A Cuppa Caffeine Instead of Water?

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A Cuppa Caffeine Instead of Water?

 

Can you get enough water from just drinking tea and coffee?

-- Anonymous

 

 

Answer (Published 04/25/2002)

 

The short answer to your question is " no. " Thanks to their caffeine

content, both tea and coffee are diuretics –

 

that is, they cause the body to lose water.

 

And you do need the water – when you don't get enough, your cells

start to draw water from the bloodstream.

 

Blood gets sludgy, your heart must work harder, and your body starts

to redirect blood away from less vital areas.

 

You don't necessarily have to follow the standard recommendation to

drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day, but you do need to

drink as much of that amount as you comfortably can and usually more

than you think you need. This is especially important during and

after exercise or during hot weather when you've been sweating. Try

to drink extra water whenever you think of it – you'll know you're

getting enough when you notice that you're urinating more often than

usual.

 

If you really don't like drinking plain water, you can get the

fluids you need from highly diluted fruit juice or a herbal tea.

Avoid caffeine-containing colas – they have the same diuretic effect

as coffee and tea.

 

To get two cups of water from coffee or tea, you would have to drink

three cups. Considering that you should be getting eight cups of

water per day, you would have to drink 12 cups of coffee or tea to

get that much. You would be consuming much

much caffeine, more than enough to make you jumpy, anxious and

fearful, interfere with your relaxation, rest and sleep.

 

If you are drinking anywhere near that much coffee and tea, I

strongly suggest that you cut back. (The amount you get from a

single cup of coffee depends on brewing method -- drip gives you

between 88 and 280 mg while percolated contains between 27 and 64

mg; a cup of black tea gives you 45 to 75 mg of caffeine while green

tea gives you 24 to 48 mg).

 

Caffeine is a strong stimulant and an addictive drug that can

negatively impact your health

by causing or worsening headaches, anxiety, insomnia, cardiac

arrhythmia (palpitations), high blood pressure, gastrointestinal and

urinary disorders, prostate trouble and PMS.

 

In addition, studies have revealed unhealthy tendencies among people

who consume large amounts of caffeine.

For example, researchers have found that those who drink a lot of

coffee often smoke cigarettes, get too little exercise and eat meals

too high in fat.

 

If you decide to give up caffeine (which I recommend), set aside

three days to go " cold turkey " .

 

You'll probably experience headaches and lack energy for the

duration so don't make plans for 48 to 72 hours. To cut back,

gradually eliminate a cup per day until you are down to no more than

300 mg of caffeine.

 

Dr. Andrew Weil

www.drweil.com

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

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