From Health To Convenience, Just Say Yes To Tea!
Posted on: 7 May 2015
According to statistics compiled by The Tea Association of the United States for the year 2014, worldwide tea consumption was second only to water. In the United States alone, more than 3.60 billion gallons were eagerly consumed by tea lovers and the number is growing as many former coffee drinkers switch to tea for both the taste and the healthful benefits. If you have not yet given tea a try, here are some excellent reasons to just say yes.
Tea Fights the Big C
Tea contains EGCG, which is a type of polyphenol known as a flavonol. Tea, especially black and green tea are thought to have qualities that fight or reduce the risk of contracting many forms of cancer, including:
- skin cancers, including melanoma
- digestive system cancers, such as esophagus, stomach, pancreas and colon
- respiratory system cancers, including some types of lung cancer
- additional forms of cancer, including breast and prostrate
Tea Can Help Reduce the Risk of Serious Health Problems
In addition to reducing the risk of cancer, a Japanese tea study suggests that tea drinkers may have a much lower risk of dying from serious health diseases, such as stroke, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. This study suggests some of the compounds found in tea can help stop dangerous free radicals and blood clots from forming. In addition, drinking unsweetened varieties of black, green, oolong tea and other teas add no sugar or sodium to the diet.
Drinking Tea Instead of Soda Can Help With Weight Loss
Choosing to consume cold or hot unsweetened tea represents a huge caloric savings over comparable quantities of sugary soda. An eight ounce serving of most types of unsweetened tea has about 2 calories while a comparable serving of most popular sodas has nearly 100 calories. Even worse, an eight ounce serving of soda is just a fraction of the amount of soda that most consumers drink in one day. Convenience stores and fast food restaurants often use cups that hold a quart or even two quarts of soda to lure customers into their establishments, adding hundreds of calories to the average daily diet. For heavy consumers of soda, simply switching to delicious, unsweetened tea could help them shed pounds, reduce their intake of sugar and become healthier.
Tea Can Go Anywhere
Carrying bulky containers of soda or juice is difficult when you have a busy day and need to travel light, but having a few of your favorite tea bags in your pocket or purse takes up almost no space at all. Restaurants, convenience stores and even hotel lobbies are usually able to provide a cup of hot water to dunk your tea bag in while traveling. To make tea drinking easy at work, just keep a heat-proof mug at your desk and whenever it is time for a tea break, simple heat a cup of tap water in the microwave until it is almost boiling, add your tea bag and steep until it is the perfect strength for your taste.
Brewing Cold Tea Just Got Ultra-Convenient
If you love to sip a refreshing glass of iced tea at any hour of the day, but have a schedule that's packed too tight for daily brewing chores, give cold-brewed tea a try. Simply fill a clean half-gallon glass jar with cold, filtered water and add eight individual tea bags, or two large ones, with the paper tags removed. Stir with a plastic spoon or spatula to moisten the tea bags and then refrigerate for six hours or longer. You can vary the strength by adjusting the number of tea bags to make it just right for you. Because the tea is never heated, it tastes crisp and clean, but never bitter.
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