Tea and coffee: Health benefits
- Dietitian.Lauren Hmede
- Mar 28, 2019
- 3 min read
Common Ground
Both coffee and tea are popular beverages and you cannot enjoy your day without a cup of them. Both have many health benefits.
Coffee Basics
The beans grow on flowering trees found in more than 50 countries around the world, including the U.S. (Hawaii). They’re roasted and ground, then boiled, dripped, steamed, or soaked to make coffee, depending on where you live and how you like it.
Tea Basics
Tea is made from the leaf of a bush called Camellia sinensis. You typically steep the leaves in steaming hot water for a few minutes then serve the tea hot or over ice.
Green, Oolong, and Black: What’s the Difference?
Tea makers dry and crush the leaves to bring out their oils, then they might expose them to air for a while, depending on the kind of tea they want to make. This is called “fermentation” -- it’s a chemical reaction that affects the flavour of the leaves and turns them brown.
The longer they’re exposed, the more caffeine they have. Green tea uses leaves that haven’t been fermented at all, which is why it has almost no caffeine. Oolong uses leaves that have been fermented for a time, while black tea leaves are fermented the longest.
Free Radicals
They are chemicals made by body when it converts food into energy or ounce the sun hits your skin. You can get them from food and drinks. These free radicals can damage cells and increase your risks of many diseases. Both tea and coffee contain antioxidant that fight free radicals.
Type 2 Diabetes
Both tea and coffee have been linked with lower risk of diabetes type 2. Antioxidant in coffee control blood sugar and make it more stable while tea is responsible for how your body process sugar into blood.
Parkinson’s Disease
Coffee and tea may help against diseases that attack your nerves and alter movement. Some studies suggest that caffeine can ease early symptoms of Parkinson’s, while others show that drinking coffee and tea might help protect your brain from it in the first place.
Heart Disease
According to studies people who drink 3 -5 cups of coffee are less likely to have build-up of calcium in their blood vessels so less risk of heart disease. Tea consumption is also linked to heart-health.
Liver Disease
According to studies drinking 3 or more cups of coffee a day may lower your odds of having chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer.
Stroke
Drinking coffee and tea has been linked to lower risk of stroke. This may be because coffee can ease inflammation and help control your blood sugar levels. Drinking black tea could lower blood pressure thus lower risk of stroke.
Cancer
Coffee and green tea might help prevent breast and prostate cancers, while all kinds of tea may protect you against the kinds of cancer that affect the ovaries and stomach. The effect of tea against cancer is linked to polyphenols: powerful antioxidant.
Alzheimer’s Disease
This disease brain’s nerve cells (neurons) and it can cause memory loss and changes in thought patterns and behaviour. Coffee and tea each of them contain antioxidant that may help to protect neurons, and to prevent the clusters of proteins believed to cause the disease respectively.
Gallstones
Gallstones are hardened cholesterol and substances that form inside your gallbladder. They can cause serious pain and if left untreated they may lead to health issues. Coffee lower the changes of stones to crystalize as it keeps fluid moving throughout the bladder.
Weight Loss
Both calorie and tea are low calorie beverages and ounce you replace sugary drinks with them you will see weight loss result.
Don’t Overdo It
Don’t overdo as too much caffeine can make you anxious or irritable and make it hard to sleep. It also can make you less able to hold onto calcium, which can lead to bone fractures (calcium keeps bones strong). Always consult your doctor if any questions are a concern!
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