Drinking Tea means Taking Care of Health
Today, on 15 December, tea producers and tea fans celebrate International Tea Day. Despite the fact that this date does not yet have official status, a tea day is widely celebrated in China, India and Sri Lanka. The festivities are organized in the countries specializing in growing tea, like Bangladesh, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania.
Tea, taking historical roots from East Asia, originally used as a medicine and gradually turned into an integral part of the diet. Despite the fact that tea is present in human life and has been studied by medicine for many centuries, scientific discoveries on its useful properties are amazing.
Daily hot tea drinking reduces the risk of glaucoma, a group of eye diseases, which result in damage to the optic nerve and vision loss, says the study published Thursday in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
The team of researchers from the Medical School of Los Angeles at the University of California analyzed the findings of 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and compared them with the available statistics on eye test results for glaucoma.
Further, the indicators of consumption of coffee, tea, and soft drinks were considered. It was found out, that lower risk of glaucoma was registered only in the group preferring hot tea to other kinds of beverages.
Why is the focus made on hot tea, regardless of the variety? Tea contains phytochemicals and flavonoids. These plant compounds have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that are lost as the tea cools.
What other serious diagnoses can protect tea from? According to early studies, one or more cups of black hot tea a day lowers the risk of a heart attack, diabetes, reduces blood pressure and cholesterol. Hot green tea serves as a preventative against osteoporosis, activates resistance to cancer.
In addition, the taste sensors respond better to hot tea by sending signals to the brain that are interpreted as “flavored, delicious”, so the mood rises, and buoyancy stimulates body’s immunity.
More than 2-3 billion cups of tea are drunk daily all over the world. In 2017, world production of black and green tea increased by 6% and amounted to 5.07 million tons.
