculation circulating that the answer to the question, “How many litres of water a day to drink?” is, well, it depends on whom you ask.
What’s worth remembering is that, in a healthy body, the brain detects when you’re becoming dehydrated and, as a result, initiates thirst for stimulating drinking.
Additionally, it releases a hormone capable of signalling to the kidneys to conserve water by concentrating the urine. The bottom line is that your best guide is your body; it’ll tell you when you’re thirsty.
Does Tea Count as Water Intake?
Now for the main reason you’re reading: Does drinking Tea count as drinking water? In a word, yes. Almost all non-alcoholic fluids, including Tea and Fresh Coffee, count towards your fluid intake.
But there is an element of nuance to the answer. This is because most types of Tea - from so-called “real” Tea from the Camellia sinensis (Tea) plant to “honorary” Herbal Tea varieties - act as diuretics.
We’ve written a blog on the topic, “Is Tea a Diuretic?”, which we recommend checking out for details. The gist of it is that a diuretic refers to something that promotes the formation of urine - or in other words, it makes you pee more.
Caffeine in Tea is one of the primary culprits, it turns out, alongside other constituents that exist in caffeine-free Tea types. But surely such a factor goes against water retention?
Brewing up a cup of tea for water retention is nevertheless a good choice due to its diuretic influence being relatively minimal. What we mean is that it isn’t likely going to dehydrate you nor lead to repeated trips to the bathroom every couple of minutes.
If you’re wondering, “Is Tea as hydrating as water?”, then the best answer we can offer with the evidence at hand is “pretty much.”
A Summary of Whether Tea Counts as Water Intake
We established why it is important to drink water, as well as how many litres of water you should drink a day - give or take. We then moved on to addressing the query, “Does Tea count as water intake?”, to which we concluded that yes, it does.
While Tea has a diuretic effect, it does not offset hydration, so there’s nothing to worry about in that regard. It’s essentially good news on all fronts, then.
You know the facts, so what’s left? Browsing our vast selection of products, of course! We stock over 1,000 types of Loose Tea and 70 types of Fresh Coffee at our Kent-based factory.
Buy online or visit us in-store - the choice is yours. Whatever you decide, whichever kind of cuppa you opt to make, be sure to choose The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company today.
Author: Richard Smith
Partner at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company
Richard Smith is a Tea expert, entrepreneur, and owner of The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company. Part of a family of renowned Tea planters dating back four generations, he was born in Calcutta (Kolkata), India, where he spent his childhood between Tea Estates in Assam and Darjeeling.
In the late 1970s, having accumulated years of knowledge in the industry, Mr Smith and his mother, Janet Smith, moved to Kent, South East England, to establish a Tea business in the village of Pluckley. Their early days of packing Tea Bags by hand from chests of 10,000 prompted the creation of the company’s flagship infusion known as Pluckley Tea. It remains our most popular product today.
Mr Smith, who studied economics at London Polytechnic, has since specialised in over 1,000 types of Loose Leaf Tea - in addition to around 70 varieties of Roast Coffee - from around the world. These are now available at The Kent and Sussex Tea and Coffee Company, where everything is still packed by hand and fresh to order, not only to honour tradition but to ensure the utmost quality and consistency.
