This may be a strange question...
…but I’ve noticed others on this site, when asked how many “cups” of tea they drink in a day, quoting double-digit figures, up to something like 20+. I assume they must be measuring with a smaller cup than I am, or some of those people might be flirting with death by water intoxication…but I digress.
Surely, if people are drinking that much tea in a day, they are not drinking other beverages. So my question is, do any of you guys feel like you get extremely thirsty mid-way through a day of drinking nothing but tea?
It’s not like I chug tea, but if I’m at home, I tend to make cups of it back-to-back, so it’s not as though I should be dehydrated. Yet I will often find mid-way through the day that I suddenly feel intensely thirsty for a cold drink like water or fruit juice. A few sips of either will make the feeling go away and I won’t get it again for hours…but I’ve been getting this for weeks, I find it very strange/bothersome, and I’m really starting to wonder what the heck that’s about. Is it bad for me for some reason I’m not aware of to drink nothing but hot tea? Anybody else get this?
For the most part, I drink only tea and water … mostly tea. I will occasionally have a glass of water if I’m feeling thirsty for cold refreshment and I don’t feel up to brewing iced tea. It is a very rare occasion when I will drink anything else.
I drink an average of about 10 – 12 cups of tea a day. Some days I drink less, some days a little more, so it evens out. And when I say “cups” I am talking the cup measurement, as in 8 ounces. My mug holds 12 ounces, and I’m refilling it about 6 or 7 times a day. (again, on average… some days I have more, some days less)
As far as feeling dehydrated, I seldom feel that way … as far as I know, it is not bad to drink nothing but hot tea, but then I’m not a doctor so I’m not really qualified to answer that.
Perhaps you are reacting to the astringent quality in tea? If I can have a day where I drink nothing but tea, I’m happy. :) but I don’t get that dehydrated feeling you describe.
The only time I feel dehydrated is when I don’t drink enough water. Since I don’t normally drink that much tea, I don’t normally drink enough water either. I’m slowly weaning myself off of soda and lots of juice.
I have noticed that a couple of teas feel like they make me more thirsty though. If I drink an Irish Breakfast blend straight then I often feel a little thirsty afterward and if I drink a sip of water or juice it goes away. Maybe you are experiencing something similar?
The thought that it might be specific teas is a good one! I hadn’t thought to pay attention to that; I will now, maybe it’s specific ones making me thirsty, hmm.
Other than that, I can only imagine this is psychological, because I’m not used to drinking only hot drinks. I’ve always needed any not-hot drink to be COLD, and perhaps my brain is convinced that hot drinks are not really water. :P
I drink mainly water (5 – 8 glasses, each of which hold at least two "cups [250 ml]) and a couple mugs of tea per day. It’s a lot of liquid, but the body needs a lot of liquid. I suppose if one were drinking 20 cups of extremely caffeinated tea per day there could be risk of dehydration, but I don’t know how much caffeine there has to be to reach the point where the water isn’t sufficiently hydrating. Theoretically, most North Americans don’t get enough liquid every day as it is, so whatever you drink (water, tea) is probably still ‘good’ for you in terms of keeping hydrated.
Sometimes I don’t drink anything than tea for days. I even forget how does water taste like. Furthermore, as I started drinking loose leaf I gradually stopped drinking soda and even juice – it was somehow too sweet for me.
Besides that I drink milk occasionally and squeeze grapefruit juice and make lemonade now and then.
I am not a doctor but I suspect the tea has nothing to do with your thirst. Head to the doctor. Most likely they will have to do some tests including blood work. Before I was diagnosed with Diabetes the same thing was happening to me. I am not saying that is the same for you but rather what your experiencing maybe more than just simple thirst. I wonder if you haven’t been experiencing anything else that is a bit odd?
smiles Just wanted to note that I thank you very much for your concern. I know I’ve posted things like this in the past when I thought someone might be dealing with a medical issue, and I’ve personally always found it slightly unnerving when they didn’t reply (especially since posting something like this nearly always reveals personal information).
My doctor has a bug up her butt about diabetes, though. I’ve always seemed to be thirstier in general (and thus, uh, pee more) than most people, which certainly looks like diabetes. So my doctor’s always taken every possible excuse to test my blood sugar. It’s always fine (even though she seems convinced I am always on the verge of developing diabetes) so I doubt it’s that.
It was a reasonable thought, though! I do find it odd.
Glad to hear it. It seems you’ve got a great doctor that takes interest in their patients. An uncommon trait these days.
Good luck figuring out what is causing the thirst. :)
before i started drinking tea i basically never drank anything at all. which can’t be good for you. i figure even the caffeine from tea is probably better than that.
plus, i am unnaturally sluggish all the time, and the caffeine really only brings me to a normal person’s energy level.
I drink tea, water, fruit juices, beer, and wine. Oh, and milk with my morning cereal. I never feel dehydrated, unless I’m fighting a hangover. ;)
5 to 8 cups (6 oz) of tea a day is my normal routine. I can’t imagine 20 or more!
I drink 64 oz of tea at work in the mornings, then more if I have tea bags and can brew an afternoon pick-me up. Then I’ll go home and drink another one or two pots of tea (at 2-3 cups a pot, so…. 16-48 ounces). So if we’re counting 8oz/cup I have 8 cups minimum, probably 15 max. 6oz cup would be…. 11-20?
While I’m at the gym I’ll drink 24-32 ounces of water, or so, but I never really CRAVE water. I crave more tea, but not water! :)
Sometimes I’ll drink probiotic or apple-cider vinegar drinks, but I never drink juice, alcohol, etc. Just tea mainly!
Daniel here is a suggestion for you. Maybe you might want to wake up in the morning with a nice cold glass of water and then add 1 cup of cold water in afternoon and evening and if you want to drink tea the rest of the day go for it. My next thought is check with your doctor just to make sure no other problems are going on just for your own safety. I say all this in my humble opinion. I hope this helps. Take care your self my friend.
Login or sign up to leave a comment.