The Health Benefits of Tea

Tea is one of the more commonly consumed beverages worldwide, and it’s also one of the more extensively researched due to the potential health benefits of tea. Tea leaves consist of thousands of bioactive compounds which have been identified and researched. Although many of the compounds serve as antioxidant flavonoids, not all of the benefits are believed to be entirely from antioxidant activity.

Heart Health
Many studies indicate that tea supports heart health as well as healthy blood pressure, and seems to be linked to a reduced cardiovascular disease risk, including heart attack and stroke.

Weight Loss
Studies on tea catechins show that they could be beneficial to maintain body weight or promote weight loss. Researchers have discovered that 24-hour energy expenditure as well as fat oxidation increased when individuals drank green tea and caffeine. Study results indicate that the caloric expenditure increase is the same as about 100 calories for a 24-hour period. Green tea and caffeine also seem to boost fat oxidation over 24 hours by about 16% or 0.02 grams per mg catechins. Researchers have also determined that individuals drinking green tea and caffeine lost about 2.9 pounds in 12 weeks, while sticking to their regular diet.

Osteoporosis
Researchers have performed studies with postmenopausal women having low bone mass to determine if adding green tea flavanols will help improve bone health markers as well as muscle strength. At the end of the six-month study the researchers discovered that 500 mg green tea extract (equal to 4-6 servings of green tea every day) improved markers for the formation of bone, reduced inflammation markers and also increased muscle strength.

Mental Sharpness
Drinking black tea improved attention as well as alertness in a other research. In the study, individuals consuming tea had been more precise on an attention task as well as feeling more alert than individuals drinking a placebo. This study supports earlier research on the mental benefits of tea.