Since last week’s #winewellnesswednesday was about coffee, it seems only fair that I give equal time to another of my favorite beverages and talk about the health benefits of tea. If you go looking around about tea as a health food, it’s mostly about green tea. Luckily, I like green tea. :) I highly recommend it! (To be honest, I also like black tea and herbal tea, too, and studies show health benefits from black tea as well as green.)
Improved blood flow. Lower cholesterol. Stable blood sugar. (Granted, these benefits will be easier to realize if you don’t lace your tea with sugar! Try local honey instead.) Relaxation. Hydration. Fighting diabetes. Preventing neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Look at all of the wonderful potential benefits of a cup of tea!
Seriously! Look just how virtuous you could be if you drank one cup of tea, be it black or green, every day. “Hey, honey, I just fought heart disease with my cup of jasmine dragon pearl tea. Don’t you want to be just like me???” (Who, me; sassy? Nah.)
One of the other things that I really enjoy about tea is the process and the ritual. In Des Moines, we have a lovely tea shop called Gong Fu. They have a wonderful wall of tea of many types and flavors, and if you can make the time for it, you can participate in a tea ceremony. It’s a very relaxing thing to do, along with having a delicious cup of tea. This morning, after I’d already had my coffee, I decided I wanted a cup of tea. I brewed some budding jasmine tea, and watching it unfurl in the hot water was both fascinating and relaxing.
Do you drink tea? (If you don’t, maybe it’s a good time to start!)
Cheers! Here’s to your health!