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Ten healthy reasons to drink more tea

Here are ten healthy reasons to drink more tea.

Tea contains antioxidants.Tea's antioxidants protect your body from the ravages of aging.

An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135mg caffeine; tea contains 30-50mg per cup.

Tea contains a natural theanine which works as an anti-stress agent.

Tea is a source of the minerals manganese, essential for bone growth and body development, and potassium, vital for maintaining body fluid levels.

Green tea and black teas are from the same plant, "Camelia sinensis", and contain similar amounts of antioxidants and caffeine.

Tea without milk has no calories. Using semi-skimmed milk adds around 13 calories per cup, but you also benefit from valuable minerals and calcium.

Tea contains a natural source of fluoride, less than 15% of UK water has fluoride added.

Drinking tea (without sugar) has been associated with beneficial effects in preventing tooth decay.

Tea contains zinc and folic acid.

A study from the Netherlands found a 70% lower risk of fatal heart failure in people who drank at least two to three cups of tea daily compared to non-tea drinkers

Another good reason to drink Plymouth Tea

We were all interested to read today that boffins at the University of California in Los Angeles have backed up research published early this year that suggested four cups of tea a day can significantly reduce the risk of a stroke.

Clever Scientists found that tea offers powerful protection against blood clots that kill around 200 people every day in the UK.

Apparently, just three cups of tea a day can reduce the risk of a stroke by around 20 percent.

Cup of Tea with Lemon and Spoon

There have been many studies in the past highlighting the protective effects of tea, but hard evidence has until now been thin on the ground. The team from UCLA searched through a number of previous studies to carry out what they call 'meta-analysis', where the findings are combined to come up with more meaningful data.

The results published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, showed that people drinking the highest amount of tea a day - three cups or more - were 20 percent less likely to fall ill than those drinking less tea.

Previous studies by the same team found that black tea was just as effective as green tea, as antioxidants in both appeared to protect against the kind of damage to the body that causes heart attacks and strokes.

It's good to hear there is now scientific evidence to suggest drinking tea is good for you - in the Plymouth Tea office we get through a fair few cups a day, so hopefully we benefit from maximum protection. Now all we need is some studies on the positive effects of cake on weight-loss...here's hoping.