.jpg "The Great Ganesha header image 2")
Being a regular tea-drinker (one cup in the afternoon of some fine home-brewed masala chai, everyday), an article in today’s BBC News caught my eye.
They say that tea is much more beneficial to one’s health than was previously thought. Of course, these days almost everything either causes cancer or a heart attack. Everything except butter, that is. Tea, on the other hand, actually prevents both:
Some studies suggested tea consumption protected against cancer, although this effect was less clear-cut.
They found clear evidence that drinking three to four cups of tea a day can cut the chances of having a heart attack. [link]
Now the skeptic in me started to surface. I thought, yeah, yeah, yeah, that’s all well and good, but isn’t tea bad for your teeth?
Other health benefits seen included protection against tooth plaque and potentially tooth decay, plus bone strengthening. [link]
Tea good for your teeth? What next? They’ll say it’s hydrating! Ha! That’ll be the day! Says Public health nutriotionist Dr. Carrie Ruxton who, along with colleagues at Kings College London looked at published studies on tea and health:
[I]t was an urban myth that tea is dehydrating.
Studies on caffeine have found very high doses dehydrate and everyone assumes that caffeine-containing beverages dehydrate. But even if you had a really, really strong cup of tea or coffee, which is quite hard to make, you would still have a net gain of fluid. [link]
Damn! That’s news to me. Judging from my own hydration levels after drinking coffee or tea, I always thought that the whole caffeine-dehydration relationship was a little exaggerated. So this confirms it. Anyhow, so now what? Do we replace drinking water with tea? Says, Dr. Ruxton:
Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so its got two things going for it. [link]
Well, that works for me. And it’s definitely going to make a certain Chaiwallah very happy. Meanwhile, I’m off to, you guessed it, have a cup of tea. Hey, what can I say? I’m thirsty!
Liked this post? Subscribe to us. Print It. Share it:
4 responses so far ↓
1 The Simple Leaf // Aug 24, 2006 at 1:37 pm
The Chaiwallah is certainly delighted. In fact, his dentist regularly tells him (at least twice a year), that tea is good for his teeth.
For a home brewed masala chai, I strongly recommend Mountain Malt, a heady Assam BPS that will delight the Great Ganesha and of course, Mooshak.
http://www.thesimpleleaf.com/ec/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=3&idproduct=35
2 The Great Ganesha // Aug 24, 2006 at 2:18 pm
your recommendation shall be duly noted and checked out.
mooshak’s happiness, as you well know, takes precedence over that of the GG’s. hey, nobody likes a grumpy mouse, right?
3 cris65 // Aug 28, 2006 at 12:04 am
I am no tea drinker. But I know that tea really is beneficial to the body. I am an iced tea drinker though, but somehow it doesnt seem to be counted as a tea. Anyways, I’ve recently came from China and there is this particular tea that is so popular in there. It is called “jasmine tea”. Has anyone tasted it?
4 The Great Ganesha // Aug 28, 2006 at 5:51 pm
@cris: well, i’m no expert, but as far as i know it doesn’t matter whether you have it cold or hot, the benefits are still there. -gg
Leave a Comment