13 Reasons Tea Is Good for You

1. Tea can boost exercise endurance. Scientists have found that the catechins (antioxidants) in green tea extract increase the body’s ability to burn fat as fuel, which accounts for improved muscle endurance.
2. Drinking tea could help reduce the risk of heart attack. Tea might also help protect againstcardiovascular and degenerative diseases.
3. The antioxidants in tea might help protect against a boatload of cancers, including breast, colon, colorectal, skin, lung, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, liver, ovarian, prostate and oral cancers. But don’t rely solely on tea to keep a healthy body — tea is not a miracle cure, after all. While more studies than not suggest that tea has cancer-fighting benefits, the current research is mixed.
4. Tea helps fight free radicals. Tea is high in oxygen radical absorbance capacity (“ORAC” to its friends), which is a fancy way of saying that it helps destroy free radicals (which can damage DNA) in the body. While our bodies are designed to fight free radicals on their own, they’re not 100 percent effective — and since damage from these radical oxygen ninjas has been linked to cancer, heart disease and neurological degeneration, we’ll take all the help we can get.
5. Tea is hydrating to the body (even despite the caffeine!).
6. Drinking tea is linked with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. When considered with other factors like smoking, physical activity, age and body mass index, regular tea drinking was associated with a lowered risk of Parkinson’s disease in both men and women.
7. Tea might provide protection from ultraviolet rays. We know it’s important to limit exposure to UV rays, and we all know what it’s like to feel the burn. The good news is that green tea may act as a back-up sunscreen.
8. Tea could keep waist circumference in check. In one study, participants who regularly consumed hot tea had lower waist circumference and lower BMI than non-consuming participants. Scientists speculate that regular tea drinking lowers the risk of metabolic syndrome (which increases the risk of diabetes, artery disease and stroke), although it’s important to remember that correlation does not equal causation.
9. Regular tea drinking might also counteract some of the negative effects of smoking and might even lessen the risk of lung cancer (good news, obviously, but not a justification for cigs).
10. Tea could be beneficial to people with Type 2 diabetes. Studies suggest that compounds in green tea could help diabetics better process sugars.
11. Tea can help the body recover from radiation. One study found that tea helped protect against cellular degeneration upon exposure to radiation, while another found that tea can help skin bounce back postexposure.
12. Green tea has been found to improve bone mineral density and strength.
13. Tea might be an effective agent in the prevention and treatment of neurological diseases, especially degenerative diseases (think Alzheimer’s). While many factors influence brain health, polyphenols in green tea may help maintain the parts of the brain that regulate learning and memory.

Though most research on tea is highly positive, it’s not all definitive — so keep these caveats in mind before stocking up on gallons of the stuff:

1. Keep it cool. Repeatedly drinking hot beverages may boost the risk of esophageal cancer. Give tea several minutes to cool off before sipping.
2. The studies seem convincing, but a rat does not a human make. Chemicals in tea may react differently in the lab than they do in the human body. Tannins (and the other good stuff in green tea) may not be bioavailable for humans, meaning tea might not always benefit human health to the same degree as in lab studies suggest.
3. All tea drinks are not created equal. The body’s access to the good stuff in tea might be determined by the teavariety, canning and processing, and the way it was brewed.

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/09/04/13-reasons-to-love-tea/#ixzz2AauktFps

History Of Herbal Tea

Herbal tea history - how did herbs exist to human life?

The gathering of herbs already existed 3000 years ago. Egyptians and Babylonians had used herbs like cinnamon, turmeric, and garlic as offerings to the gods and emperors.

The uses of herbs and spice in cooking and treating illnesses gradually travel to India, China, and Greek. Later the Romans started to expand the knowledge of herbs and spices' uses by writing at 40 books about all kinds of herbs.


Herbal tea history - the role of Romans

Romans began to build large ships and sailed them across the Indian Ocean for Asia. But when the Roman Empire weakened, the Arab merchants secured this spice trading routes and became monopoly in the spice industry at that time.

By 11th century, Europeans discovered the potential of herbs and spice trades, took control of this trading routes. Venice then became one of the most bustle trading center in the West. Every merchant had things to sell or people wanted to buy things had to make a trip to Venice.

Later, France and England also participated in the race for spices. The East India Company of England secured its prominent place in the herbs industry for awhile before it lost its suppliers to other competitors.

America joined the race of importing herbs?

When America won its independence from England, it also built its own ships (often called clippers) to transport tea, herbs, and spice from the East back to America. Gradually, herbs reached Africa and South America.
Today, herbs are abundant in quantity as well as varieties. To choose a herbal tea that suit your taste isn't not so difficult. You just have to search for herbal leaf that you would like to try in our teayourlife2012.blogspot.com, I'm sure you will find the herbal tea that you like...