Believe it or not tea is actually the world’s most popular non alcoholic drink. It is grown at higher altitudes and only the best leaves are plucked from the younger shoots, which means that tea contains high levels of enzymes, phenols, flavoinoids, and caffeine.

So at there any benefits to drinking tea?

Tea contains flavoinoids which are chemicals with antioxidant properties. Among the flavoinoids group are catechins which are also antioxidants, and which gives tea its flavour. So tea is first of all and antioxidant brew and if you know anything about antioxidants you will know that researchers place high regard in the properties of antioxidants.

Black tea is fermented at manufacture, a process in which dried leaves are crushed to release enzymes and which results in changes in colour and flavour to the finished product. Green tea is not a fermented, and is made by steaming the leaves to stop enzyme activity during manufacture. Both types have tea have their own unique benefits.

The benefits.

Tea hydrates almost as well as water, and is actually healthier to drink because of the various compounds in tea. People who drink tea are less likely to suffer from heart disease, mainly due to be antioxidants preventing the oxidation of cholesterol which means the cholesterol is less like to stick to arterial walls.

Another study has shown that 70% of men who drink 5 cups of tea a day have a reduced risk of stroke as flavoinoids in tea reduce clotting, and combined with the effect of reducing cholesterol, significantly lessens the chance of blockages and the formation of a clot. This also reduces the chances of a heart attack.

Tea has also been found to help some people with asthma, as flavoinoids called Theophyllines which occur in tea dilate the airways in the lungs. Theophyllines have also been developed as drugs to aid in the treatment of asthma and other constructive disorders of the lung.

Green tea incidentally does not contain caffeine because of the difference in the manufacturing process. Herbal teas also do not contain caffeine, however some herbal teas contain other substances which can have a detrimental effect on health, which if brewed into a strong tea than induce hallucinations,
and other undesirable side-effects. So choose herbal teas carefully.

Tea also helps prevent cancer. There is a type of catechin in tea called Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which helps protect cancer causing changes in DNA cells, and is also believed to inhibit an enzyme that cancer cells need to reproduce.

Disadvantages.

* The tannins in strong tea can cut iron absorption, so vegetarians who drink strong tea can be disadvantaged by this as it cuts back the absorption of the lower iron levels found in a vegetarian diet.
* Tea has a similar diuretic effect to coffee.
* Strong tea can cause insomnia.
* Herbal teas can be an unsafe alternative for some people.