Sipping tea regularly can be good for your heart, brain, and blood sugar; therefore, enjoying a steaming cup of tea isn’t just relaxing; it can be a boon for your health. There’s growing evidence that regular tea drinkers may have a lower risk of a heart attack, type 2 diabetes, cognitive decline, and other health problems. But not all teas provide those benefits. Use these following tips to help you choose the best brew for you.
Select the Right Tea: Black, oolong, green, and white—these so-called true teas are made with leaves from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. How the leaves are picked and processed determines their different flavors and colors. What makes them special are antioxidant compounds called polyphenols, which can fight inflammation and cell damage.
There’s some variation in the type and amount of these healthful compounds among the teas, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. For example, in a study of nearly 500,000 people, published in 2022 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, drinking two or more cups of black tea a day lowered the risk of dying from any cause by 9 to 13 percent during the 11-year study period. And green tea may help with memory, focus, and anxiety, according to a.2017 review of studies in the journal Phytomedicine.
Herbal teas are made from herbs such as mint and chamomile, flowers, spices, roots, fruits, and bark. They may have some other health benefits, but research on them isn’t as extensive as that on true teas.
Watch Your Caffeine Intake: Tea can be a good way to get the health benefits of caffeine, which include pain relief, and improved alertness and reaction time. Two cups of black tea a day supplies 80 to 120 mg–roughly half that in a cup of coffee. Green tea has about half the caffeine of black tea; herbal teas have none. The Food and Drug Administration says 400 mg a day is safe for most adults, but if you take any medications, check with your doctor to see whether caffeine interacts with them. If you have trouble sleeping, avoid caffeinated drinks after midday.
Double check your chai lattes: Chai is traditionally made with black tea, spices, milk, and a little sweetener. But coffee shop chais can be sugar bombs. For example, a small Starbucks chai latte (8 ounces) has 21 grams of sugar and 120 calories. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 25 grams of added sugars a day for women and 36 grams for men. The concentrates sold in stores are very sugary, so instead use a chai tea bag, which likely has just tea and spices.
What’s in Bottled Iced Teas?
Like chai lattes and sodas, bottled iced teas are often full of sugar and calories. A 16.9-ounce bottle of Arizona Green Tea, for example, has 34 grams of added sugar and 130 calories. Always check the nutrition info because even teas labeled lightly or slightly sweet can be sugary.
Diet or zero sugar bottled teas have no calories or sugar but likely contain sugar substitutes like aspartame or sucralose, which some research suggests increases the risk of heart disease and other health conditions.
You could try unsweetened tea, but bottled teas may not have the same level of antioxidants as freshly brewed, some research shows. To get tea’s full benefits (and control the sugar), make your own: Add 8 to 10 teabags to 2 quarts of water in a pitcher, and steep in the refrigerator.
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