Have you ever been told that tea dehydrates you? Whoever told you is wrong.

The claim that tea dehydrates is a long-standing myth. While tea does contain caffeine, it only starts to have a diuretic effect once you’ve consumed 300mg. It’s also been found that most tea drinkers are safe to consume up to 400mg a day (though pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to 300mg). Considering the average cup of tea has less than 50mg of caffeine, even the most prolific tea drinkers should be pretty safe.

So there you have it. Tea hydrates. Just thought you ought to know.

Need more evidence? Check out this study that looked at the hydration vs. dehydration question, among other important issues.

© Eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2010. | Does Tea Hydrate or Dehydrate You? | 5 comments |
Post categories: Health benefits of tea, Tea questions
Post tags: tea and dehydration, tea science

Try searching for “green tea” on Google. Seriously. Do it.

Check out the right side of the page, where those sponsored links are. What’s being advertised? Tea, right? But chances are that the people selling the tea are trying to tell you that drinking tea – sorry, drinking their tea – will make you lose weight.

Take it with a grain of salt.

Tea can help you lose weight. A study by American and Japanese researchers back in 2001 found that drinking oolong tea increases your metabolism, thus leading to additional weight loss. But we’re talking moderate weight loss here, around 3% to 4%. Research in 2004 found that for people who had lost weight, drinking green tea didn’t help them keep their weight down.

Other studies seem to suggest the same thing: drinking tea may help you lose weight, but it’s hard to say how much or whether drinking tea will keep the weight off. Don’t believe people who are trying to tell you that drinking their tea will make you lose 50 pounds.

On that. I should mention Wu-Yi tea. I find it funny that marketers have opted to make Wu-Yi tea their miracle cure. Thing is, Wu-Yi is a region of China, known for producing fine oolong teas. But there’s nothing to suggest that oolong tea produced in Wu-Yi is any more powerful than other oolong teas. My suspicion is that the Wu-Yi branding is simply a ploy designed to trick people into thinking they’re getting some uber-exotic tea with amazing powers.

If you need to lose weight, eating healthier and exercising more often should be your first response. Don’t get swept up in the hype that greedy marketers are eager to peddle. By all means, drink tea. But don’t believe for a second that it’s a miracle cure.

If you enjoyed this article, you’ll love the ebook I’m working on. It’s all about the health benefits of tea (the real benefits, not the hype). You can subscribe to Tea Finely Brewed so you’ll find out as soon as I’ve finished it.

© eric for Tea Finely Brewed, 2009. | Drinking Tea Helps You Lose Weight: Fact or Fiction? | 8 comments |
Post categories: Health benefits of tea
Post tags: Oolong tea, tea health, weight loss tea, wu yi