Health Benefits of Tea: a Cup Full of Good Health

Thirsty? Have a cup of tea. It just might lower your cholesterol, strengthen your bones and protect you from disease. Although Tea hasn't ranked up there with fruits and vegetables as a "health food", maybe it should.
We often hear about the benefits of green tea but according to Jeffery Blooberg, Ph,D., " White, black, oolong and green teas have different aromas and flavors, but they are all healthy". Dr. Bloomberg is the director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human nutrition Research center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.

Tea's healthy benefits come from powerful antioxidants known as flavonoids. These flavonoids destroy toxic free radicals that trigger disease in the body.

A Harvard study found that drinking 5 cups of black tea each day for two to three weeks increased the body's production of interferon, a key immune protein that builds up our defenses against bacteria and viruses. Though researchers haven't tested their theory on humans yet,they believe that certain varieties of tea may knock out viruses quick. Black tea is thought to work better then green tea for fighting viruses.

Tea is believed to increase concentration and relax you. In a study at the City University of New York, authored by John Foxe Ph.D., subjects drank four to five cups of tea with the effects showing up within 20 minutes and lasting three to four hours.

It is also touted that tea may slow bone loss that can lead to osteoporosis.
It's appears that tea drinkers experience less loss of bone density then those who do not drink tea according to Australian researchers.

An antioxidant called EGCG is found in Green tea is believed to keep brain cells from dying. And in an Israeli study using mice the research is quite promising. The trials for humans have not been shown yet but a cup of tea can't hurt so go ahead and heat one up.

Most tea drinkers really enjoy a hot cup of their favorite blend and never consider how good they are being to themselves by drinking their preferred beverage. Many alternative health practitioners recommend tea to boost the immune system and prevent or fight off disease, even cancer.

Did you Know that tea is often suggested for folks with heart disease? Some alternative health practitioners think that the flavonoids found in black tea can help open narrowed blood vessels which helps the heart to pump more efficiently.

There also has been some research into the possibility of drinking oolong tea to to block allergic reactions, the trials have yet to be published so there are no definitive results to date. However, Harvard studies indicate that drinking tea can lower the risk of kidney stones as does decaf coffee.

Now that you know how good tea is for you, go brew up a pot, kick back and enjoy a soothing cup of your favorite blend.