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Tea is one of the most popular drinks on this planet and many people cannot imagine not drinking at least one cup of tea every day. But how much do you actually know about tea you are drinking every day?

Maybe you know some of its benefits but what about some interesting facts that you may not know about? As a tea lover you should definitely be aware of the following:

Adding milk to your tea reduces its health benefits

If you want to reap all the benefits of tea, make sure you don’t drink it with milk. It has been shown that the addition of milk appears to diminish the antioxidant potential of black tea preparations. This effect is greater when you use full-fat cow’s milk.

Decaf tea is not totally caffeine-free

Decaf tea is a caffeinated tea that has been processed to remove the caffeine but during the process, not all the caffeine is removed. By law, decaffeinated tea must contain less than 2.5% of its original caffeine and on average, a cup of decaf tea contains around 2mg of caffeine. 

Tea contains L-theanine which relieves stress and anxiety

L-theanine is an amino acid found in tea that helps to calm the brain and nervous system. It doesn’t only help to relieve stress and anxiety but it also aids sleep. However, since tea contains caffeine, don’t drink it just before bedtime or you may have difficulties falling asleep.

Tea may contain microplastic

Companies have been using polypropylene (a type of plastic) to seal paper tea bags for a long time. Many pyramid tea bags also contain plastic. When you steep your tea bag, some of that plastic leaches into your tea and you drink it.

However, not all the tea bags are made in the same way and in recent years many tea brands have been working hard to stop using plastic in their teabags. But there are still teabags out there that contain plastic and most recent research has shown that when these are steeped, they release a significant number of microplastic and nanoplastic particles.

It’s not exactly known how ingesting microplastic can impact our health as this is still being looked into but to be on the safe side, always choose loose leaf tea over tea bags or drink only tea bags from companies who don’t use plastic for the production of their teabags.

Tea lowers bad cholesterol

If you know you have an increased ‘bad’ cholesterol try and drink more tea. Studies show that regular consumption of black and green teas helps to lower the harmful ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol. You can learn more about this by reading on some of the best coffee and tea reviews. 

Tea helps to keep your teeth healthy

Tea contains lots of antioxidants that are not only beneficial for your health but also help to keep your teeth healthy. The anti-inflammatory compounds found in tea may attack harmful bacteria in the mouth that cause gum disease and cavities. Both, black and green tea could help combat the build-up of plaque.

Green tea contains more antioxidants than black tea

Both black and green tea are beneficial for our health but green tea contains more of the beneficial antioxidants which is one of the reasons why it’s so good for you. Drink green tea if you want to look younger and fight oxidative stress and inflammation.

Tea affects the absorption of vitamins and minerals

Drinking tea with a meal can inhibit the absorption of minerals such as iron, and vitamins such as folic acid.  

You need to keep this in mind if you are anaemic or pregnant and try and drink tea about an hour after a meal instead. Vegetarians and vegans should also be aware of this fact to avoid anaemia.

Did you know any of these facts mentioned in this article?

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Image credit: Freepik

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Petra Kravos is the founder of Proper Healthy Living.