Tea as a water serving?

[Eetzurbrainzz]

I'm sure this has been answered somewhere and I'm sorry if it's a repeat question, but I've heard differing opinions on the interwebz and I thought I'd bring some discussion here:

 

Does tea count as a water serving?  I drink upwards of about 5 cups of organic, herbal tea every day at work to 1. stay hydrated and 2. get some good benefits from natural herbs.

 

Thoughts?

 

Stefani

[Nadia B]

As far as I know water is water and tea is tea even non-caffeinated. Maybe a moderator will chime in here, I'd be curious to know. Why can't you drink water? 

[Guest Andria]

Of course you will receive hydration benefits from tea, unless they contain herbs that have a diuretic effect.  However, you should not be replacing your water intake with tea.  5 cups is a lot if it is preventing you from meeting your daily plain water intake.  Aim for 1/2 - 1 ounce of water per lb of body weight and only use tea as an occasional supplement.

 

And, yes, this has been asked previously.  You can use google search to locate topics in the forum by typing 'Whole30 + topic of interest'

[Tom Denham]

Black and green tea work as a diuretic, so a cup of such tea does not equal a cup of water. Herbal teas that do not include diuretic-type herbs might count towards your daily "water" intake goal of 1/2 ounce of water per pound of body weight. Five cups per day sounds okay to me, but we encourage you to practice drinking water to the point that you actually like plain water.

[Eetzurbrainzz]

Thank you all! I do try to drink plain water as well, but after a while I get sick of it...but that's the spirit of the whole30, pressing on and breaking bad habits, so that's what I'll do!