HEALTH BENEFETS OF COFFEE & TEA
Common Ground
- Aside from plain water, coffee & tea are the most enjoyed beverages around the world.
- Both have things in them that may help your health & they’re an excuse to get together
with a friend which that can be good for you, too.
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 & ground, then boiled, dripped, steamed or soaked to make coffee,
depending on where you live & how you like it.
Tea Basics
- More than two-thirds of the world’s people drink this beverage, which 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, Black: What’s the Difference?
- Tea makers dry& 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 flavor of the leaves
& 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
- These chemicals can damage your cells & lead to disease & illness.
- Your body makes them when it turns certain foods into energy & when sunlight hits
your skin.
- You also can get them from things you eat & drink.
- Tea & coffee help your body fight free radicals with chemicals of their own called
antioxidants.
Type 2 Diabetes
- Both tea & coffee are linked to a lower chance of getting this condition, which affects
how your body uses blood sugar (glucose) for fuel. - Coffee has lots of a certain antioxidant that helps keep your blood sugar lower & more
stable which is the main challenge of diabetes. - And antioxidants from tea may help your body process sugar in your blood.
Parkinson’s Disease
- Coffee & tea may help against this serious disease, which attacks the nerve cells in your
brain & makes it hard for you to move. - Some studies suggest that caffeine can ease early symptoms of Parkinson’s, while others
show that drinking coffee & tea might help protect your brain from it in the first place.
Heart Disease
- Doctors once thought people with this should cut down on tea & coffee, because of the
caffeine, but now it seems they may protect you from it. - In one study, people who drank 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day were less likely to have a
buildup of calcium in the vessels that bring blood to your heart muscle. - That could mean a lower chance of heart disease.
Liver Disease
- This is another organ that probably benefits from your morning cup of joe.
- Drinking 3 or more cups of coffee a day may lower your odds of having chronic liver
disease, cirrhosis & liver cancer & it may be an alternative medicine for people who have
those issues. - Coffee has more than 100 different chemical compounds in it & scientists are trying to
figure out what they do & how they might work together to help your liver.
Stroke
- This happens when blood is cut off from a certain area of your brain & a cup of coffee or
tea a day might lower your chances of having one. - This may be because coffee can ease inflammation & help control your blood sugar levels.
- And drinking black tea is linked to lower blood pressure, which can make you less likely
to have a stroke.
Cancer
- Coffee & green tea might help prevent breast & prostate cancers, while all kinds of tea
may protect you against the kinds of cancer that affect the ovaries & stomach. - Researchers think antioxidants in tea, including ones called polyphenols, are to thank
for this.
Alzheimer’s Disease
- This disorder attacks your brain’s nerve cells (neurons) & it can cause memory loss &
changes in thought patterns & behavior. - Coffee has antioxidants that may help protect neurons & green tea has some that may help prevent the clusters of proteins believed to cause the disease.
Gallstones
- These are tiny pieces of hardened cholesterol & other substances that form in your
gallbladder like a small pear-shaped organ near your belly that helps with digestion. - They can sometimes cause serious pain & health problems if they’re not treated.
- But coffee can lower your chances of getting them because it helps move fluid through
your gallbladder & makes the cholesterol less likely to crystallize into gallstones.
Weight Loss
- If you drink low-calorie beverages like coffee & tea instead of sugary ones, you may find
it’s easier to lose weight. - They can give you a satisfying pick-me-up with almost no calories.
- Of course, that doesn’t work if you add a bunch of sugar & cream, so stick with the basic
Don’t Overdo It
- Despite the health benefits of coffee & tea, too much caffeine can make you anxious or
irritable & 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). - Talk with your doctor if you have questions about how much is too much for you.
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