Healthy Living / Eating
How tea can help your health
Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, and it has many potential health benefits. For starters, it has powerful antioxidant properties. It may also aid mental alertness, fight fatigue, and may aid in weight loss. It even appears to help fight cavities and gum disease. Today, I want to talk about how tea can be used to improve your health.
Tea and Mental Focus
Like coffee and cola drinks, tea contains caffeine, but usually not in high quantities. It is less likely to make you jittery or anxious because it contains a unique amino acid, l-theanine, which has a calming effect.
L-theanine is often found in supplements, including sleep formulas and other products designed to reduce anxiety and boost mental clarity. The combination of caffeine and l-theanine in tea, appears to improve mental focus without being overstimulating.
Black tea comes from the same plant as green tea, but it is allowed to oxidize, which turns the tea leaves black. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), black tea is used to revive the shen (spirit) and clear the head. In TCM, it can be used alone, or in combination with other herbs, to aid mental focus, help to overcome fatigue, and relieve dizziness. Here in the West you’ll often see it as an ingredient in herbal formulas designed to overcome fatigue, and aid concentration and mental focus.
If you want a caffeinated beverage to help you stay awake and alert, tea is probably the best choice.
An Astringent Remedy
Tea is an astringent herb, which means it contains tannins. These tannins along with antioxidants found in tea make it useful as a topical remedy to reduce swelling and inflammation. You can use green tea bags to make compresses by dipping them in hot water just long enough to wet and warm them and then applying them to afflicted areas.
Warm tea bags can be used as a compress for red, irritated eyes and even to help heal conjunctivitis. Simply place them over the closed eyelid. Tea bags also make a good compress for insect bites and stings and minor skin irritations.
Tea and the Digestive Tract
The astringent nature of tea makes it useful as a remedy for settling the stomach when there is nausea, vomiting, and mild diarrhea. It can be used along with peppermint to settle the stomach after throwing up.
Black tea also appears to aid the digestion of fatty foods. Try drinking tea in a restaurant where the food is greasy and see if it helps you digest food easier.
Tea as an Aid to Weight Loss
There is some evidence that drinking tea can help with weight loss by curbing the appetite and boosting metabolism. In fact, it is recognized in TCM as an aid to overcoming obesity. You will, in fact, see green tea extract in many weight loss formulas. Don’t expect it to be a miracle worker, but tea can probably help you reach weight goals when used in conjunction with healthy eating and exercise.
Antioxidants in Green Tea
All forms of tea (green, black, white, and oolong) are rich in polyphenols that act as antioxidants. The specific polyphenols in green tea are called catechins, and the most well-known and abundant catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Research suggests that EGCG can reduce chronic inflammation, which can help prevent many chronic diseases including heart disease and degenerative diseases of the brain.
EGCG acts as a zinc ionophore, just like quercetin, and a standardized extract of green tea containing EGCG could be taken with zinc to help fight viral infections. However, there are some risks with taking EGCG as a supplement in high doses. It has been associated with dizziness, anemia, low blood sugar, and liver problems.
Tea and Dental Health
Tea is antimicrobial and can help with dental health by inhibiting the growth of bacteria associated with gum disease, bad breath, and cavities. In addition, the astringent properties of green tea make it an excellent mouthwash for toning the gums.
Tea also contains natural fluorine which may strengthen tooth enamel.
Here is a tip to get some tea into your diet. For many of us, coffee shops are a great way to socialize, but almost all coffee shops now offer chai tea options. If you have not tried, chai drinks, you should.
Chai tea combines tea with spices like ginger, cardamom, fennel, cinnamon, clove, and black pepper. It is a great energy booster, but it’s also loaded with antioxidants and stimulates digestion and intestinal motility to ease gas and bloating. Try chai and coffee combinations and don’t be afraid of the added milk.
I am a coffee lover but am almost never disappointed by the taste of chai/coffee drinks. Give them a try.
