You might want to consider drinking more tea than coffee, or at least adding it to your daily drinking regimen. Tea, derived from the plant Camellia sinensis, is packed with benefits that can positively impact your health in both the short and long term.
Tea's four varieties are green, white, black, and oolong. Researchers have found that the healthy properties of tea are due to the antioxidant known as polyphenol, as well as phytochemicals.
Here are the amazing health benefits of tea, as discovered and confirmed by countless studies:
- Tea reduces heart attack risk and protects against degenerative and cardiovascular diseases.
- Tea wards off free radicals. Its high oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) makes it capable of destroying free radicals, which can damage DNA.
- Tea boosts exercise endurance. The catechins in green tea extract increases the ability of the body to burn fat as fuel. This improves muscle endurance.
- Tea can counteract the negative effects of smoking and lessen lung cancer risk, though this is not an excuse to continue smoking cigarettes.
- Tea helps improve bone mineral density and stenghth, particularly green tea.
- Tea can assist diabetics process sugars in the body.
- Tea helps maintain a healthy weight. A study published in the Journal of Obesity has found that green tea extracts can interfere with fat formation in the body. It is important to note that the best way to get the benefits of green tea extracts is to do it the old-fashioned way- with a cup of boiling water and loose tea or a tea bag, instead of bottled, commercial green tea drinks that may even spike up blood sugar and contribute to weight gain.
- Tea helps hydrate the body.
- Tea can help alleviate stress levels. A cup of black tea has been found to help reduce stress hormones, even helping lower blood pressure.