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Tea-riffic Reasons to Drink Tea

Everyone has heard that tea is healthy for you, but could anyone actually say why? Maybe you’ve heard the term antioxidants when tea is mentioned — whatever those are. It’s time that the nation learned exactly what these proven health benefits actually are.

Our diets determine the extent of our health and wellness. While too often overlooked, the beverages we drink are an important part of our daily diet. Simply by drinking tea instead of coffee, you can improve both your mind and body.

Put down the coffee cups, America! Here are seven reasons you should reach for the nearest teabag every morning.

1. Drinking Tea Improves Cardiovascular Health

Tea drinkers are at lower risk of a heart attack or stroke according to a recent study. Here’s the secret: Flavonoids found in black and green tea reduce plaque inside our arteries. This improves blood flow and ultimately our cardiovascular health.

But it doesn’t stop there. As another boost to our cardiovascular system, tea can help reduce LDL cholesterol. One study even reported a noticeable decrease in blood pressure.

The tea drinkers in these tests drank only a few cups a day. Which means that with a simple change comes big results. Just substituting tea during every meal can yield these significant health improvements.

2. Reduces Your Risk of Cancer

Tea is brimming with antioxidants. Unfortunately, antioxidants have become a buzz word at best and a synonym for healthy at worst. The reason everyone praises antioxidants is that they reduce your risk of developing cancer.

Sometimes your cells make mistakes and create destructive chemicals known as free radicals. These free radicals have a short lifespan, but they exist long enough to cause potential damage to a cell’s DNA, which in turn could become cancerous.

Antioxidants are big, fluffy blankets that neutralize free radicals before they can cause harm. By drinking tea, you can keep your cells filled with antioxidants and protect them from this cancer risk. Do take note that free radicals aren’t the sole cause of cancer, but reducing one cause is nothing to scoff at.

3. Provides Energy With Less Caffeine

Caffeine can cause a variety of problems, such as gastrointestinal distress and even heart problems. Some evidence suggests that caffeine can cause your cardiovascular health to deteriorate. By choosing tea over coffee, you can reduce your caffeine intake and still enjoy your morning pick-me-up.

Most teas only contain half as much caffeine as coffee — which is still more than enough to give you the jolt you need. You may even find that you can operate without caffeine at all. At that point, herbal blends are an excellent caffeine-free option.

4. Contains Zero Calories

Beverages are easy to ignore when we’re thinking about our calorie intake, but the fact of the matter is many are inundated with sugars and calories. And these add up fast. So many people struggle when making the switch to healthy sources of hydration, such as water because it’s tame in comparison.

But life doesn’t have to be flavorless. Tea has no calories, and many flavors are palatable without a sweetener of any kind. It’s certainly a healthier alternative to flavored water, which tends to contain artificial sweeteners that often come with concerning health effects.

5. Fights Inflammation

For sufferers of irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, and other inflammatory diseases, tea may be able to lessen the discomfort. Scientists know that polyphenols, compounds found within tea, can reduce inflammation.

Inflammation even plays a part in causing depression, which means that drinking tea may improve your mood. Since inflammation is pervasive and causes so many physical and mental disabilities, a hot cup of tea might cure what ails you.

6. Increases Mental Performance

The mind is part of the body, so it’s no surprise that tea also improves our mental faculties. This is mostly thanks to an amino acid known as L-theanine, which improves brain activity across the board. A warm tea really does clear up a foggy head.

When L-theanine and caffeine combine, they’ve been shown to improve reaction time and concentration. The kicker is it’s also a relaxing agent — assuming the tea of choice is low in caffeine. Rather than splurging on a sugary beverage at work or during your next study session, take a tea break and get the most effective use of your time.

7. Enhances Health Indicators

As our list of health benefits has shown, people who drink tea enjoy a better quality of health and wellness compared to those who don’t. Everything on the doctor’s charts will look a bit better thanks to your tea drinking.

As if tea wasn’t magical enough, some research suggests it has the ability to change our metabolic genetics and improve our body functions overall. You know something’s powerful when it enhances our cell activity.

Because tea has an encompassing effect on our general health, many functional health clinics use it as a form of holistic medicine. If you’re not sure what a functional health clinic is, this site is a great example of functional medicine in action.

Hunting for More Health Secrets?

Mankind has been drinking tea for more than 2,000 years. From a healthy body to a strong mind, vast research indicates there’s a good reason to continue drinking tea over other beverages. At the very least, it’s a healthy choice compared to sugary sodas and juices.

But no matter what you’re drinking or eating, our food and drink blog will continue to offer secret tips to get the most out of your everyday diet.