Brew up and improve your health! (Tea in general)

Member Name: janharper

Product:	Tea in general
Date:	08/09/01 (874 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good for health

Disadvantages: none

It's about 5000 years since some enterprising Chinaman picked the leaves from a bush and discovered that it made a good drink.

It is said that almost 5000 years a Chinese Emperor drank a cup of hot water into which had dropped a tea leaf. He had been in considerable pain but after this the pain eased. This is probably where the idea of tea being good for health first started.

About 168 million cups of tea are drunk each day in UK. Most of this is black tea from India, Africa, and Indonesia.

Tea is a natural, pure, plant leaf. What we make our cuppa with is just pure and simple dried tealeaves. There isn't anything added to it, no preservatives, flavour enhancers, etc.

Scientist are starting to proove what the Chinese have held true for thousands of years. Tea has potential health benefits.

Tea with skimmed milk contains and no sugar only contains 14 calories. It contains anti oxidants which naturally occur in fruit, vegetables and red wine too.

There is scientific evidence that the antioxidants in tea are very powerful and further research is being carried out to find the best ways to use these properties to aid good health.

So what research and evidence is there for these claims?

The different tastes and strengths in tea occur because of the growing conditions in different areas. The same applies to its vitamin and mineral content.

Black tea contains small amounts of:

++Carotene (similar to vitamin A) which is an antioxidant,

++Vitamins B1 and B2 which are essential in helping the release of energy from food,

++Nicotenic acid and pathothenic acid which aid the release of energy from fat and carbohydrates,

++Vitamin C for a healthy immune system,

++Vitamin B6 for the metabolism of proteins.

Folic acid which aids cell division is also contained in your cuppa!

On average tea drinkers in UK cosume 24 fluid ounces of
tea per day and this contains:

++Vitamin B1, 9% daily requirement.

++Vitamin B6, 6%,

++Vitamin B2, 25%,

++Folic acid 10%


Tea contains two main minerals that aid good health:

++Manganese:
Essential for bone growth and health. 6 cups of tea provides 45% of the daily requirement.

++Potassium:
Helps maintain normal heartbeat. Regulates fluid levels in cells and allows nerves and muscles to respond correctly. A normal diet provides enough of this but you might need more if you execise a lot.
If you take diuretic tablets for water retention you may require more of this mineral. 6 cups of tea provides 75% of the daily requirement.



Antioxidants.
++++++++++++
The oxygen we breath in incorporated into free radicals which are harmful to us. They can damage cell components and may be implicated in causing cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants help to repair the damage done by these free radicals.

The best antioxidants are found in fruit and vegetables, cereal and vegetable oils. They are vitamins A, C and E.

Both black and green tea contain large amounts of flavonoids which are also antioxidants. Research has shown that they may play a large part in protecting from heart desease and cancer.


Oral Health.
+++++++++++

Tea is a rich source of natural flouride (depending on where it is grown) and it is thought that this may help with oral health.

A study in 1991 showed that tea drinking may be able to prevent tooth decay in children. It also reduces plaque which is one of the main causes of tooth decay.


So, there are lots ways to stay healthy with tea. Try it with lemon, iced, or even green in the Chinese way. It seems like a really good excuse to take a break.

Infact that's exactly what I'm going to do now. I need a 'medicinal' cuppa!

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