The Benefits Of Including Teas In Your Diet
For some of us, teas are not that big of a part of our diet, we might include one occasionally when we go out with friends or when we have a cold. Still, the benefits of including teas in our diets should be of a common knowledge that’s why we bring you a few of all those wonderful benefits teas have for our body and that is going to make you become a tea lover.
But first of all, we need to answer the big elephant in the room: what exactly is tea? Tea can be divided into two big categories: true tea base that is made using leaves of a tea plant known as Camellia sinensis. This tea category includes oolong tea, black tea, green tea, white tea, and pu-erh tea. It might sound super weird that all these teas come from the same plant since they taste different one from another, but the different flavors come from the way they are produced.
The other big category is called herbal teas which are made by infusing fruits, roots, leaves, herbs or stems of a wide range of plants. Herbal teas don’t contain caffeine and you can find them in different ways such as peppermint tea, ginger tea or chamomile teas. There is also another small category of this tea world named favored teas which are basically a combination of a true base tea with an herbal infusion. A green lemon tea is a good example of a flavored tea because it combines a green tea with a lemon flavor to give it a twist.
1. Full Of Antioxidants
Antioxidants are those substances that help us prevent or slow damage to cells caused by free radicals or unsayable molecules that the body produces as a reaction to the environment or other pressures. Teas such as green tea are full of antioxidants that can interfere with the growth of diseases such as lung, stomach, breast or pancreatic cancer. Antioxidants in teas also help with reducing the risk of neurological disorders such as Parkinson or Alzheimer. Black tea is also full of polyphenols a type of antioxidants that reduce blood sugar levels, cholesterol and promoting overall health.
2. Weight Loss
One of the other great benefits of adding teas into your diets is they help you with losing weight. Teas have a type of flavonoid that’s called catechins that helps in boosting up your metabolism and therefore fats then to burn down quickly. Teas such as black tea have caffeine which increases your energy use causing you to burn more calories.
Teas also keep you hydrated and are a way to satisfy a sweet craving after any meal, since they have no calories unless you add sugar to it, it’s a free drink you can consume to satisfy this craving! Green teas can help you when you are trying to reach a fitness goal as a substitute for sugary sodas or calorie full sports drinks. Just remember teas are not miraculous if you really want to lose a couple pounds be sure to compliment your tea drinking with a good exercise routine and diet.
3. Helps With Bone Protection
Yeah, you read right! Teas can help to protect your bones because of its great amounts of calcium, iron, vitamin A and K. Therefore, studies have chosen that the more tea you drink the more likely you are developing more bone mineral density helping you in the preventing of bone diseases such as osteoporosis especially in older woman or recovering from a fracture. There should be more studies coming soon regarding this benefit of including teas in your diet for helping your bones!
4. Helps Boosting Heart Health
Consuming teas on regular bases can help you reduce many risk factors for heart diseases like high blood pressures, elevated triglyceride levels, obesity, and high cholesterol. For example, drinking black tea daily can reduce blood levels, lower the LDL/HDL plasma ratio and triglycerides which can help you prevent heart attack or a stroke.
Other types of tea such as green teas help you improve your cardiovascular functions and damp down inflammation which can be super beneficial for your health. Try adding a cup or two of these teas to your daily meals and we assure you that you are going to see better results in your next doctor’s appointment!
5. Supports Mental Health
Who would have thought that drinking these delicious beverages can help you preserve your mental health? The truth is regular consumption of tea has been proved to reduce the risk of neurological disease and decrease stress levels. Teas also offer calming effects that can reduce stress, anxiety and some have properties that can also help you sleep better when you are undergoing difficult situations. Regularly drinking green tea has been shown as a promise in preventing cognitive illnesses associated with brain diseases like Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer.
As we mention before teas are full of antioxidants which eliminate the free radicals that sometimes can cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can be a cause for dementia and depression, and with drinking tea you can reduce that. That’s why including teas in your diet can be an excellent way of improving your mental health!
6. Aids With The Digestion
Teas such as chamomile or ginger tea, which is full of gingerol and shogaol, can help you treat an upset stomach, in fact in China is a really common method to try when you are feeling a stomachache. Drinking tea when you are having digestive problems such as nausea or diarrhea can also help you reduce this sickness and make you feel better.
Teas such as peppermint tea can help you soothe an upset stomach since it’s a beverage full of antioxidants and menthol. Stomach cramps, intestinal inflammation or irritable bowel syndrome are some other digestive sickness that can be treated by including teas in your diets which are full of tannins that help you out.
Are you a tea fan already? What benefits of including tea in your diet did we miss? Share your favorite teas with us in the comments below!
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