Almost all teas are diuretic and make you urinate more than other fluids. There are many medications used for diuretic purposes.
Some food and drinks also have the same effect. People looking for more natural options with diuretic properties opt for these kinds of beverages. Is green tea a diuretic?
Drinks such as green tea & coffee do not count towards daily water intake and may lead to dehydration.
Let’s see what diuretic effects does green tea has on our body, does it lead to dehydration and how safely can we consume it.
What Is a Diuretic?
Diuretics are pills or natural substances that help the body to get rid of sodium and water. Most pills used for this purpose are called water pills.
They increase the amount of urine and increase kidney functions to release more salt.
Thus, this makes you pee more by removing excess water from your blood. It also decreases blood pressure by minimizing the fluids flowing in your veins and arteries.
People with high blood pressure, heart failure, and kidney disease often use diuretics to treat these conditions.
Some herbs and plants including caffeine, dandelion, ginger, parsley, and hibiscus are called natural diuretics.
Is Green Tea A Diuretic?
Yes, green tea is a natural diuretic. All teas come from the plant called Camellia Sinensis which has caffeine in it and is a diuretic.
Green tea also comes from the same plant and contains between 35 and 45 milligrams of caffeine in an 8-ounce serving. Thus, it is also included in the list of drinks with diuretic properties.
Drinking green tea has an effect of frequent urination but is not as strong as coffee. Green tea caffeine is less than coffee. Thus, more amount of caffeine means more diuretic effects.
Green Tea – Hydrating or Dehydrating?
Now we know what diuretics are and how they affect our bodies. Diuretic drinks may be good for people with kidney disease and urinary tract infections.
It urges them to pee more and clears their internal system. Too much fluid loss can lead to mineral depletion in some people. Hence becomes the cause of dehydration.
Caffeinated drinks like green tea have a mild diuretic effect and they do increase urination but they mostly don’t increase the risk of dehydration.
During the diuretic effect only, excess fluids come out of your body. Therefore, green tea as a diuretic does not increase dehydration or loss of fluids.
Also, caffeine has a diuretic effect when higher doses of 250-300 mg are taken.
Until and unless you take this much amount and keep your water intake sufficient, you are safe from dehydration from green tea.
5 Types of Diuretic Green Teas
We have listed the types of green tea with a caffeine content that has much higher effects on urination, these are mentioned below:
1) Matcha Green Tea
Matcha is one of the highest qualities of green tea. This is because of special brewing methods used while manufacturing and processing matcha.
It is ground into a fine powder and contains the most caffeine than any other green tea. On average a cup of matcha has around 70mg of caffeine. This is almost the same as black tea or coffee.
Therefore, matcha is a great diuretic. When you drink matcha you are drinking the green tea leaves in the form of powder, this increases matcha benefits than regular green tea.
2) Chinese Green Tea
Chinese green tea is the most consumed green tea around the world.
The calories and caffeine in this type of green tea are low and it’s best to choose rather than choosing black tea. It does have potential diuretic properties. Don’t over consume green tea to make it work.
You should not consume more than 2-3 cups of green tea in a day.
3) Jasmine Tea
The caffeine content in jasmine green tea is sufficient to cause the effects in the body to produce more urine and take out excess sodium.
These effects depend greatly on the number of green tea leaves included in the drink. The effects are low and it does not pose any negative side effects.
4) Iced Green Tea
Iced tea is prepared by brewing green tea mostly overnight, it has all the weight loss benefits and potential diuretic effects too.
It will make you pee more and take the excess toxins out of your body.
Increase the tea leaves in your iced tea recipe if you are trying to achieve the diuretic effects from this green tea.
5) Sencha Green Tea
Sencha green tea is a type of Japanese green tea. It is a sun-grown tea with moderate caffeine. It is a beneficial tea with minerals and fat-burning properties.
Sencha tea will treat bloating, fluid retention and give you desired diuretic effects.
How Diuretic Is Green Tea Compared To Other Teas
Green is is a diuretic but its effects are mild. The effects of other famous teas may be higher due to the caffeine content in them and because they are oxidized.
Let’s compare different tea’s caffeine content to green tea. The caffeine content may be different in different tea and green tea brands, high-quality teas may have more caffeine than a low -grade tea.
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The Positive Impact of Green Tea as A Diuretic
Green tea as a diuretic can be quite useful. It can be beneficial in the following ways:
1) Stimulate Nervous System & Health
When you drink green tea during the daytime, it acts as a diuretic, flushes out excess water by making you urinate more.
This way excess toxins are flushed out and you lead a healthy lifestyle. Vital nutrients are delivered to your nervous system and all other organs.
Caffeine in green tea gives the energy to do so.
2) Helps With Bloating & Weight Loss
Due to the water retention in the body, people gain weight and have bloating. It is quite common.
As green tea makes you pee more, thus it takes the extra water out of your body, burns calories, and suppresses appetite. This helps with weight loss and bloating.
3) Boosts Metabolism
The natural diuretic green tea has caffeine in it. This helps to fight infections and provide energy to recover from flu and cold. Thus, boosts your metabolism and helps in the well-being of the body.
The Negative Impact of Green Tea as A Diuretic
Green tea may have some side effects as being a natural diuretic. You should look out for these negative downsides.
1) Dehydration
Although taking the recommended amount of green tea doesn’t affect you but it can cause dehydration in the body if you have been drinking a lot of green tea.
It will make you lose fluids which can cause mineral depletion and dehydrate you.
2) Sleeping Trouble
This one is obvious. Green tea makes you have frequent urination and if you drink green tea at bedtime, you will have a lot of visits to the loo at night.
Thus, disrupting the sleeping patterns.
Do Sweeteners Increase The Diuretic Effects?
Yes, sweeteners increase the diuretic effects of the drinks.
When you add sugar or honey to your green tea it will need more amount of water to process and dilute in the body.
Sweeteners can enhance diuretic effects in green tea and work with caffeine to make the kidneys function more effectively in processing sodium to take out excess water.
Which Tea Is The Least Diuretic?
If you are looking for the least diuretic tea then you have to see the caffeine in teas and choose the one with the least amount of caffeine in it.
This can not be coffee, black tea, or even green tea. The least options may include some herbal teas which have zero to the low amount of caffeine. The content is so low that they do not create any effect on urination.
Another option is to go for the decaffeinated option of green tea, white tea, etc. These have reduced caffeine by around 2% of original caffeine.
Conclusion
Green tea is a natural diuretic due to caffeine. It has mild effects that are minimal on the human body. These effects are very low in comparison to other teas and coffee.
Green tea provides a great alternative to fluids intake in the body and does not dehydrate you. Be cautious of excess green tea which can have negative side effects.
