Thursday January 4, 2007 | 4 comments
Walk into any health club, hike down any trail around the country and what will you see? The ubiquitous water bottle or–for the environmentally conscious folks–the nalgene bottle filled with water. I’d like to propose that it’s time for a change.
As we’ve previously reported, Dr. Ruxton, a Bristish public health nutritionist dispelled the “urban myth†that tea is dehydrating. In her article published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition and also reported on by the BBC, Dr. Ruxton states that tea offers two important advantages: it replaces lost fluids and offers the benefits of antioxidants.
The fact that tea’s powerful antioxitants can support physical endurance suggest that it is superior to mere water. Plus for athletes, it packs an extra punch with helpful anti-inflammatory agents. Absolutely nothing is better for you when you’re exerting yourself. Just look at what Kristin Sloan, a N.Y.C. ballerina has to say about it.
Why just rehydrate when you can revitalize? Make tea your beverage of choice; at home, at work, at exercise and at play. Your body will thank you with more robust health and wellness.
I’m curious as to how much caffeine per unit of water it would take for there to be a net loss of hydration. The BBC article didn’t say exactly.
Good question. I’ve emailed one of our guest contributors to see if he can comment about this. I’ll keep searching and report back with any appropriate information.
On “Cha Dao” there was a post about the biochemistry of tea. It said that the tannic acid in tea, which causes the astringency we feel, is what causes our salivary glands to kick in which makes tea very thirst quenching. I’m sure while exercising, just like with water, one should drink plenty of fluids even if not thirsty.
I heard back from Dr. John Weisburger. Please find his impressive bio. under the contributors section. Here’s his take on the issue “I suggest, as you know, that people should dring 6-8 cups of tea per day, out of a total fluid intake of 2-3 liters”. For us non science nerds, a quart which is 4 cups, is just a little bigger than a liter. Basically he’s saying that tea can infact meet our fluid intake requirements. It is generally believed that people should consume 8 cups of water daily. It looks like Dr. Weisburger thinks more would be fine. I’ve found that most people have some difficulty getting 8 cups in throughout the day. When we add tea to the mix, I think alot of people of going to find the task a whole lot easier and tastier.