With fall comes cooler temperatures, stuffy noises, scratchy throats and the flu vaccine. Even though I have already had my flu vaccine to protect me from this years strain of the flu, I still caught a cold. My noise turned raw and red, I couldn’t stop sneezing and I couldn’t sleep due to the inability to breathe. Not only is a cold a stressor it also decreases overall productivity, something I couldn’t afford with a marathon right around the corner.
So what did I do…I went to the doctor of course for an antibiotic. Unfortunately, there are no magic pills and the antibiotic took a good 5 days for things to start clearing up. In the meantime, however, I knew I needed to continue to fuel my body but the only thing that tasted good was tea. Hot black tea with honey and lemon. So beyond the medicinal use of tea are there health benefits? Most definitely, YES!
Tea has been heavily researched over the years and has been associated with a lower risk of:
- Depression (37% reduction)
- Stroke (18% reduction)
- Coronary Heart Disease (27% reduction)
- Cardiac Death (26% reduction)
- Total Mortality (24% reduction)
- Cerebral Infarction (16% reduction)
- Intracerebral Hemorrhage (21% reduction)
- Type 2 Diabetes (4.2% reduction)
- Cancer
Now to even have close to this reduction it takes more than drinking tea while you are sick. A lower risk of the above diseases comes from consuming at least 3 cups (8oz) of tea per day. Even though the data is not conclusive on what type of tea to drink many believe consuming green, oolong, white and black tea have antioxidant fighting properties. Other health benefits of tea include:
- Boosts the Immune System
- Rehydrates
- Boosts Functioning in Old Age
- Lowers Blood Pressure
- Aids in weight loss
- Bone and Joint Health
- Memory
Regardless of all these alluring potential qualities of drinking tea, tea alone can not change your health outcomes. Your health relates to your lifestyle and your genes. So start making healthy choices by being physically active and consuming a healthy diet in addition to incorporating tea into your day.
Resources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/upshot/what-the-evidence-tells-us-about-tea.html?_r=1
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402212206.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/tea-health-benefits-cancer-heart-disease_n_1826138.html