Far beyond its refreshment value, drinking tea has proven health benefits.
Studies have found that some teas may help with cancer, heart disease, and diabetes; encourage weight loss; lower cholesterol; and bring about mental alertness. Tea also contains antioxidants, has less caffeine than coffee and may even boost the immune system.
What’s in a cup?
With so many different brew out there, the question is, are all tea’s equal when it come to their health benefits? With the help of WebMD we take a look why you should be drinking tea, and which are the best choices:
Green tea: Various studies have shown that Green tea’s antioxidants may interfere with the growth of bladder, breast, lung, stomach, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers; prevent clogging of the arteries, burn fat, counteract oxidative stress on the brain, reduce risk of neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, reduce risk of stroke, and improve cholesterol levels.
Black tea: Studies have shown that black tea may protect your lungs from damage caused by exposure to cigarette smoke. It also may reduce your risk of stroke.
White tea: Uncured and unfermented, one study has shown that white tea has the most potent anticancer properties compared to more processed teas.
Pu-erh tea: Made from fermented and aged leaves. Considered a black tea, its leaves are pressed into cakes. One animal study showed that animals given pu-erh had less weight gain and reduced LDL cholesterol.
Many questions do however remain about how long tea needs to be drawn for the most benefit, and exactly how much you need to drink, many nutritionists agree any tea is good tea. Although they do recommend the naturally brewed variant over those bought in bottles for there high sugar content.
