De-stress With a Cup of Tea

Tea is becoming one of the world's most popular beverages.

There's a large body of research suggesting that a cup of tea has more than just a refreshing taste, the tea plant contains natural chemicals that act as antioxidants. These chemicals, including polyphenols and flavonoids have been studied for their role in lowering the risk of certain cancers, heart disease and stroke.

There are even studies suggesting that tea may be helpful in weight management.

In addition to the health benefits, tea is calorie-free, contains less caffeine than coffee and can certainly be part of your recommended daily intake of fluids.

We often think of tea as one of those relaxing drinks that seems to make you feel better after a stressful day. Now, a new study suggests there may be some truth to this.

When you are faced with a stressful situation, your body responds in a number of ways, including an increase in heart rate and blood pressure and the release of stress hormones such as adrenalin and cortisol.

These responses prepare your body to defend itself. When the stress subsides, the levels return to normal.

In this study, researchers in London divided a group of men into two. One half were given a fruit-flavoured caffeinated tea mixture that had all the components of a cup of black tea. The second half were given a similar tasting drink, identical in taste but missing the active ingredients of regular tea.

They all drank their drinks over a six-week period, and at the end of the time they were given a series of tests designed to raise their stress levels.

The scientists found that both groups experienced a rise in heart rate, blood pressure and the stress hormone cortisol. However, the cortisol levels of the tea drinkers fell more quickly after the stressful tests than the levels did in the non tea drinkers.

The researchers suggest that although tea doesn't appear to reduce the actual stress that you experience, it does seem to help you recover and de-stress more quickly.

Black tea, Oolong and green tea have comparable health benefits. They all come from the same plant Camellia Sinensis but have been produced differently.

Source: Health Canada at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca