Sweet Tea & Bloating

Sweet iced tea, a traditional Southern treat, hits the spot on a hot summer day, but drink too much or too fast and your pants may feel tight. Bloating, the uncomfortable sensation that your abdomen is enlarged, may occur if you gulp liquids and swallow air. Sugar can also cause bloating in some cases. Bloating is a common condition, affecting between 10 and 30 percent of Americans, Dr. Syed Thiwan of the University of North Carolina Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders reports. The tea itself does not cause bloating; tea acts as a diuretic.

Gulping Air

On a hot day, downing a glass of sweet tea quenches your thirst but may increase your girth. Swallowing air, medically termed aerophagia, is a common cause of gas. When you drink liquids quickly, you swallow more air than usual, which can lead to abdominal bloating and discomfort. Drinking through a straw can also increase the amount of air your swallow. Slow down when you drink, don't gulp and throw away the straw to reduce bloating.

Added Sugar

Ask for sweet tea outside of the Southern states, and you may get a blank look. Some iced tea in other areas of the United States comes unsweetened so you can add your own sweetener. Sweet tea already has sugar added. Consuming large amounts of sugar can draw fluid into the intestines, causing bloating. Excessive carbohydrate intake can also cause fluid retention. If you make your own sweet tea, keep the added sugar to a minimum to avoid high sugar intake.

Tea's Effects

You can't blame the tea itself for bloating. Tea may actually help reduce bloating by increasing urination, which eliminates excess fluid that contributes to bloating. Tea contains caffeine, which acts as a diuretic. Caffeine's diuretic effect is mild; the liquid in the drink generally compensates for any fluid loss associated with the diuretic effect.

Considerations

Medical personnel generally don't consider bloating as serious a symptom as abdominal pain, Thiwan says. Bloating can be annoying but is generally not a sign of a medical problem unless it persists. If sweet tea causes you to bloat, you may have to cut down on your consumption, if simpler measures to relieve bloating don't help.