Understanding the Top 6 Benefits of Drinking Tea

Tea is commonly consumed in Asian countries and for good reasons. There are many benefits to adding tea to your diet. You can drink decaffeinated tea if you’re sensitive to tea and get the same health benefits as regular tea. Let’s talk about the great benefits that tea offers to our bodies, particularly green and black teas.

First, tea is packed with health promoting compounds called antioxidants.  It is commonly known that routine consumption of antioxidants is beneficial to health. Drinking tea is an easy way to boost the antioxidant content of one’s diet.

Second, tea is a non-caloric and favorable alternative to other beverages. You can consume tea throughout the day to have flavor without having to worry about sodium, calories or carbonation in your drinks. This is much better for you than drinking diet sodas or traditional sodas.

Third, the benefits of tea go beyond nutrition. A cup of tea can become a relaxing break in the middle of the day. Tea can be a nice way to connect socially with family and friends.

Fourth, in the scientific community and the health community there has been positive connections to tea and hearth health. There are cardio protective effects that have been associated with both green and black teas. Green and black teas have been shown to promote healthy cholesterol and blood lipid levels. This is likely due to the tea antioxidant content.

Fifth, tea has been shown to increase mental alertness and cognitive function. It may also keep your brain sharp as you age because of its brain protective properties. It’s possible that tea helps your body deal with stress and helps your body feel more tranquil.

Sixth, green tea has been shown to reduce plaque buildup in the mouth. Many people use green tea as a daily mouthwash for better oral hygiene. Additionally, green tea is believed, but not yet proven, to help protect against UV radiation.

Tips for Getting the Full Benefit of Tea Drinking

If you want to get the full benefit of tea, you can drink green teas to avoid sensitivity to caffeine. If you don’t mind the caffeine, you can go for black or green tea. Any amount of tea in your diet will be beneficial. To match the amount of tea drunk by most research participants, you should ideally consume about three cups of tea that around eight ounces each.

Try to drink tea between meal times, instead of with your meals. Tea can interfere with some nutrient absorption, particularly iron. Drinking between meals will allow your body to fully benefit and absorb the nutritional calories that you are consuming at meals.

You should also think about drinking tea throughout the day. The antioxidants that are in tea are water soluble. This means that you don’t get the effects of the antioxidants in tea throughout the day unless you replenish them with a new cup of tea. The effects are essentially short-lived.