After water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world. In fact, it’s been enjoyed in China and Japan for thousands of years.
While many of us drink tea for its delicious flavor, it’s also extremely healthy, depending on how you prepare it. Considering the number of teas out there, however, you might be wondering which tea is healthiest. Let’s take a look at the healthiest types of tea and how to make the best cup. Pinkies up!
Which tea is the healthiest?
While the various types of tea–black, green, oolong and white–may taste and look quite different, they’re all made from the same evergreen plant, Camellia sinensis — the healthiest tea.
The Camellia sinensis plant is rich in flavonoids, which provide bioactive compounds that help fight free radical damage. Free radicals cause damage to our body’s cells over time and contribute to diseases like cancer and heart disease.
In addition to flavonoids, tea is also abundant in the amino acid L-theanine, which provides health benefits and also gives tea its distinctive notes of caramel. According to studies, L-theanine has myriad health benefits. It acts as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and helps protect the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys, as well as helping to lower anxiety and protect us from cancer. While the L-theanine content of tea varies by season and stage of growth, it is quite similar in green, white and oolong teas, with black tea having slightly lower amounts.
After being harvested, fresh tea leaves go through various processes before they’re made into the tea products we use at home. These processes include fermentation and baking and both can alter the flavor, color, aroma and chemical composition of the tea. Depending on the length of fermentation, tea is sorted into six categories: green, yellow, white, oolong, black and dark teas (aka Puer tea).
Another substance in tea, caffeine, pairs up with L-theanine to provide a boost to attention and alertness. One small study in boys with ADHD found that the combination of caffeine and L-theanine could provide sustained attention.
There are other teas with benefits worth noting. For example, chamomile tea has been found to be a safe and effective treatment for people experiencing anxiety. Peppermint tea can help soothe an upset stomach and relieve gas and bloating, and ginger tea is a safe and effective treatment for nausea during pregnancy.
In addition to traditional tea, there are other plants that are consumed by brewing the leaves — though they aren’t actually teas. One plant, Aspalathus linearis, also known as rooibos, has a particularly outstanding mix of health attributes. Rooibus, often referred to as “red tea,” is caffeine-free and low in bitter tannins, making it popular with children and other folks who don’t enjoy the natural bitterness of black tea. Rooibus contains minerals, flavonoids and phenolic compounds that have antioxidant benefits.
What is the unhealthiest tea?
No matter which variety it is, unsweetened tea contains virtually no calories or fat. But if you sweeten it, that’s a different story.
A typical recipe for making “sweet tea” calls for ½ cup of sugar for a pitcher that serves 6, bringing the amount of sugar per glass to about 17g of sugar. According to the American Heart Association, women should keep their added sugars to 25g per day, while men should stick to no more than 36g daily.
This would mean only one glass of sweet tea would fit into your daily intake, and that’s if you’re avoiding added sugars from most other sources.
