While coffee and tea can have health benefits, tea is actually the better option. Many different and delicious varieties of hot tea are available for us to taste and enjoy. A cup of hot tea can be soothing and comforting on a cold day. A cup of hot tea is the one beverage that has never been found to cause any harm and it has no adverse side effects.
In addition to it’s comfort factor, hot tea can have many health benefits for you in many different ways. Hot tea has been used for soothing a sore throat and to relieve symptoms of a cold or upper respiratory infection for years successfully. Hot tea can rehydrate your body without the diuretic effects that coffee can have.
Tea has an antiseptic quality. Rinsing your mouth with tea can decrease your cavity formation and lower your risk of periodontal disease. Gargling with tea, especially green tea, can decrease germs that cause the spread of colds and flu.
Green or oolong tea has the effect of lowering blood pressure. According to some researchers, drinking even one half cup of green tea can reduce blood pressure by up to 50%. Since high blood pressure or hypertension is a major contributing factor in strokes, green tea can offer reduced risk of stroke occurrence.
Because of green tea’s antioxidant properties, an overall health improvement can take place when it is consumed regularly. Another substance, called polyphenols, are found in tea and this can help to reduce the incidence of cancer. Certain doctors feel that drinking tea can lower the risk of gastrointestinal cancers.
Another naturally occurring substance found in tea is called flavonoids, which is a class of antioxidants. Some research suggests that this antioxidant property of tea can help to combat the development of neurological diseases often associated with aging such as Parkinsons and dementia.
Antioxidants protect our health in many ways by removing free radicals from our body. Free radicals are the molecules formed from damage done to the body by factors such as pollution or the process of aging.
Free radicals are unstable and react adversely with the body’s cells and DNA. Any food or beverage that we can take in with a high antioxidant level can inhibit the damage caused by free radicals.
Another possible benefit of tea drinking is decreasing the risk of a heart attack. A recent study found that people who drank 2 cups of tea per day had up to a 44% decrease in the risk of death from a heart attack. Drinking tea, in any quantity, can improve our cardiovascular health.
Soure: herbalnewsmagazine
