By Chris Robideaux

The health benefits of drinking tea have been known for eons, and today these benefits are enjoyed by perhaps billions of Earth’s people. Tea reduces stress, provides multiple antioxidant elements, socializes people, and provides countless jobs for those working in the tea manufacturing industry (providing livelihoods is good health, too!). The Chinese are most likely the first people to recognize the life-enhancing effects of tea, and early on established tea drinking and cultivating as an integral part of their culture.

Tea has much less caffeine than coffee, that other, more dubious, favorite morning jump-start drink. Clinical studies have shown that green tea, in particular, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as aid in enhancing bone density, cognitive functioning, while also helping with weight loss and digestion (University of Geneva, Switzerland, Nov. 1999 study). Also, there’s a good chance tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke, by “cleaning” your arterial walls. A Dutch study over a five and a half year span found that there was a 70% reduced risk of fatal heart attack in those who drank two to three cups of black tea per day.

Some of the other health effects of drinking tea regularly are: It strengthens your bones, thanks to the phytochemicals found in it. Studies have shown that tea drinkers who drank it regularly for ten years or more had much stronger bones than their counterparts. A better smile is likely, too. Tea contains tannins and fluoride that help protect the teeth. It contains polyphenols, which help fight off cancer. It helps bolster your immune system and fight off infections. Tea is also a good way to hydrate your body, is calorie-free, and increases your metabolism. If ever there was a ritual to have, drinking plenty of tea is it!