These days, pretty much any beverage made by throwing some herbs into water gets described
as "tea."
If you believe everything you're told, you might be convinced that tea is a magic elixir,
offering health and vitality to all who partake.
But while some teas have proven health benefits, others can actually be bad for you.
Here's a quick guide to the three teas you should be drinking, and three teas you shouldn’t.
Drink green tea
How good is green tea for you?
Authority Nutrition declared it the "healthiest beverage on the planet," in large part because
of green tea's high concentrations of epigallocatechin-3 gallate which is loaded with a host of medicinal
properties.
Green tea is credited with boosting brain function, enhancing weight loss, and staving
off cardiovascular disease and cancer.
What else does green tea fight?
Death, apparently.
A study of elderly Japanese found that those who regularly imbibed the hot green libation
were 16 percent less likely to die during the 6-year study.
Enjoy green tea by the bag, prepared with loose leaves, or as matcha — a premium green
tea made into a powder and believed to contain the highest health benefits of all green tea.
"Ooh.
Why that is a treat that is hard to beat."
"Get the Mad Hatter on the horn, I'm having a tea party!"
Drink black tea
You should be drinking black tea.
Not only is it delicious in its many varieties, it offers many documented health advantages,
from weight loss to battling diseases like cancer, diabetes, and many more.
As with everything in life, though, it's important to consume black tea in moderation due to
the fact that it contains fluoride, which in extreme cases can cause health problems
if abused.
"Do you realize that fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and most dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face?"
Drink oolong tea
Falling somewhere in between black tea, which is made with fully oxidized tea leaves, and
green tea, which is made with non-oxidized tea leaves, we have oolong tea, which is made
by partially oxidizing tea leaves in the sun.
Oolong teas from different regions of the world can vary widely in percent of oxidation,
meaning some oolong teas will have much more caffeine than others.
Unique not only in flavor, oolong tea also enjoys many of the health benefits of both
black and green tea.
Oolong tea is said to help with blood sugar control, heart health, brain function, and
metabolism, as well as protect against some forms of cancer.
Oolong tea is also rich in minerals like manganese, and contains a host of tea polyphenols, which
act as antioxidants.
Oolong is also hailed for containing the amino acid theanine, which acts as a stress-reducer
in the body.
But there are also some teas you shouldn't drink...
Don't drink kava
A known anti-anxiety relaxant, kava also has sedative qualities that can produce a drunken
stupor in users who overindulge.
It has been outright banned in countries like Australia and Poland, and use of low quality
kava has been linked to cases of liver disease.
While still legal in the U.S., users should be aware that it can produce some pretty unpleasant
side effects when mixed with alcohol or prescription meds.
Plus, overuse of kava can cause a scaly skin rash that only goes away once you stop using
it.
And that doesn't sound so relaxing after all.
Don't drink cheap tea
Regardless of your preferred choice of tea, quality matters.
The Journal of Toxicology found in 2013 that 22 of 30 teas tested had potentially unsafe
levels of lead, while other studies also found that many teas tested had unacceptable levels
of pyrrolizidine alkaloid, a toxin that grows on plants and is linked to liver damage.
Scientists and activists recommend carefully researching any tea produced in China, as
some strains contain higher levels of heavy metals, as well as banned pesticides.
Don't drink detox teas
Apart from the whole "detox" industry being basically one big scam, there is an ingredient
in most detox teas that you should only really be taking in certain, specific circumstances.
Senna leaf is known to irritate the lining of the bowels, which has a laxative effect.
While that will leave you feeling less bloated and can help with constipation, it'll also
flush all the good stuff out of your system as well, like electrolytes and healthy nutrients.
Whoops!
"One-half teaspoon for fast, effective relief."
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