Reasons to drink Tea

And I mean, often.

When Robert mentioned that the caffeine in tea is stronger than that in coffee, I started searching for some information about that. I started with the article on tea from Wikipedia, and was amazed by the amount of benefits it has. Here's a copy-paste:

In 2010 researchers found that people who consumed tea had significantly less cognitive decline than non-tea drinkers. The study used data on more than 4,800 men and women aged 65 and older to examine change in cognitive function over time. Study participants were followed for up to 14 years for naturally-occurring cognitive decline. (AAICAD 2010; Lenore Arab, PhD; UCLA^[31])

Several of the potential health benefits proposed for tea are outlined in this excerpt from Mondal (2007, pp. 519–520) as following:

Tea leaves contain more than 700 chemicals, among which the compounds closely related to human health are flavanoides,amino acids, vitamins (C, E and K), caffeine and polysaccharides. Moreover, tea drinking has recently proven to be associated with cell-mediated immune function of the human body. Tea plays an important role in improving beneficial intestinal microflora, as well as providing immunity against intestinal disorders and in protecting cell membranes from oxidative damage. Tea also prevents dental caries due to the presence of fluorine. The role of tea is well established in normalizing blood pressure, lipid depressing activity, prevention of coronary heart diseases and diabetes by reducing the blood-glucose activity. Tea also possesses germicidal and germistatic activities against various gram-positive and gram negative human pathogenic bacteria. Both green and black tea infusions contain a number of antioxidants, mainly catechins that have anti-carcinogenic, anti-mutagenic and anti-tumoric properties.

Other benefits of drinking tea  include its utility in keeping you mentally awake (which means it allows you to sleep if you want to, but it helps you concentrate on work or studies), the relaxation it provides while stopping to drink some and its anti-depressant effects. Anti-depressant? Yes. It makes a great substitute for adrenaline and can also help with serotonin needs (even better if taken with sugar), which means it provides the necessary dose to stabilize bi-polar diseases, both manic-depressive and hiper-active-fatigue.

Have tea, lots of them, dearests. Lemon tarts to all!