Health Benefits Of Black Tea

Health Benefits Of Black Tea

Anna Dosu

Black tea is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. It is prepared from the leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis and is more oxidized than oolong, green tea, and white tea. Thus, it generally has a stronger flavour than the other varieties of tea.

The production process makes black tea unique and different from other varieties of tea. After being plucked, the tea leaves are withered in order to release the moisture from them. When they lose the maximum amount of moisture, the leaves are rolled, either manually or with the help of machines, through exposure to high temperature. Once the leaves are oxidized fully, they are sorted according to their size.

The name ‘black tea’ can be attributed to the darkness of the tea’s liquor. However, technically, it is dark amber or orange in color. Hence, the Chinese referred to it as red tea. The caffeine content in any tea is often a cause of concern. As far as black tea is concerned, one cup of tea has about half the amount of caffeine found in a cup of coffee.

Let’s take a look at exactly how black tea benefits your health whether you’re already a long-time devotee or you’re considering making it your new go-to caffeine of choice.

Health Benefits Of Black Tea,

1. Works for the nervous system and brain health: Black tea contains lower levels of caffeine than coffee. The low amounts of caffeine promote the blood flow in the brain, without stimulating the heart, and improve mental alertness and concentration. The amino acid L-theanine, found in black tea, can help you relax and concentrate fully on tasks. The consumption of four cups of black tea daily for one month has been found to reduce the levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. The caffeine in black tea boosts your memory and studies have suggested that the consumption of black tea on a regular basis protects against Parkinson’s disease.

 

2. Boost immunity: A strong immune system is necessary for fighting the bacteria and viruses that can cause illnesses. Black tea contains substances called ‘tannins’ that have the ability to fight viruses such as influenza, dysentery, hepatitis, cold, and flu. One such tannin called ‘catechin’ helps in suppressing tumors. The alkylamine antigens in black tea boost the immune response. Drinking 3 to 4 cups of black tea each day helps in lowering inflammation and eliminates harmful pathogens.

 

3. Prevents Strokes: A meta-analysis published in 2009 found that drinking black or green tea daily may prevent ischemic stroke. Specifically, the researchers found that regardless of what country the subjects came from, the people who drank the equivalent of three or more cups of tea each day had an overall 21 percent lower risk of stroke as compared to the subjects who drank less than one cup daily.

 

4. Lowers stress hormones: While coffee is known for getting some people a little too energetic, black tea has a reputation for being more of a balanced caffeine source and even a relaxation beverage that can work as a stress reliever. Research has shown that black tea can actually help its drinkers better recover from the common daily stresses of life by bringing stress hormones, like cortisol, back down.

 

5. Holds Antibacterial Ability: Black tea isn’t just a tasty beverage hot or cold — it also possesses potent antibacterial and antioxidant powers. Research has shown that black tea’s phenolic compounds, as well as its tannins, have the ability to inhibit some types of bacteria. In addition, the non-polymeric phenolic compounds are able to be absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, making these bacteria-killing components of black tea orally active.

 

6. Aids weight loss: You may have already heard about diet teas before, so keep in mind that black tea may also help you to lose weight.

 

7. Good for hair: Due to the abundance of antioxidants and caffeine, black tea is considered extremely beneficial for the hair. Black tea can be incorporated into your hair care regimen for stronger and damage-free hair. The various benefits of black tea for the hair are given below:

The caffeine present in black tea helps in decreasing DHT (Dihydrotestosterone), a hormone found in the scalp that causes hair loss. Thus, black tea helps in increasing the hair thickness and lowering the hair loss. Health Benefits Of Black Tea

Antioxidants in black tea combined with caffeine will boost your metabolism, helping you to burn fat faster. Health Benefits Of Black Tea

Therefore, you can enjoy the benefits of drinking black tea, whether using tea bags, loose leaf black tea or black tea powder and lose weight by doing some physical exercise as well. That’s not too hard, is it? Health Benefits Of Black Tea

Now, this does not mean that you should start drinking as much black tea as possible. Please read on and learn why caffeine is not something to be abused.

In conclusion, there aren’t many studies related to the side effects of black tea, besides the ones centered on the effects of caffeine. Yes, caffeine, as you read, has powerful and positive effects on your health, when taken in moderate amounts.

However, if you overdo it, the consequences are numerous. Let’s have a look at some of the negative effects caffeine may have on your body and mind.

Caffeine Excess: Caffeine is a stimulant of the central nervous system, so if you are hypersensitive to caffeine or take high doses of it, you may experience insomnia, skin rashes, anxiety, headache, irritability, blurred vision, dizziness and worsen incontinence (since it acts as a diuretic). Health Benefits Of Black Tea

It may also aggravate ulcer symptoms by increasing the production of stomach acid.

Pregnant women and breastfeeding moms, need to consume Black tea with moderation. You should reduce your caffeine intake since caffeine has been associated with spontaneous abortions, intrauterine growth retardation, low birth weight and birth defects.

Breastfeeding babies may suffer from insomnia, tremors and heart palpitations due to the level of caffeine in breast milk. It is advisable, therefore, that drinking of black tea by pregnant women and breastfeeding moms should be limited to one or two cups daily, however, subject to a physician’s advice.

If you are being medicated you should also be aware that due to its caffeine content, there may occur some negative effects when drinking black tea. Be sure to consult your doctor if this is your cause. Health Benefits Of Black Tea

Black tea consumed with honey has also been shown to specifically kill H. pylori bacteria, which can prevent all kinds of unwanted symptoms of H. pylori, infection including ulcers.

Why black tea is different from green and white tea. Health Benefits Of Black Tea

Black, green and white tea all share the same tea source, the tea plant. The processing of tea results in the different colors, flavors and health benefits of tea. After picking, white tea is the least processed while black tea is the most processed. White tea is the closest you can get to just picking a tea leaf off the plant and incurs very little oxidation. Meanwhile, green tea gets dried and undergoes a pan-frying or steam-heating process depending on the variety. Black tea is made using leaves that have oxidized, which means they were purposely permitted to wilt and brown after picking.

The ORAC value (antioxidant content) of brewed black tea is 1,128 while green tea is slightly higher at 1,253. So green tea definitely wins when it comes to antioxidants, but it’s probably not by as much as you expected.

Black, green and white tea all share common tea benefits thanks to their polyphenols, which science has shown to have antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, detoxifying and immune-stimulating effects. Health Benefits Of Black Tea

Green tea is usually lower in caffeine than black tea while green tea is typically lower than white tea. Research has shown that green and white tea have similar levels of health-promoting catechins and polyphenol.