Can drinking herbal tea dehydrate your body?

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   Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years ago

   Can drinking herbal tea dehydrate your body?
   
   I drink a lot of mint tea. Does drinking tea dehydrate your body?
   
   

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   Alphadogg16posted 11 years ago

   It really is dependent on how much your drinking. Too much of anything is bad for you. if the tea is caffeinated, it will act as a diuretic, meaning it expels water through your urine. Herbal teas normally do not have caffeine, and drinking it, coffee (non-caffeinated), juice etc, would actually count towards your daily consumption of water, thus actually hydrating you just as water would.

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   Craeftposted 11 years ago

   It very much depends on what kind of tea.
   Caffeine is the main issue in tea leaves. However, there are other stringent herbs that are diuretics.
   Just... as an EXTREME example, there is a medicinal herbal tea made out of belladonna nightshade (I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS! NO ONE DO THIS!) for certain neurological issues. As I'm sure you're aware, that is extremely dehydrating.
   I assume you're not drinking that, but I'm using it as an extreme example that there are more herbs out there than just those with caffeine that will dehydrate.
   If you're talking chamomile, no... it is not a diuretic.
   
   Also, most mints are not necessarily diuretics which is why I usually recommend various mint species for teas for cold (catnip, peppermint, lemon balm, chocolate mint, etc). But what other herbs do you usually (if ever) put into the teas?

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      Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I don't add herbs.  Usually, I drink mint tea.  Sounds like it shouldn't be diuretic.

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      Craeftposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      If you're using the pouches (as pictured), just take a peek. A lot of the herbal teas still use tea leaves and herb combinations. If it's just straight peppermint, then you're probably good to go.
      Of course if in doubt, have a glass of water.

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   Alphapxposted 11 years ago

   I heard some herbal tea are bad if taken too much. The bitterness of such may be the cause of dehydration.

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