Healthiest Tea in the World

healthiest tea

Healthiest tea in the world

How was tea created? Who invented the tea?

According to a Chinese legend, all began on a spring evening of the year 2737 before Christ’s birth. That evening, after a long journey, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung, “the son of heaven,” boiled water under a tree to quench his thirst, when a light wind blew a few leaves into the water.

The water turned pale green and a pleasant scent rose from the steaming kettle. The emperor tasted the drink, found it delicious and felt refreshed and enlivened by this alien mixture. The tree was a wild tea tree, and so the tea was discovered.

In the meanwhile, In India, there was another legend: Prince Dharma, the third son of King Kosjuwo, decided to travel to China and teach the teachings of Buddhism there. To prove himself worthy of his mission, he took the vow not to sleep for nine years.

healthiest tea

At the end of the third year, however, he started feeling tired, and he was about to pass out when he accidentally picked some tea leaves from a wild tea plant and put them in his mouth and chewed them completely.

Immediately the tea had its invigorating effect: Dharma’s fatigue was gone, and from the tea leaves he drew the strength to stay awake for the remaining six years of his mission.

Why should you drink tea?

While all the world is crazy about coffee, let’s turn your attention to tea. Yes, tea. The drink that calms you when you want to relax and that gets you going when you need a new drive. Basically, tea is great and you should drink it as often as your beloved coffee.

To get straight to the point, here are some reasons why drinking tea might be a great idea.

  1. Tea contains beneficial antioxidants 
  2. Herbal tea could help keep bones healthy (especially, moringa tea); in fact, tea can also reduce the risk of heart attack.
  3. Tea is much easier to brew than coffee, and many other drinks.
  4. Unsweetened tea helps with bad breath, balance pH, and also prevent cavities, as Japanese researchers found out.
  5. Many ayurvedic teas have anti-inflammatory properties, anti-fungal and also anti-bacterial.
  6. Herbal tea helps to soothe digestive system, decrease bloating and also calm nausea, especially, chamomile and ginger teas have antispasmodic properties.
  7. Tea is a great no-calorie alternative to water, and advised by many diet and weight-loss experts.

 

Top 7 Healthiest Teas in the World

  1. White tea

White tea contains many polyphenols that contain antioxidants. These strengthen the immune system by displacing the free radicals. In addition, white tea prevents the cells from storing fat and thus helps with weight loss; and it’s one of the healthiest tea s.

Interesting fact is that almost all tea is processed from the same tea tree, which is called Camellia Sinensis.

The difference is that the White tea is made from new growth buds and young leaves of the plant. The leaves are usually steamed or fried to inactivate oxidation, and then dried. When Green Tea is processed by steaming and scalding the tea leaves for several minutes; afterwards the leaves are rolled and dried.

Black tea and Oolong tea though, go through a different process; the tea leaves are not steamed, but are oxidized or fermented and then dried. For Oolong tea, the leaves oxidized twice less than for black tea.

  1. Green tea

Green tea is one of the healthiest tea s, it suppresses malignant tumours, so it is a good protection against cancer. Also, the theanine in green tea produces a calming effect. The catechins it contains make this a great drink for maintaining healthy glucose levels.

  1. Rooibos tea

Rooibos is a decaffeinated tea and it also contains a lot of iron, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, zinc and copper. Therefore, it is also suitable for sensitive people, such as children or pregnant women. It also contains vitamins C and E and fights free radicals. Especially the wild mountain rooibos is famous with being super-rich with vitamins. By its sweetness, this tea displaces many food cravings.

  1. Oolong tea

Oolong is especially popular for its aroma. But its health properties are very similar to the green tea. It is also a natural fat burner, by stimulating the nervous system and metabolism it helps burn excessive fat.

  1. Chamomile tea

Chamomile flowers have been used for centuries as natural treatment for a number of everyday health problems like insomnia and other sleep disorders, anxiety and panic attacks, wounds, skin conditions, menstrual cramps and stomach problems. Pure chamomile naturally contains bisabolol, which has a number of anti-inflammatory, anti-irritant, and anti-microbial properties.

  1. Peppermint tea

Peppermint Tea is also one of the healthiest tea s. It can relieve cold symptoms, cough, exacerbating the respiratory condition by relaxing the muscles of the throat and chest. It also oftentimes referred to as “the healer of the stomach”, because of peppermint’s ability to soothe stomachache, heartburn, gas/flatulence, indigestion and diarrhea, and promotes healthy digestion.

  1. Spearmint tea

The limonene and mint L-Carvone in spearmint tea can boost overall health in a surprising number of ways. It helps soothe indigestion, boost dental health, improve the immune system, and also protect against fungal infections and lower inflammation. Spearmint tea, according to a study published in 2007, can be a great way for women with hirsutism to remove excess body and facial hair. due to its ability to lower the levels of androgens.

healthiest tea

To summarize, there are so many benefits of drinking tea. It’s worth taking a look at the specific health properties of different tea. You can choose what tea is best for you depending on what your body needs more.

For example , black tea , the most popular, stimulates our body, adds energy, increases concentration, accelerates stomach work, reduces the risk of blood clots, and a strong brew can even prevent and reduce the risk of cancer.

I personally love black tea and also green tea, especially black tea with bergamot, which is called Earl Grey. It is my favorite tea in the morning, which helps me to wake up and start the day with a smile. The smell of earl grey tea is terrific.

Green tea, which is the best tea anytime throughout the day has antibacterial and antiviral properties. It is my favorite healthiest tea. It helps in getting rid of impurities from the body, reduces cholesterol, reduces the risk of cancer, protects teeth against decay, and also helps reduce stress.

White tea stimulates your body energy level so effectively that it can successfully replace coffee. Like the previously described types, it helps in concentrating and has antioxidants that prevent the development of cancer cells. In addition, drinking white tea delays the aging process of the skin, improves the work of the immune system, that is, increases the body’s resistance and relieves nervousness.

Red tea is the perfect drink for people who want to slim down. First, it speeds up metabolism, cleanses the body and helps in fat burning. Like other teas, red tea also contains fluorine or thein. It is worth remembering that it is diuretic and helps to remove toxins from the body.

Herbal teas are always very healthy and great addition to your diet.

Risk of excessive drinking of tea

During pregnancy, according to the WHO recommendations, women can safely consume normal amounts (two to three cups per day) of tea. Selected herbal and fruit teas can additionally achieve a health-promoting effect and reduce some pregnancy symptoms.

In moderation, tea can be beneficial for pregnant women. However, it is important to avoid ingredients which are not safe for pregnancy such as Dong Quai and Nettles.

Excessive drinking of tea with a high polyphenol content (especially in fruit teas) can lead to iron deficiency in the body.

Drinking too much of black tea can cause side effects due to the caffeine. If you drink more than 6 cups of black tea a day, you can experience headache, nervousness or sleep problems. Remember, that even any healthiest drink in the world is better consumed in moderation.

Also, some studies show that when you add milk to your tea, it neutralizes many of tea’s antioxidants and nutrients, therefore, it is better to add lemon or herbs to your tea, instead.

healthiest tea
Photo: 五玄土 Oriento

Things to consider when shopping for healthiest tea. 

It’s better to purchase tea in small quantities. Try it first, see if you like it. And the truth is that any tea is just tastes best when it’s fresh. If you are trying out a new variety for the first time, you should buy a correspondingly small amount, while you can buy larger amounts of the teas that you already tried and liked.

Many factors determine the quality of tea. In fact, soil conditions, weather and processing method play a crucial role.  Ultimately, you only recognize the true quality of the tea in the cup.

When choosing your tea, first decide if you prefer caffeine free or with caffeine. This will narrow down your selection. Black, White, Green, Oolong, Pu-erh and Yerba Mate tisanes teas contain caffeine. Many herbal teas, like, Chamomile, Mint, Hibiscus teas – are naturally decaffeinated. After you choose the caffeine level in your tea, you can look and ask about specific flavors, colors and benefits.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article. Drink more tea! Cheers to a healthy lifestyle!

You might also like :   What Foods Boost Memory and Concentration? 

healthy lifestyle
Photo: Alisa Anton

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here