WHAT would the world do without tea?” the writer Sydney Smith asked over 150 years ago. It’s no idle question. Tea is the world’s most popular beverage, after water. And it provides protection against several health threats.
Heart Helper: Those who drink at least 370 grams daily have half the heart attack risk of non-tea drinkers. In 2002, researchers in Boston found that heart patients who drank two or more cups daily were 44 percent less likely to die over the next four years.
Tea can lower bad cholesterol levels by an average of 10 percent. In cases where dangerous cholesterol has already stuck to artery walls, flavonoids, the antioxidants in tea, are thought to prevent it from damaging the inner lining.
Cancer Fighter: An investigation found that drinking ten or more cups of green tea everyday delayed the onset of cancer by almost nine years in women and about three in men. And another study suggests another benefit for guys: men who drank three cups a day were 30 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer.
Bone Builder: Flavonoids in tea seem to protect bones. Tea also contains fluoride and substances that stop bacteria from sticking to teeth.
Green and black tea are probably equally protective, says Jeffrey Blumberg, an American nutrition researcher. Even iced tea is beneficial, though it’s usually more diluted. Since flavonoids break down over time, making your own tea is better than buying bottled. If caffeine keeps you up, try decaffeinated – it has only 10 to 15 percent fewer flavonoids. (The health benefits of herbal teas are not well established.) “If you don’t drink tea now, brewing just one cup a day is likely to keep you healthier,” says Blumberg. “Drinking four cups is probably even better. So I say drink as much as you like!!!”
