Thursday, May 3, 2012

A Toast to Your Health ... With Tea!

Okay back to those wonderful health benefits of tea! Here are some specific ailments that tea has been shown to positively impact:


Heart Health:
Current research shows that drinking tea can offer significant heart benefits from reducing heart attack risk to lowering bad cholesterol. A Harvard study found that those who drank a cup or more of black tea every day had a 44% reduced risk of heart attack. Further, a six-year study from the Netherlands found a 70% lower risk of fatal heart attack in people who drank at least two to three cups of black tea daily. Additional studies have found that tea drinkers also have lower blood pressure.

Cancer Prevention:
The antioxidants found in tea combat free radicals that can contribute to the growth of abnormal, cancerous cells. One recent study found tea drinkers to have a 42% reduced risk of colon cancer compared to non-tea drinkers. Additionally, the consumption of black tea has been associated with significantly reducing the risk of the most common form of skin cancer, squamous cell carcinoma.

Neurological Benefits:
A study featuring 30,000 adults found that drinking three or more cups of tea per day was associated with a 69% reduced risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. Tea also contains theanine, an amino acid unique to tea that may help prevent age-related memory decline.

Additional Benefits:
• Tea has less caffeine than coffee: Tea has on average 30-40 mg of caffeine per cup compared to 135 mg for coffee, making it a great alternative if java gives you jitters, headaches or indigestion
• Tea protects your bones: Tea drinkers who drank tea for 10 or more years had the strongest bones, when compared to non-tea drinkers
• Tea helps with you maintain a healthy weight: Tea has no calories, unless you add sweetener or milk and it also helps keep you hydrated

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