Healing power and benefits of tea

Some 5000 years ago, Chinese Emperor Shen Nung drank the first pot of tea.

Since then, it has gone on to become the most consumed drink in the world.

And it’s easy to see why, particularly when you consider the health benefits of this delicious, refreshing drink.

What are the health benefits? Here’s what the experts at T2 Tea have to say:

Gives you energy

When you need an energy boost, most people grab for the coffee, but there are actually properties in herbal and black tea that are much more effective.

If you need an energy boost, green tea can make you more alert, black tea has a high caffeine level, yerba mate has a smoky flavour and has been used in energy drinks, and ginger tea helps to increase adrenal catecholamines, which moderate energy.

Helps fight illness

Whether your immune system has taken a battering, or you simply want to avoid getting the flu this winter, certain types of tea have been known to help improve your immunity.

Turmeric and ginger in tea has been found to boost immunity, while chamomile will help you to rest and recover when you’re not feeling the best.

Green tea has powerful antioxidants known as polyphenols that are said to be great for immunity, with a particular type (catechins) have been found to kill influenza and other viruses.

Aids sleep

Along with assisting your immunity and illness recovery, chamomile tea has long been used as a remedy for insomnia.

It has even been referred to as a mild tranquiliser, and it contains an antioxidant called apigenin, which is known to induce sleep and reduce anxiety.

If you need a little help with getting to sleep, you could also try valerian root tea, lavender tea, lemon balm tea, passionflower tea and magnolia bark tea, which has been used to promote sleep in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years.

Combat stress

Whether you work too much, worry too much, or you’re struggling with life in general, stress is common and detrimental to your mental and physical health.

Some ingredients in tea are said to be extremely effective for dealing with everyday stress, including lemon balm, valerian, lavender, and rosemary.

A blend of these will have you feeling more relaxed in no time, whether it’s morning or night.

Good for overall wellness

If you want to take care of your general health and wellbeing, wellness tea provides everything you need to enhance your mind and body.

General wellness tea will help you with all of the above, and continue to bring many other benefits as well.

Drink them in the morning and you’ll have more energy, during the day and it’ll promote digestion, and at night you’ll sleep better.

Common ingredients include peppermint, matcha, lemongrass and ginger, to name a few.

It seems the more tea you drink, the healthier you will be.

A study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology found that people who drink tea 3+ times a week are less likely to have a heart attack, generally live longer and have less health issues than those who don’t drink tea.

Whether that’s true, the jury is out, but it can’t hurt to try.