Tea 101 - Tea & Health

Fun fact for you all, dear readers…tea not only tastes good but it is also good for you!  Who would have thought, eh?  Tea has the power to calm, to awaken, to sooth a belly ache.  It can warm you on a cold winter day; it can calm you after having a rough day.

I have not even touched on the chemical properties of tea and their health benefits.

Tea is riddled with Flavanoids which are known for their antioxidant activity.  These flavanols are known to protect plants from microbes, fungi and insects.  You would think that this could translate for humans if we ingest it.  That remains to be seen; however, teas are known for their antioxidants and their uses in maintaining your health.  Antioxidants latch onto free forming radicals that are in your body.  You can also get radicals from the environment, more specifically pollutants.   These Flavanoids also have the potential to be biological “response modifiers;” meaning that they can have anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial and anti-cancer activities shown from in vitro studies.

Notice that I said that these Flavanoids have the ‘potential.’

If you type the words ‘tea’ and ‘health benefits’ you will get a whole string of ads trying to sell you teas that will help you to lose weight, cure cancer, prevent heart attacks, end world hunger and create world peace! Okay, so the last two were a little over the top.  While tea is awesome for your health, it is not the end all, be all, cure all brew.  There have not been proven studies that show that tea can help you lose weight, replace chemotherapy in cancer cure or improve your memory.  There are numerous studies that show all of the potential benefits of tea; however, it is only just potential.

What do you think, dear readers?  What benefits have you found when you drink tea?