Iced Tea...good or bad??

Ok, I have a question.  I can only stand plain old water so much in one day.  I LOVE tea.  I live in the south, so Sweet Tea is abundant, but I am trying really hard to limit that becuase I know it is full of sugar.

I do actually like the taste of unsweetened iced tea.  Sometimes if I am craving a little sweet, I will put in some sweet and low (no calories). 

So, is it ok to drink tea...I probably drink 32-40 oz a day in addition to at least another 32 oz of water?

Oy, you're a better person than I!

I drink 64 oz. of tea a day, but no "water".  I don't add anything into my tea and use 1 teabag for the whole 64 oz.  (gotta love the thermos).  I do this because I can't stand drinking water.  It gives me a headache...I'm not kidding, I hate it, can't even drink it when I'm working out.  So, using this teabag all day, it still gives it flavor but has no sugar and basically, no calories.

I've been doing this for about two weeks now..I'm much more hydrated than I used to be and it seems to be doing the trick. :) 

The lemon tea I have in the cupboard doesn't have any cals in it & I can always add a little sweetner to it- I was only drinking it as hot tea, but I am getting bored of water all the time & iced tea sounds great.  Thanks for the reminder.  I don't think it hurts.  It's better than sodas, juices, etc.

I drink a lot of tea too.  Sweet tea maybe for a treat.  I really like white tea.  Its milder and almost sweet.  Its really good hot or cold and full of anti-oxidants. 

Love iced tea, and I usually use nothing to sweeten it, or if I do, I use about 1/3 a packet of sweet-n-low, that will sweeten a big glass.  Anything more than that is TOO sweet for me.   But also, to help with water, adding a little lemon does a great job.  And no caffeine.

The thing you need to be concerned about with tea is the caffeine content.  If you are drinking non caffeinated or herbal tea it's ok to use it like water.  However if it is caffeinated it will only make you more dehydrated.

I make iced green tea with teabags. mmmm... :D

Love it!  I hate carbonated beverages (and yes, I know I'm lucky), so iced tea is a nice change from water.  I don't sweeten it very often, but when I do, it's a spoonful of honey.

I love Ice Tea too.  I take a Lemon Ice Tea Crystal Light packet to work with me everyday and after lunch I mix it in my water bottle and it tastes just like I am having dessert.  At home I make a 2 quart container to have, when I am watered out and had. I think it tastes better then the fast food chains version of Sweet Tea.

I love water, but it gets old fast. I've never been a big soda person, but love juice because of the sweetness. Unfortunately, juice used to quickly add up to extra calories. I've started making iced herbal tea and it satisfies from H2O requirement and need for sweetness. Celestial Seasons has so many kinds of caffeine free herbal teas to choose from. I think iced tea is ok as long as you drink it sugar free and keep the caffeine in check.

Iced tea (and hot tea for that matter) is my saving grace and my dietician has given it the thumbs-up provided I sweeten with Equal or Splenda.

During the day, I drink regular ol Lipton Iced tea (unsweetened) or for a treat, I like Starbucks/Tazo Iced Passion tea sweetened with Equal. (0 Calories, no caffeine). Sometimes I buy it from Starbucks if I am out and about, but my 'recipe' for home brewing is 8 oz. water + 2 teabags, steeped for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a 20 oz. glass to the top with ice. Once tea is steeped, immediately sweeten it (I like 3 packs of equal) and pour over the ice while it is still hot. The ice melts and dilutes the tea to perfection. Do yourself a favor and buy the Tazo teabags at Target where I've found they are the cheapest.

At night, I drink the Celestial Seasonings fruit teas (herbal tisanes). Favorites are Mandarin Orange Spice and the 'Sleepytime' blend, but many of them are good. Another favorite is the Raspberry Zinger.

I've been meaning to do this for awhile, and you've reinspired me to finally try it today. Good Earth Original Tea is awesome. It is naturally sweet (cinnamon and rosehips) and caffeine free. I love it hot, but I've been meaning to try an iced tea version because I, too, am a sucker for sweet tea.

Hey, divergirl -

Ahh, fond memories. My sister and I drove down through the US from Canada this summer to visit friends in West Virginia, Alabama, and Florida. She tried sweet tea when we were in Alabama, and holy crapulence! It really lived up to its name. I don't think I've ever tasted such a sweet liquid - and I'm the kid that used to put three heaping tablespoons into one cup of earl grey tea. :P

My friend used to work in the diner that we were in at the time, and he joked that he would use 3/4 bag of sugar to about half a pitcher of tea. :P

But, my egotistical ramblings aside - I think it's fine if you switch it up every once and a while and get the extra water in there.

Original Post by agana:

I drink a lot of tea too.  Sweet tea maybe for a treat.  I really like white tea.  Its milder and almost sweet.  Its really good hot or cold and full of anti-oxidants. 

Most teas are full of anti-oxidants, even your regular Lipton iced tea brew. I live on it... thinking about buying caffeine free, though. Just afraid of the withdrawal migraine....