“Peace, happiness, and joy are possible during the time I drink my tea.” – Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese Zen Master
Next to water, tea is the most widely consumed drink in the world – 3.7 billion cups daily in one recent year. There are basic reasons for this. Tea quenches our thirst. We like the taste. It warms us up on a cold day and refreshes us on a scorcher. We brew a cup of Irish breakfast to get going in the A.M. and a mug of soothing chamomile before bed. Just the act of making a “cuppa” can be restorative. This is especially true in the UK, according to anthropologist Kate Fox: “Whenever the English feel awkward or uncomfortable in a situation (that is, almost all the time), they make tea.”
Tea has been around for two millennia or so; in 2016, archaeologists discovered tea in a Chinese emperor’s tomb dating from 141 B.C., well past its “best by” date. One of the world’s oldest and most popular drinks, tea is also one of the best for your health.
A Drink A Day
A translated ancient Chinese proverb posits that “drinking a daily cup of tea will surely starve the apothecary.” In fact, tea was probably first imbibed as a medicine. Lu Yu, the Chinese author of Ch’a Ching, or “The Classic of Tea,” promoted its healthfulness in the 8th century. In 1657, Garraway’s Coffee House in London became the first business to sell tea in England, advertising that it “maketh the Body active and lusty . . . helpeth the Headache . . . removeth the Obstructions of the Spleen” and was “good against Lipitude Distillations.” Quaint language aside (“lippitude” refers to bleary eyes), Garraway’s was onto something. We know today that the caffeine in tea can alleviate a headache and may speed up the action of a pain reliever.
Caffeine is just one component of tea that can be beneficial. Catechins – a type of polyphenols, or plant chemicals with antioxidant properties – are also being studied for their preventative and curative powers. Here’s a sampling of some of the more promising findings.
  • A 2020 meta-analysis of an array of studies found that drinking two to three cups of black or green tea a day was associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a lower risk of cardiac events and stroke. Other studies have suggested related cardiovascular benefits, such as the potential to lower cholesterol and blood pressure.
  • A 2021 review of research into green tea found that it has potential as a flu-fighter and may ward off the common cold.
  • According to a 2022 article in Molecules, the catechins in green and black tea may have prophylactic and therapeutic effects on Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.
  • A study published in 2023 showed that drinking tea may lower the risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures. This is encouraging news, given that osteoporosis affects millions and is difficult to treat.
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