Put on the kettle, pour a cuppa and enjoy all the health-boosting benefits of tea.
Every year, Australians are dinking more coffee and less tea and, in the process, we’re missing a golden opportunity to down a beverage with incredible health and healing punch. Tea is more than a tasty, soothing drink that comes in a variety of flavours; it also has plenty of hidden health benefits to treat health niggles and chronic conditions as well as protect against disease.
A brew with big benefits
Whatever your cup of choice — English breakfast, green or dandelion tea — your body enjoys an immediate increase in health-giving antioxidants such as plant compounds called flavonoids and polyphenols. When you weigh up all the evidence, tea is the healthiest hot beverage you can drink.
Tea appears to have more health benefits than coffee and around 50–60 per cent less caffeine per cup. Within 20 minutes of drinking a cup of black tea, there’s a measurable increase in the level of antioxidants in your blood. Tea ranks higher than some fruit and vegetables on the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) scale, which measures antioxidant levels in foods. The polyphenols in tea help protect the body against free-radical damage, which harms DNA and leads to disease. Three to four cups of tea a day appear to give optimal benefit.
Tea offers a range of health benefits backed by research. A University of L’Aquila study found that even one cup of tea daily (about 200mg flavonoids) helps keep arteries soft and flexible, lowering blood pressure and heart attack risk. Research from the University of Western Australia shows that elderly women who drink tea have higher bone density, possibly because tea supports a more alkaline state and calcium loss prevention.
Polyphenols in tea may also reduce the risk of gastric, oesophageal and skin cancers. At Curtin University, researchers found that three cups of green tea daily may lower the likelihood of prostate and ovarian cancer and may improve survival rates. Green tea also supports healthy weight by boosting metabolism and increasing kilojoule burning, possibly thanks to L-theanine — an amino acid that enhances alertness without overstimulation.
Technique and taste
Most tea comes from the evergreen camellia plant (Camellia sinensis), the basis for more than 3000 varieties of tea. The more it’s processed, the darker the tea leaves. Green tea (eg sencha) and white tea cultivated from the young leaves in early spring (eg baihao yinzhen) are the least-processed teas and their leaves are steamed. Black or regular tea (eg Earl Grey and Irish Breakfast) and varieties like oolong (eg. Wuyi rock tea) are partially dried before being crushed and fermented.
Most health research focuses on green tea because its simpler structure makes it easier to study in a lab. However, all tannin teas contain health-enhancing phytochemicals, regardless of how they are processed. To maximise your cuppa, choose a loose-leaf variety and steep it for three to five minutes to extract up to 85 per cent of the flavonoids. Big tea leaves need to steep for longer while tiny pieces of tea infuse faster.
“When people drink chamomile tea five times a day over two weeks, their markers of antibacterial activity increase, helping boost their immunity”.
Herbal Infusions
“Herbal teas” are made by infusing or decocting leaves, flowers or roots of plants other than Camellia sinensis. Infusions can have a wide range of soothing, healing and medicinal properties. To maximise their power, buy organic and loose leaf so you enjoy the full benefits of the essential oils and antioxidants. For beneficial herbal infusions, here are some to keep in mind:
Chamomile
Chamomile comes from the Asteraceae family of plants that have white petals and yellow stems and look like daisies. The two most commonly used varieties are German chamomile (Matricaria recutita), which tastes a little sweeter than Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). The tea is made from the dried blossoms of the chamomile flower, but fresh blossoms from your garden can also be added for additional taste that has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and astringent healing benefits.
Chamomile is well known for its calmative and antispasmodic properties. Drinking chamomile tea increases glycine, a nerve relaxant with mild sedative properties. This makes it a great tonic to help with digestive issues including ulcerative colitis and gastritis, stomach pain and indigestion as well as relieve menstrual cramps in women. When inhaled as a vapour, it also works a little like a natural antihistamine to relieve symptoms of cold, flu and allergy.
Chamomile tea contains powerful volatile oils including bisabolol (oxides A and B) and matricaria. It’s also rich in flavonoids. One of these, called apigenin, has been shown to strengthen the connection between brain cells and has been studied to help treat conditions like depression and dementia. Apigenin binds to the benzodiazepine receptors in the brain, acting like a mild tranquilliser. This is why chamomile tea can help benefit sleep onset and sleep quality.
Ceylon cinnamon
In Ayurveda, people use Ceylon cinnamon tea to address conditions related to muscle tension, blood sugar, digestion, circulation, and congestion, among other ailments. It has one of the highest levels of anti-inflammatory activity among foods, living up to its description as a “powerhouse of the spices.” Cinnamaldehyde is the primary bioactive compound in cinnamon and a powerful anti-inflammatory. Recent studies have shown cinnamon’s ability to r