Green Tea VS Water

[folmerveeman]

Hey there XKCD-ians

Normally I drink about a litre of water a day (as 'extra' of sorts) while doing stuff on my computer in my room, but recently I've come in contact with the oh so yummy green tea. Seeing as green tea has next to no calories, lots of antioxidants and some vitamins and minerals, would that mean green tea is better to drink than water? And if so, could I replace that litre of water with a litre of green tea without breaking something in my body?

Thanks in advance

And discuss green tea in general here too if you want My favourite is green tea with lemon grass, gives it the much needed tang

[Decker]

Here is the WebMD article on possible side effects of excessive green tea consumption, for whatever you think that's worth. According to this, you should be safe at a liter, but I wouldn't go much over that. Most of the side effects seem to stem from caffeine.

[PictureSarah]

Yeah, green tea is very healthy, but it's also caffeinated. Much less caffeine than say, coffee, but I still would probably avoid drinking massive quantities.

[Decker]

Or just make sure you get decaf.

[folmerveeman]

Okay thanks! I'll try to drink like three or four cups a tea a day then, and I'll look into getting decaf Thanks for your help!

[Izawwlgood]

I want to point out that consuming antioxidants is one of the biggest health scams since snake oil.

[folmerveeman]

I want to point out that consuming antioxidants is one of the biggest health scams since snake oil.

Do enlighten us with your wisdom..

[Izawwlgood]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antioxidan ... se_effects
Also, an op-ed piece, but Slate recently had something to put it in laymans terms:
http://www.slate.com/id/2300578/

In short, the proposed health benefits of antioxidants are not substantiated in humans, and with most things humans do, running it in excess can be bad for you.

Antioxidants are a health fad; like taking vitamins, there might be some fringe benefit, but it's probably going to be lost in the noise of things. I'd be willing to bet drinking a cup or two of green tea a day is good for you, but my guess is that 'good for you' bit is actually from taking a break from your day to reduce stress, and calmly sip something you enjoy.

[folmerveeman]

Hmm, interesting reads, and I guess that even if the antioxidants are 'bad' or neutral green tea is good for you And I didn't want to do it because of the antioxidants anyway, but it seemed a good extra pro

Also I would like to apologise for my condescending tone

[PictureSarah]

My doctor actually recommended I drink (unsweetened, obviously) drink tea as part of a diet/exercise routine, and even went so far as to say that OTC diet pills that had green tea extract as the active ingredient would be at least mildly effective. I haven't done it super-consistently, but it hasn't hurt?

[Izawwlgood]

What for out of curiosity? And the pills that are just as effective aren't caffeinated I assume?

[PictureSarah]

What for what? Why are the green tea pills effective, or why did she recommend I take them/drink it?

I don't remember what specifically is in green tea that helps (though she told me), but she recommended I drink it/take the pills because she thinks I'm too fat (I am) and her mantra every time she sees me is "You need to cut calories and up exercise!" ...even when I have been on less than 1500 calories a day, and 4x weekly exercise. I should pick back up on that, though, sigh. Green tea seems much more doable at this particular juncture.

[Izawwlgood]

So it's a metabolism jump starter? I guess what I'm asking is whether or not you're using Green Tea, or Green Tea Extract, for the antioxidants, or for something else. Do antioxidants have any link to fitness?

[PictureSarah]

No. It was something else, that (supposedly) boosts the metabolism a bit. I keep wanting to say HCGC, but I know for certain it's NOT that (because that is a crazy diet that a bunch of my old coworkers were on).

[gaurwraith]

One liter of tea seems too much. If you drink it quick enough you will surely feel "high".
When I was in Morocco I developed this addiction to green tea, and after downing a full teapot, a big one, maybe around 3/4 liter in one hour in the afternoon I had problems to get my sleep (which usually comes to me fast and heavey) and was overexcited

I mean, it's an excitant. one liter? also depends on the concentration I guess, if you do it very light it's not the same as if you do it very concentrated.

As for antioxidants... I wouldn't go as far as to take any pill. But a pomegranate, why not? A couple tea cups, why not?
Moderation!

I heard this story also, how old men from the sahara were so addicted they cried from pleasure when drinking their tea...

can be addictive, for sure.


edit. btw, hello! I´m gaurwraith, I´m usually up there in the language and linguistic forum, or a bit down in the fit club, running 10.000 miles...

[Cytoplasm]

In my gym book it says there are properties in green tea that help your health and helop prevent cancer. Don't quote me on it; I can't remember the title at the moment. I would have to search for it. But green tea in moderation could be health savvy.

[Felixworks]

Here is the WebMD article on possible side effects of excessive green tea consumption, for whatever you think that's worth. According to this, you should be safe at a liter, but I wouldn't go much over that. Most of the side effects seem to stem from caffeine.

I just want to point out that the author of that article has made some fundamental errors about the caffeine content of green tea. "Caffeine should be limited to less than 300 mg per day (approximately 2-3 cups of green tea)." Similar figures are used throughout the article.

Green tea is generally accepted to have under 50 milligrams of caffeine content per cup, and usually the number is around 20-30 milligrams. So while you may still want to limit your consumption, that decision should not be based on the "facts" about caffeine given in this article.

[Decker]

Also why I added "For what you think it's worth"
I generally don't consider WebMD to be that reliable.

[Coffee]

I drink about a liter of coffee per day, but then my schedule doesn't allow for a butt tonne of sleep.

[modularblues]

I drink diluted green tea often, especially on days when I have long meetings. ~200ml of regular coffee can make me a super jittery squirrel. I have not tried decaf, but maybe it'll be similar to tea.

[cerbie]

I've come to like citrus juice mixed in with weak tea. I generally brew the tea strongly, mix it (I eyeball proportions, sorry), then dilute the whole thing in whatever container it will go into. Orange juice and black tea tastes pretty much like tang. Green and oolong teas done this way don't have anything to compare to, on my palate, but are not bad at all.

[Kevin88]

Green tea has a lot of antioxidants and is very good for you health. You should not drink too much of anything; too much water at once can cause you to drown.