Not your ordinary cuppa 

Express News Service

Big traditions sometimes have small beginnings. A case in point is the famous British tea-drinking tradition. Little did Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, know back in 1840, that her simple request for tea to shed the afternoon torpor would one day become a ritual. She also did not know what tea-drinking would one day graduate from mere social activity to a health-inducing one.

Tea can help prevent cancer, dementia, and heart disease among others. Flavonoids present in tea have anti-inflammatory properties, especially in green tea. It promotes cellular antioxidant enzyme activity, thus preventing the cells from oxidative stress. The longer you steep these plant chemicals into your tea, the more benefit you draw.

Doesn’t matter whether it is white, green, brown or black, all offer individual benefits. “Tea leaves contain phytochemicals (compounds that are produced by plants) that are believed to protect cells from damage. These are believed to be antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic.

Of course, the role of tea cannot be seen in isolation. It has to be in addition to lifestyle and dietary factors. Having said that, flavonoids reduce inflammation triggered by allergens, toxins and environmental irritants. Flavonoids can assist in blood pressure management too,” says Uttarakhand-based tea sommelier Ruchi Wadhwa. People who consumed higher levels of flavonoids routinely were at a lower risk of experiencing a cardiovascular event, according to the findings of a study titled ‘dietary flavonoid intake and cardiovascular risk: a population-based’ published in the Journal of Translational Medicine. 

In another report, the benefits of green tea are highlighted. A greater consumption can significantly reduce cardiovascular disease. In a large cohort study titled, ‘tea and coffee consumption and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality,’ consumption of tea, mainly black tea of three to six cups, was associated not only with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease mortality but also with a higher educational level, higher physical activity, healthier diet, and lower prevalence of smoking, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes.

Need more reason to get that tea brewing?