# Iced Tea and going to the bathroom **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 19, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564 "2002-04-19T19:06:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oblong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/c0e974/32.png) [@Oblong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oblong)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/1 "2002-04-19T19:06:49Z")
Why does Iced Tea and coffee make me go to the bathroom more often than other beverages? If I drink a bunch of coke or pepsi I don’t have to go. Fruit Juices don’t make me go. However, a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea and I’m at the john within 15 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/2 "2002-04-19T19:28:11Z")
Both contain caffeine, which is a diuretic. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Scene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Bob\_Scene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Scene)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/3 "2002-04-19T19:37:44Z")
Tea also has theobromine and theophylline, which are closely related to caffeine and are diuretics. I think the theophylline in tea is what gives it such a diuretic effect. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/4 "2002-04-19T22:03:28Z")
AND, many sodas have salt, which helps the body to RETAIN fluids. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![PosterChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e274bd/32.png) [@PosterChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PosterChild)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/5 "2002-04-19T22:11:36Z")
Just to add a bit. Caffeine, IIRC, inhibits ADH (Anti-Diuretic Hormone) which normally acts at the last stage of urine production in the nephron to allow H[sub]2[/sub]O to be reabsorbed. (Reabsorbing H[sub]2[/sub]O prevents it from going out in the urine so it prevents diuresis (high volume of pee).) By blocking ADH, caffeine keeps the nephron impermeable to H[sub]2[/sub]O so it comes out in the urine. 'k? PC ---
**Author:** ![Pythagoras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@Pythagoras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pythagoras)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/6 "2002-04-19T22:16:48Z")
So when I drink 16oz coffee and a bottle of water to counter dehydration (something else that caffeine can do), its not all that effective? ---
**Author:** ![PosterChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e274bd/32.png) [@PosterChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PosterChild)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/7 "2002-04-19T22:29:15Z")
Well, I’m a little rusty on my water balance physiology, but depending on the amount of caffeine (and maybe your tolerance, but I haven’t heard specifically of tolerance to that aspect of caffeine) you’ll end up peeing more for longer the more caffeine you have. The bottle of water is probably helping, but you may want to drink some more later, too. Basically, the more blood that flows through the kidneys, the more fluid gets filtered out, and (with inhibited ADH) the more urine you make. I’m just not sure how much the water you drink would affect that. PC P.S.- It’s the diuresis that makes you dehydrated. P.P.S.- One theory of the cause of hangovers is dehydration of a number of sites in the brain. (The H[sub]2[/sub]O is replaced by EtOH.) So dinking a lot of H[sub]2[/sub]O (w/o caffeine) while you drink alcohol should help prevent a hangover, and drinking it afterwards should limit the extent of the hangover. (That’s one theory I was taught in med school, and anecdotally, I’ve found it works.:)) ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/8 "2002-04-19T23:43:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PosterChild \* > \*\*Well, I’m a little rusty on my water balance physiology, but depending on the amount of caffeine (and maybe your tolerance, but I haven’t heard specifically of tolerance to that aspect of caffeine) you’ll end up peeing more for longer the more caffeine you have. \*\* From the [Snopes](http://www.snopes2.com/toxins/water.htm) page on the “8 glasses of water a day” rule: > [@](#): > > Regular coffee and tea drinkers become accustomed to caffeine and lose little, if any, fluid. In a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition in Omaha measured how different combinations of water, coffee and caffeinated sodas affected the hydration status of 18 healthy adults who drink caffeinated beverages routinely. > > “We found no significant differences at all,” says nutritionist Ann Grandjean, the study’s lead author. “The purpose of the study was to find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking normal amounts of it. It is not.” However as a prime consumer of iced tea (approximately 12 8 oz. servings per day), I can tell you that the “pee every 15 minutes” rule applies no matter how great your tolerance becomes. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/9 "2002-04-20T00:56:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cartooniverse \* > **AND, many sodas have salt, which helps the body to RETAIN fluids.** I didn’t realize that. Do you mean sodium, or other salts? ---
**Author:** ![PosterChild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e274bd/32.png) [@PosterChild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PosterChild)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/10 "2002-04-20T01:04:34Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by_ \*\*SpoilerVirgin \*\*: > From the [Snopes](http://www.snopes2.com/toxins/water.htm) page on the “8 glasses of water a day” rule: \“The purpose of the study was to find out if caffeine is dehydrating in healthy people who are drinking normal amounts of it. It is not.” > > However as a prime consumer of iced tea (approximately 12 8 oz. servings per day), I can tell you that the “pee every 15 minutes” rule applies no matter how great your tolerance becomes. Good points **SpoilerV**. Maybe people in the studies drank a few 6 oz glases rather than an impressive 12 8oz servings. Maybe you’re above tolerance threshold or are taking longer to become tolerant? Then again, if there’s one thing they keep telling us, it’s that the “text book” presentation is rarely seen. Implying that there is a lot of variablility among people and how their bodies behave. PC ---
**Author:** ![ejrn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a6a055/32.png) [@ejrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ejrn)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2002, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iced-tea-and-going-to-the-bathroom/104564/11 "2002-04-20T06:03:09Z")
Keep in mind, **SpoilerV** that anyone who drinks three quarts of _any_ liquid is going to pee a lot.