Top Amazing Health Benefits of Tea

Tea is one of the most popular and enduring drinks in the history of humankind. Chinese legends indicate humans began drinking tea from around 2737 BCE – for context, that’s the Bronze Age and during Ancient Egypt – but what is tea?  

Tea is produced when a plant called Camellia sinensis is added to hot water. Often other plants are added and infused for different flavors, such as peppermint, chamomile, chai, and Earl Grey. 

Tea offers a lot of health benefits due to the healing nature of various plants and natural properties, such as ginger, spearmint, lavender, etc. Black tea contains lots of antioxidants and can help reduce inflammation in the body. Studies have shown that black tea can even reduce the risk of heart disease and strokes. A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology discovered that people who drank tea regularly were less likely to develop atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (where your arteries become clogged with fatty substances called plaques) or die from a stroke.

So, here are some top incredible health benefits of drinking tea. 

• It has antioxidant properties

Teas such as black tea contain antioxidant properties such as polyphenols, which are naturally occurring micronutrients in plants. Consuming these has been shown to decrease your risk of chronic disease and generally improve your overall health. Other teas, such as ginger tea, contain disease-fighting antioxidants that can fight inflammation in the immune system (as well as being an incredible remedy for nausea). 

• It has less caffeine 

If you’re a coffee drinker, you’ve probably had at least one experience with coffee jitters, anxiety, or even nausea. As good as it tastes, when consumed regularly, coffee isn’t that great for your body. Additionally, you can end up consuming more calories when you drink coffee, due to all the extra milk, froth, and syrups. 

That’s why drinking tea – especially herbal blends – is a much healthier option. Websites like coopertea.com can provide lots of inspiration for choosing to drink tea instead of coffee. And your nervous system will thank you for it; herbal teas have no caffeine at all, whereas black teas have less than 50% of the caffeine found in coffee. That’s a big difference.

• It supports a healthy heart 

Tea is healthy for the heart. For example, scientists have started to study herbal tea from South Africa called rooibos tea. Although early days, their research so far shows that it can reduce the risk of heart disease; one study indicated that the tea can inhibit an enzyme that causes blood vessels to constrict, which is very similar to how routine medication for blood pressure works. Similarly, black tea contains plant compounds called flavonoids, which have a variety of health benefits including heart health. 

Anna Ardine, a clinical nutritionist at Magee-Women’s Hospital of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, explains that “There’s a lot of literature out there on tea and heart health. This is a health effect for which there is the strongest evidence.” 

So, adding tea to your daily routine could make a difference in your day-to-day wellbeing as well as reduce the risk of health conditions down the line.