#ThisJustIn – Tea Drinkers, Rejoice!

/ Marcia Meara

 

Got a newsletter from my doctor’s office yesterday, and the word is–tada!–tea drinkers are in luck! Here’s why:

  1. Drinking tea regularly can lower your blood pressure by 2 points, reducing your risk of stroke by 8%.
  2. Drinking just 3 cups of tea a day (easily done by me each morning) can slash the risk of hip fracture by THIRTY percent, and it gets even better!
  3. Black tea contains chemicals called flavonoids which help prevent brittle bones.
  4. Flavonoids are linked with lower cancer and heart disease risks.
  5. Every cup of black tea lowers the risk of hip fracture by 9%, thus three cups a day can cut that risk by a third!

Now if that doesn’t send you running for the Earl Grey (or Ceylon, or Assam, or any other of many, many perfectly delicious black teas), I don’t know why not. Frankly, since both my mother and my grandmother fell and broke their hips in their later years, the reduced risk of osteoporosis is enough to make me glad I’ve been a confirmed tea drinker all my adult life.

Okay, you guys have been alerted to this wonderful news. Now I’m going to go make my second cup of tea for the morning, perhaps a cup of Summer Rose. A perfect black tea with just a hint of rose petals. Sublime.

(Of course, for those of you who prefer a bit of company whilst testing out this whole “drinking tea is good for your health” thing, I happen to know where a really swell tea party is going to be happening this coming Saturday. Just sayin’ . . . )

(Oh, yeah. The newsletter also mentioned something about beet juice. I’ll let you know if I ever work my way up to that one!)

 

53 thoughts on “#ThisJustIn – Tea Drinkers, Rejoice!”

  1. I never drank tea till I was fifteen, but I think the many glasses of milk I drank must have helped my growing bones. I used to laugh at Mum and her friends who always seemed to be ‘dying for a cup of tea’ – I thought tea tasted revolting. Mum said I would be a social outcast if I did not drink tea or coffee ; ironically I discovered how thirst quenching tea was during a heat wave. First thing this morning I was boiling up to make tea and melt the bird bath.

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    • Southerners in the U.S. are raised on iced tea, so I enjoyed that, even when I was younger. But by the time I was in my 20’s I knew I preferred tea over coffee, hands down. In recent years, I discovered Adagio Teas online, and have managed to amass 36 4oz containers of various flavors and types along my kitchen counter. My greatest pleasure is deciding what each cup is going to be, during the morning. 😀 (I’m a simple soul.) And when I discovered I could custom mix my own blends on Adagio’s website, I knew I’d found tea drinker’s heaven! 😀

      Glad you came around, Janet. All that milk made for great bone growth, but calcium leaches out of our bones as we age, so having tea for your back up plan is a wonderful idea! 😀

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    • I agree with your hubby. Until noon. Any caffeine I drink after that turns into a protracted bout of tossing and turning when I go to bed, sometimes keeping me awake the whole night. I limit myself to three cups (apparently just the right number), and I have to drink them all before noon. Problems that require tea to fix must either be solved by that time, or I have to hope I still have enough on board to do the trick. 😀 😀

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        • My son can fall asleep while in the middle of actually DRINKING coffee, so caffeine definitely doesn’t hit everyone the same way. As for herbal teas, there are a few I like okay, but not many, because so often they contain either rose hips (which taste like dissolved aspirin) or hibiscus, which is awful, too. I keep looking for a perfect mix, but haven’t found one yet. Chamomile is good in moderation, but not something I’d want every day. I do drink decaffeinated teas now and then, but you know, none of them are more than 90% caffeine-free, and I’m so sensitive even 10% will keep me awake. No chocolate at night, either, in any form. *sigh*

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          • I had a Tetley’s cinnamon orange herbal tea. It’s called Warmth. I slept very well. Even had nice dreams! I also enjoy Rooibos vanilla before bed. I agree, camomille is nice occasionally but not every day.

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            • Cinnamon Orange sounds great, but if it has caffeine, no way I’d sleep. And if it’s herbal, I’ll have to check for those dreaded rose hips. While rose petals are delightful, rose hips are not! I swear, they taste like dissolving an aspirin on your tongue. Eeek. I don’t know why they insist on adding rose hips to so many otherwise tasty-sounding teas. Yeah, they add vitamin C, but if you can’t drink the stuff, it doesn’t help you much. Of course, many people seem to be fine with them, so what do I know? 😀

              Just checked it online, and no rose hips, yay! But licorice? Arrrrgggggh. The rest sounded SO good, too! 😦 I don’t have much luck with herbal teas, I’m afraid. I’m WILLING, though, honest!

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              • I´m with you on the rosehips. I don´t like them either and I usually don´t like liquorice but it doesn´t bother me in this one for some reason. My great aunt Barbara lived to be 95 and was as sharp as a tack to the end. She only drank hot water with lemon! Perhaps that´s the key!! ❤

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  3. Marcia, your doctors are different. Here we read such news in the newspapers……followed by a warning as everyone thought tea would cure them. Same with red wine, oh my, that helped the wine sales.😊 .

    I can say this for beetroot and carrot juiced together. It tastes great and pops your eyes open. Oh, add apple too.
    miriam

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    • I don’t think anyone means this as a cure-all, but merely as one more weapon in the health arsenal. And a tasty one, too. Tea is good for you, but you can’t ignore the other stuff you should be doing, is what I take away from it. I’m sure this has been in health magazines or occasional articles in the papers, too, but nothing like a personal note from a doctor I’ve trusted for years to reaffirm my opinion about the benefits of tea.

      As for the beets, I just hate them. HATE. THEM. And I’m not overly fond of carrots, either, though I do eat them, especially cooked. I can’t live without Granny Smith apples, though. If tea starts my day, an apple finishes it, every day, bar none. But not mixed with beets. Nuh-uh. Not likely to happen, sorry. However, I can certainly understand how it would also be beneficial. (Assuming you can actually swallow it, which in my case, would be highly unlikely.) 😀

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    • PS . . . When I said “ThisJustIn” I meant, in my Inbox, and not like it was really news. Again, I suspect this is old stuff for many folks, but to get it in my Inbox, especially right when I’m about to host an afternoon tea, seemed like an alert I couldn’t pass by! 😀

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  5. I do love my tea, now my tastes are justified 😀
    I’m very set in my ways, though – tea in the morning, coffee at coffee time, tea at tea time, and coffee after supper.
    At least that means I drink plenty of fluids!

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    • Hahaha. Yes, indeed. My main trouble with coffee is that I only like it with about a half a gallon of cream and a pound or two of sugar. Basically, I want it to taste like HOT coffee ice cream. 😀 I’m not willing to drink a concoction like that very often, and since, in general, it doesn’t compare to tea for me, I just don’t. And I’m a purist with tea. I don’t want anything changing the flavor of it, so I always drink it black, and savor every drop. Lots less calories that way, too. 😀

      Oh, we are a strange bunch, we humans. So very different in our likes and dislikes, and our well-established habits. It’s what makes us so interesting, I think. 😀 (BTW, I didn’t even know “coffee time” was a thing. 😯 )

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  7. I have always preferred tea, especially first thing in the morning. Lately, I have been trying black or green tea, and that Summer Rose sounds lovely. BTW, beet juice is lovely, at least the one I drink is!

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    • Check out Adagio Teas online: http://adagio.com for some of the best tea I’ve ever tried. SO many kinds to choose from, and hands down the best Earl Grey I’ve ever tasted in more than 50 years of drinking Earl Grey. They have 4 kinds, with the “regular” one being called Earl Grey Bravo. And their selection of flavored teas are amazing, too. (Summer Rose is one of them). If you do a search for me, I think it will bring up my own custom blends, as well, which you can also buy, though they are pricier than their regular ones, because they blend them for each order. And no, I don’t make anything on them. It’s just something fun Adagio lets their customers do.)

      As for beet juice, perhaps if they hadn’t TOLD me–maybe called it something like Ruby Elixir–I might have tried it. But too late now. I know the truth. 😯

      😀

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  9. I’m very partial to herbal teas … peppermint and ginger &lemon my current favourites! Glad to know of their health benefits too … does it still count if I have a biscuit or two on the side? My husband guzzles tea at work and can get through ten mugs a day!! He’ll be well-chuffed to Read about the positive side-effects!

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    • These particular health benefits apply only to black teas, I’m afraid. Flavored or unflavored, if the base is a black tea (Ceylon, assam, Darjeeling, or a mix like Irish Breakfast Tea, for instance), then you’re covered for the things above. However, herbal teas are touted for their own various benefits, too. I just don’t like any of them, so far. 😦 I’m glad you enjoy them, and if your husband is drinking basic black tea of some sort, he should, indeed, be chuffed. 😀

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        • The amount of caffeine is extremely variable in tea, ranging from very little to even more than coffee, depending on many factors. Black teas tend to be higher in caffeine than green, white, or oolong teas, but it’s also a matter of where the tea is grown (soil conditions, climate, etc) and even whether the leaves are harvested from the tiny new ones at the tips of the plants or larger ones, lower down. One thing I love about Adagio teas (and probably other online tea sites) is that they tell you how high the level of caffeine is in each of their teas. Oh, and another factor is, of course, how much tea you use per cup. I don’t use pre-measured teabags, myself. I have infusers which I fill with loose tea, and I like it strong.

          There are differences in coffee, too, but not as wide-ranging. So that could be why your evening cuppa doesn’t bother you as much as whatever type of coffee you prefer. (Look . . . a lesson in Tea Stuff. Betcha didn’t expect that!) 😀 😀 😀

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          • Lol, well, from you I would expect this! 🙂 And yes, I am aware of the different caffeine levels in different teas, but I appreciate the education! I’m often too lazy to use the infuser and loose tea so usually I’ll throw in a green tea bag, an Earl Grey (although I prefer that by infuser) or often a good Oolong. 🙂 🙂

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            • I can’t help it, you know. I read a lot, even all the amassed tea information on the Adagio website, including the history of tea and more. Facts like these pile up in my brain and cause discomfort, so I have to set them free now and then. You gave me the opening, and I took it! 😀 😀 😀 For instance, did you know that all black tea is fermented, and green tea is not? And that oolong teas are only partially fermented? (Oh, look. She did it again! Another case of FBS–Full Brain Syndrome. There’s only so much space in my cranium, after all.)

              That’s my story, an’ I’m stickin’ to it! 😀 ❤

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    • Good for you, Robbie! On thinking back over the last few years, tea and water are the only two things I drink at all. Maybe I can relax a little bit about my fear of falling. Or not. I’d still rather remain vertical. 😀 )

      As for beet juice consumption, for me, nobody is THAT convincing. *shudder* 😀

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