We have known for years that sweet tea is great for shock, and for many years we have used tea as a form of stress relief at the end of a hard day. Nutritionist Cath MacDonald says, “Tea is a soothing, satisfying drink.” It’s also well known in Western society that a nice cup of tea and a friend can also sort out many of life’s problems (Personal or otherwise). But is there more to tea than just this. Did you know that 165 million cups of the world’s favourite drink are drunk in the UK every day? Drinking four cups of tea a day can be beneficial to your health. The Chinese have believed for 5,000 years that tea can promote longer life. There may be some truth in the old folklore.
One of the reasons why tea is so good for us is because the tealeaves are picked and dried in a short space of time, locking in their goodness. This means that when you brew up all the goodness and minerals from the tea are released into the drink. Polyphenol antioxidants, which are found in the tealeaves (in substantially greater amounts than that of fruit and herbal teas.), help deal with the bad forms of cholesterol and help prevent damage done to cells. Fluoride can also be found in team and this is good for our teeth, helping to prevent cavities and decay. Tea with milk contains calcium, which, as we know, is good for our teeth and bones. Caffeine taken in moderate amounts throughout the day can help concentration and promote performance.
Regular cups of tea are good for you if you are watching your figure. Contrary to the nickname ‘Tea Belly’, a name given to tea lovers, tea can actually reduce your belly by speeding up the burning of fat calories, aiding weight loss or maintaining a healthy weight. Did you know that tea without milk and sugar has no fat or calories and that a cup of tea with semi-skimmed milk contains only 13 calories and 0.5g of fat.
In the UK 1 out of 3 people will suffer from cancer. Good news then that regularly drinking tea has been found to prevent some cancers. Ongoing studies are showing that the healthy properties in tea may be reducing cancer risks in China and Japan, where they regularly drink tea, and have been doing so for hundreds of years. Also in Australia researchers believe that tea could be the next weapon against skin cancers.
Evidence has shown that the chances of having a heart attack can be reduced by drinking three to four cups of tea a day. This is because the tea improves cardiovascular – more platelets (blood cells) are made. Regular tea drinking may help keep people who have had heart attacks alive, according to a new study by researchers at Harvard Medical School.
The review of 1,900 men and women in their 60s who had suffered a heart attack found that those who drank the most tea before their attacks — more than 14 cups a week — had a 44 percent lower death rate than none drinkers nearly four years later. Moderate tea drinkers had a 28 percent reduced risk.
If this is not reason enough to be a tea lover it can also make you more beautiful. Placing cold tea bags on your eye lids for five or ten minutes can reduce swelling and puffiness of the eyes.
So, put the kettle on and brew up some good health!
