Can you imagine a day without tea? As a tea lover, I know the answer is a ‘big fat no’. Even imagining a day without tea is impossible. If Newton’s apple has made our life complicated, Shennong’s boiling water helps us to get over it, at least for a moment. What if the leaves hadn’t fell in and turned the water red? Newton would have covered our mind with clouds of concept. Although it’s a conspiracy theory still we can thank the emperor for his discovery. Tea is the second most consumed drink in the world after water. It equals the consumption of coffee, chocolate, soft drink and alcohol combined. I’ve always wondered why? Why is it so that tea is the most important part of our everyday life? What are the benefits of having tea?
I came across many benefits which answered my questions. Some of them are:
- It contains antioxidants.
- It has less caffeine than coffee.
- It reduces the risk of heart attack and strokes.
- It may help in weight loss.
- It helps protect bones.
- It boosts our immune system.
- Many studies have even found, it helps in battle against cancer.
And the list goes on.
Meanwhile there are also some harmful effects of tea. High consumption of black tea that contains caffeine can cause mild to serious effects like headache, nervousness, sleeping problems, diarrhoea, irritability, dizziness, etc. Simply saying “Excess of anything is bad.”
The world isn’t over yet. Tea has spread its wing and given us a kind that’s beneficial for us in the form of ‘Green tea’.
Why everyone should drink Green Tea?
Tea is one of the oldest and a completely natural drink on the globe and Green Tea, the healthiest of the tea industry. The difference is not in the plant but the way its leaves are processed. Green tea leaves are steamed rather than fermented. Its health benefits combined with delicious flavour has given it a new height. It has been researched and found that green tea inhibits the growth of cancerous cells, effectively removing the risk of certain type of cancer. It also reduces cholesterol. It has been found that green tea removes the bad cholesterol from our body. It improves our diet and has come out as an important ingredient in beauty products. It also helps in removing decay from the teeth.
Meanwhile black and oolong do have some similar benefit but Green Tea comes out as a winner. So if you are not already a tea lover, be one.
In the words of C.S.Lewis, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me” and Fyodor Dostoyevsky, “I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.” So what are you waiting for. Grab a cup, pour in and live.
—By Aquilur Rahman
