Health Benefits
Tea tastes great and chatting over a cuppa is a good way of communicating in the office, but it is also good for your health. People in Asia have known this for centuries, and scientific research has confirmed many health benefits.
Tea contains polyphenols that can be extracted by water. Polyphenols help eliminate free radicals, which can cause cancer. Green tea contains significantly more polyphenols than black tea, and much research has focused on the effect of green tea in protecting against cancer.
Both black and gree tea can help reduce blood pressure, hardening of the arteries and the amount of “bad” cholesterol in the blood.
Tea, especially green tea, contains catechins, which have an anti-bacterial effect against helicobacter, a bacterium that causes stomach ulcers.
Researchers in Japan found that regular consumption of green tea was associated with a reduced risk of age-related cognitive decline. How this connection works is not clear yet, but it might help explain why there is less dementia in Japan than in Europe and North America.
Other benefits include the following.
- Tea reduces blood sugar.
- Green tea prevents bad breath (halitosis).
- Tea reduces the risk of stroke.
- Tea improves bone structure.
- Tea prevents dangerous blood-clotting.
Further Reading
The Journal of Chinese Medicine summarizes a long list of scientific studies. Seven Cups also provides a list of benefits with further reading. Tea 4 Health by the United Kingdom Tea Council provides fact sheets about the health benefits of tea.