Common Health Tea Myths

The first sign of tea can bring a breeze of refreshing air to many tired souls. Not only is tea a great beverage, with virtually zero calories and laced with antioxidants, it is an equally potent health drink too. Being used for centuries in Chinese culture, tea was used for treating many day to day problems like coughs and colds to body and head aches. Being the second most widely used drink in the world, coming second only to water, the popularity of tea as a health drink is gaining newer heights day by day.

The benefits of drinking tea can easily be said to supersede any other naturally occurring herb. An amino acid – L-theanine found in tea is known to reduce stress and also provide quick recovery from stress. This component of tea stimulates alpha brain waves, thereby ensuring a relaxed and yet an alert state of mind. Being a great source of antioxidants, tea provides a viable solution to aging, cancer and tumours. Apart from being a thirst quencher, tea also imparts a zero calorie health drink solution to all the health freaks. Despite all these benefits, tea is faced by a number of myths that hamper its usability in some way or another. Given below are some of the common myths about tea that are prevalent in the society.

Drink Tea to Compromise Hydration:

It is a common myth that says that tea acts as a diuretic. The reason that is given behind this is that tea has caffeine and thus may compromise hydration. While this is not entirely wrong, it is cannot be stated true also. Experts have found out that over time tea drinkers develop a tolerance towards tea (caffeine) and therefore the chances of any diuretic after effects are dismissed. On top of that, as tea is fluid, drinking tea acts as a source of fluid to the body thereby adding to the daily requirement of fluid intake.

Tea has Caffeine and Hampers Iron Absorption, Coffee is Better:

Although this is a fact that tea has caffeine, the adverse effect of this fact has not been found. As tea contains half the amount of caffeine that is contained in instant coffee, tea drinkers are a safe distance from the danger levels of caffeine overdose. Studies have also pointed out that the level of alertness that is imparted by the use of tea is greater and longer than that provided by an equal amount of coffee. While this phenomenon can be accredited to the presence of L-theanine amino acids in tea, its combination with the levels of caffeine present in tea can said to be responsible for its positive effects. As far as iron absorption is concerned, no undesirable effects of tea were found on the iron absorbing capacity of the body.

Tea and Sleep

While some people have the assumption that drinking tea in the evening hours can adversely affect their sleep as the high caffeine content of tea can be a cause of worry, research shows that tea causes positive effects on the sleep patterns of a person.