Despite being a staple of many different cultures across the globe for centuries – it feels like tea is quickly becoming the most popular modern beverage.
And to prop up its newfound popularity are numerous studies, articles and institutions claiming the simple brew can boast all manner of incredible health benefits.
To read the news these days, it seems like there’s nothing tea can’t do – well, apart from the Genie’s 3 rules: can’t kill anyone, can’t make people fall in love and can’t bring anyone back from the dead.
So which tea health benefits are you really getting with each sip? Probably tons – but let’s stick to the ones that have actually been researched.
Here are 12 proven benefits of tea that sweeten that tea you’re drinking – without the calories!
Green tea lowers cholesterol levels
In the wider world of tea-writing, you’ll find that the figurehead of the healthy tea movement is often green tea – and for good reason. One of the major benefits that green tea offer its drinkers is a decrease in cholesterol.
According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, green tea consumption (whether that’s through the traditional brewed beverage or some other means) can lead to reductions in serum TC and LDL-cholesterol.
Tea for happy, healthy eyes
Here’s one of the lesser-known benefits of tea: they’re good for your eyes.
Many different strains of tea, and particularly green teas, are packed full of antioxidants, which come with a whole wealth of different health benefits and protections.
According to WebMD, one of these tea health benefits was actually found within the eye tissue of tea-drinkers. The antioxidants and catechins found in most teas are thought to contribute positively to the tissues surrounding the eyes and protect against diseases such as glaucoma.
This protective essence can go on to prevent early onset blindness in many people, as well as strengthen the eyes against other deterioration over time.
A cuppa to calm the nerves
We’ve all heard the offer, ‘have a cup of tea and calm down’. It turns out that there might actually be some credibility to this gesture, beyond the common British stereotype of drinking tea to get through hard times.
A 2006 study, published in Psychopharmacology journal, found that regular, daily consumption of tea over a six week period will lower any unnatural hikes in cortisol levels, and reduce them back to the body’s natural amount.
In our humble opinion, this is one of the best drinking tea since raised cortisol levels can really mess up your life. Cortisol – commonly known as the ‘stress hormone’ – can lead to a whole host of different issues both physical and mental (insomnia, depression, weight fluctuations, lower libido, erectile dysfunction and more).
The thought that a simple, regular cup of tea could lower this hormone’s damaging effects is certainly a comforting one.
Tea is good for your…bones?
You may think that milk has always been, traditionally, the beverage of choice for strengthening bones and dental health – and you’d be right. That source of calcium is vital for a healthy body.
However, recent research has highlighted that tea-drinkers (whether they take it black or with milk, regardless) have, on average, stronger bone structure than those who avoid the brew.
These results were found to be fairly consistent even when accounting for age differences, lifestyle variations and average weight of tea-drinkers versus non-drinkers.
Of course, some teas are better than others for bone health, thanks to their high antioxidant count and high density of vitamins – check out the top teas for healthy bones!
Tea can help prevent a stroke
According to a study published in the American Heart and Stroke Association, regular drinking of black or green tea (around three cups on a daily basis) may be enough to prevent the onset of ischemic stroke.
The meta-study focused on nine other dissertations which dealt with 4,378 strokes occurring within a group of 194, 965 individuals. The results showed that, regardless of geographical location (which you must remember, accounts for differences in cultural diets, exercise regimes and general lifestyle), individuals who drank three or more daily cups of tea were at a 21% reduce risk of stroke, than those who consumed one cup or less.
However, it should go without saying that this doesn’t equate to black, green or any other type of tea acting as an insurance policy against the possibility of future strokes. Indeed, the meta-study notes that further examination is required to truly assert this claim.
Tea fights free radicals
No, this doesn’t mean that the humble teabag is putting an end to political radicals, but rather ‘free radicals’ within the body. Now, in the modern climate of quick-fire articles dealing with quick health tips and lifestyle guides, free radicals have become something of a bogey man – but this isn’t the case.
Free radicals are natural products of the body; they aid our immune system and some of our vital organs (such as the liver, which uses free radicals to eradicate toxins, or white blood cells which use free radicals to eliminate viruses and bad bacteria).
But they can be dangerous, if they attach themselves to the wrong cells and begin to harm DNA, cells and even our enzymes.
Free radicals are fine when they exist in a decent balance with antioxidants; but this isn’t always the case with contemporary diets and other health factors. And you know what comes next… What does our favorite brewed beverage have in spades? Antioxidants.
A tea in the morning can boost your mind for the day
There’s a reason that many of us have come to rely upon a lifesaving cup of tea in the morning, or mid-afternoon in that post-lunch slumber state.
Naturally, tea has large quantities of caffeine which can help to wake us up and put a stop to some of the more inhibited neurotransmitters that might prevent us from feeling ‘all there’ when we’re tired, or unfocused.
Crucially, tea often meets the middle ground between enough caffeine for a boost, but a low enough quantity to avoid the jittery after feeling we sometimes associate with coffee (although, this depends on which kind of tea you are drinking, some will have more inherent caffeine than others).
It’s not just the caffeine that helps with focus, energy and memory, though. Another crucial component, Theanine or L-Theanine, picks up the slack. This amino-acid is why we can feel that much more alert, concentrated and responsive after a cup.
Drink tea for clean, healthy teeth
Yeah, we know the stereotype just as well as you do: too much tea surely results in that permanent brown staining of the teeth, right? Well, actually there’s plenty of evidence around that signals a regular tea habit might actually contribute to healthier dental structure overall.
You remember that fluoride content that we talked about earlier? Well that can actually actively contribute to the health of your teeth, by keeping excess plaque at bay.
Additionally, the catechins in most teas (particularly green tea) are natural enemies of the mouth’s most pervasive bacteria: streptococcus mutans, which can contribute to decay and cavities as well as plaque build-up.
Naturally, this is assuming a pure, unadulterated cup of tea, rather than a mug chock full of sugar and other artificial ingredients.
The ‘cleaner’ your tea is, the less risk there will be of damaging effects on your teeth or body (which isn’t to say you can’t enjoy a sweet tea now and again, but everything in moderation!).
Tea can protect against a diverse range of cancers
It seems every variation of tea is capable, in some regard, of protecting the body against every variation of cancer – well, almost.
A huge number of studies have been conducted on the commonality of different types of cancer amongst tea-drinkers and non-tea-drinkers alike, and the effects of tea drinking habits as part of a treatment course for those that are already diagnosed.
Due to the sheer innumerability of different forms of cancer, it’s to be expected that here are a huge range of mixed results – but the consensus and aggregate seems to say that there is some evidence of certain tea-drinking habits (again, green tea is an excellent example) actually aiding with the recovery, treatment or general cancer-fighting process.
Some notable cancers that tea is thought to play an active role with are breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancers, liver cancer, stomach cancer and much, much more.
Again, the powerful element appears to be the antioxidant count – oxidization of cells is a key component of cancer taking hold and causing serious damage to the body.
Once again, however, it’s very important to note that simply drinking tea will not eradicate anybody’s chances of developing cancer; instead it might merely lower the chances of you developing certain types.
Tea is good for your brain
Another common health benefit that you’ll see discussed with regard to tea is its ability to ward off early onset Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease – as well as some other neurological conditions.
This has been studied from a number of different angles; one popular reasoning for tea’s effectiveness is that the catechins and polyphenols might help the brain grasp its memory and learning faculties for much longer than it would without the outside influence.
Another study, carried out in Korea, back in 2011, showed that brain theta waves (a prominent indicator of brain alertness and cohesion) were increased in certain important areas of the brain in test subjects who had been put on a regime of tea-drinking.
Tea is surprisingly hydrating
Although it’s easy to assume that tea and anything caffeinated is naturally going to be a key contributor to dehydration, a BBC News article, which interviews Dr Carrie Ruxton (Public health nutritionist at Kings College London) tells a different story.
Dr Ruxton says, ‘Studies on caffeine have found very high doses dehydrate and everyone assumes that caffeine-containing beverages dehydrate. But even if you had a really, really strong cup of tea or coffee, which is quite hard to make, you would still have a net gain of fluid’.
Indeed, Dr Ruxton’s sentiments are backed up further in one of her studies, which found no significant statistical differences between various types of tea and standard water when it came to analysis of blood and urine. She goes on to claim that the results show black tea offers similar hydrating benefits to water.
The benefits of tea depend on what’s in your cup…
Discussing ‘tea’ as an all-encompassing term has the problem of skimming over the huge, huge number of varieties, flavors, ingredients, brands and type of tea leaf that are widely available today.
Where one benefit might be true of a specific type of tea, it might not be for another. Different types of teas come with their own special superpowers so if you’re looking for specific tea health benefits, take some time to explore which teas are good for what.
Also, keep in mind that there’s a world of difference between pre-packaged tea drinks – i.e. SoBe green tea, which has the dubious distinction of being one of the worst drinks in America – and a freshly-brewed cup of tea.
It goes without saying that the latter comes with the sweet health benefits described above, not the sugary processed tea drink.
Last but not least – production processes also play a role in how healthy or beneficial your tea will be. Think of this with particular reference to widespread pesticide use within the industry (often times, leaves are processed without being properly cleaned beforehand, which could mean that those harmful pesticides and preservatives have made it all the way to your cup).
To play it safe, it might be best to seek out organic, fresh tea leaves as often as you can.
So, there you have it – a comprehensive list of yet more reasons to fall head over heels in love with tea. Go forth and slurp!