4 good reasons to drink tea every day
Next time you pour yourself a cup of tea, you’ll be filling your body with healthy nutrients.
We’ve been enjoying a cup of tea for at least 5000 years.
According to legend, the cuppa was discovered around 2737BC by a Chinese emperor after some tea leaves accidentally blew into his pot of boiling water.
In the 1600s, tea became a popular brew in Europe and the United States, according to the Australian Tea Masters.
Today, globally we drink about 5.5 million tons of tea every year.
And the humble cuppa is loaded with health benefits.
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Tea is good for heart health
Green tea contains a natural chemical called epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or EGCG, which seems to help reduce the build up of fatty plaque in the arteries.
As arteries become blocked with plaque they harden and narrow and restrict blood flow, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke.
So have a few cups of green tea a day for your heart’s sake.
Tea can help you lose weight
A study from the University of California says black tea may help weight loss by changing gut bacteria.
Researchers found chemicals in black tea called polyphenols may boost bacteria that help our body lean and reduce bacteria linked to excess weight.
The study was carried out in mice, but researchers believe the findings may apply to the human body, too.
“For black tea lovers, there may be a new reason to keep drinking it,” writes Dr Zhaoping Li, director of UCLA’s Centre for Human Nutrition.
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Tea can help relieve incontinence
Urinary incontinence is a common health problem for many women once they reach middle age and beyond.
But Australian research suggests drinking at least four cups of green tea a day may help reduce the symptoms.
And it may be that EGCG – which is positive for heart health – plays a key role in helping manage incontinence.
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Tea can help reduce stress
Feeling stressed?
British research has found black tea has a soothing effect on stress hormones.
People who drank black tea four times a day for six weeks had lower levels of cortisol in their blood after a stressful situation, although researchers couldn’t identify which ingredients had the de-stressing effect.
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“Nevertheless, our study suggests that drinking black tea may speed up our recovery from the daily stresses in life,” writes Professor Andrew Steptoe of University College London.
“Although it does not appear to reduce the actual levels of stress we experience, tea does seem to have a greater effect in bringing stress hormone levels back to normal.
“This has important health implications, because slow recovery following acute stress has been associated with a greater risk of chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease.”
Written by Sarah Marinos.