Tea and Health: What do you need to know?
Tea and Health: What do you need to know?
Is tea good for you or bad for you? Many people give up coffee and tea when they go on a health kick but is this really the way to go? Although too much might interfere with how your body absorbs iron, there does seem to be more benefit than harm from having a nice, hot, brew.
What's In Tea?
Tea has been cultivated for millennia – there is evidence that humans have been brewing tea for almost 5000 years. Tea is one of the world’s most popular drinks with almost 3 billion kilograms (over 6 billion pounds) of tea produced and consumed every year. Potential health benefits from tea come from special compounds found in tea called polyphenols. These are a range of natural substances that seem to have many health benefits. These include catechins, found in large amounts in green tea and theaflavins, found in large amounts in black tea.
Tea also contains caffeine – the levels vary due to processing and the particular variety. The amount in the final cup of tea also depends on how long you like to let your tea brew. The average cup of tea has around 20mg of caffeine per cup. Compared this to coffee which can have 40 to 180mg of caffeine per cup.
Green tea is made from tea leaves that have been gently steamed to stop fermentation and then dried. Black tea is made from tea leaves that have been fermented to produce the black colour and a different, often stronger, flavour.
What are the benefits?
Polyphenols from tea are known to be antioxidants. People who drink tea regularly do have higher levels of antioxidants in their bodies and these may help to protect the body from day-to-day damage.
Any downsides?
While polyphenols in tea may help protect against heart disease and cancer, they can also affect how well your body absorbs iron. As low iron can be a particular problem for people with coeliac disease, it is important to keep an eye on when and how much tea you drink.
When it comes to iron and tea, it is worth knowing that tea does not affect iron that comes from animal foods – known as “haem iron”. So drinking tea just after eating a nice steak or a lamb chop won’t affect your iron. Tea really has an effect on iron from plant foods – “non-haem” iron. This is the type of iron found in foods like spinach, wholegrains and nuts. If you are eating these foods, then studies show it is best to wait one hour after eating before you have your cup of tea.
