Can drinking tea help fight some types of cancer, Parkinson's disease and Type 2 diabetes, or even improve your mood?
"It probably doesn't live up to the hype of being a miracle cure, but it is beneficial, especially if you drink it simply, without adding sugar, cream or milk, which adds lots of calories," says Kathleen Zelman, director of nutrition at WebMD and a registered dietitian in Atlanta. While not a silver bullet against any malady, research is promising that tea can help protect us from serious diseases while improving our overall health, Zelman says.
Here's what the research says about how consuming tea may help fight some maladies:
Cancer
Studies have not conclusively shown that drinking tea will prevent you from getting cancer or by itself defeat cancer, but it could help fight cancer cells. Green tea in particular is considered effective in fighting cancer cells because it contains high levels of polyphenols, antioxidants found in the Camellia sinensis plants used to make many teas, such as the green, black and white varieties. Antioxidants -- chemicals that neutralize free radicals, preventing them from causing damage -- help prevent the types of free radical damage that are associated with cancer development. "There's some promising lab studies and population-based studies suggesting tea can help fight cancer, but more clinical studies are needed," says Chris D'Adamo, director of research at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland.
In a 2014 study, researchers from Penn State University's Center for Plant and Mushroom Foods for Health found that drinking green tea could help kill the cells that cause oral cancer. And a 2015 study published in the journal PLOS One found that a constituent of ginger that's produced when the ginger root is dried or cooked was effective in killing breast cancer cells without harming noncancerous ones. The ginger product was more effective in fighting cancer cells than Taxol, an anti-cancer drug, the study said. While the findings don't suggest ginger can help prevent or cure cancer, researchers found the results encouraging.
Parkinson's Disease
If you want to delay the onset of Parkinson's disease symptoms, tea might be an ally. Research published in 2014 in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience suggests both green and black tea could slow the effects of the progressive movement disorder. The analysis showed that drinking more than three cups of tea daily was associated with delaying the onset of Parkinson's symptoms by more than seven years in 278 people.
Type 2 Diabetes
People with diabetes have to be careful about what they consume, but they might be better off ignoring inhibitions when it comes to green tea. A study published in 2013 in the Diabetes and Metabolism Journal found that Japanese people who consumed six cups of green tea daily were 33 percent less likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than those who drank less than one cup of green tea a week. Antioxidants in green tea may help reduce glucose levels by blocking normal glucose uptake into the body's tissues.
Depression
Drinking tea won't cure depression, but it might reduce your risk of becoming depressed. Research published in 2015 in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry found that drinking three cups of tea daily decreased the risk of depression by 37 percent. Researchers analyzed the findings of 11 studies that included more than 22,800 participants.
The aromas of some teas can help people feel better, says Dr. Kelly Kasper, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Indiana University Health. Kasper says she recommends tea to her patients because it can have a calming effect, which can help improve one's mood.
Respiratory Conditions
Many tea makers claim on their packaging that their product helps with breathing. Tea can't cure asthma or other respiratory ailments, like bronchitis, but it can help mitigate the symptoms of these conditions, says Dr. Patrick Fratellone, a cardiologist and integrative physician in New York City. Some teas, such as nettle tea -- which comes from a plant grown in temperate regions worldwide that has small, hollow, needle-like hairs on its stems and leaves -- have anti-inflammatory properties, which can help fight allergies that damage the lungs, he adds. "If you add a slice of lemon or lime to your tea, it will boost the drink's anti-inflammatory qualities, which will make it more effective in fighting respiratory ailments and boosting your immune system," Fratellone says.
Digestive Disorders
Herbal teas, such as chamomile, peppermint, ginger and fennel varieties, can help ease the digestive tract and soothe an upset stomach, Zelman says. "The main benefit to these teas is how they make you feel, rather than treating any conditions," she says. "When your stomach doesn't feel well, herbal teas are highly recommended because they are so easy to digest. They're not magical, but they are soothing." During her time as a pediatric dietitian, Zelman recommended tea for young children who had trouble digesting foods and beverages.
Some herbal teas are nervines -- herbal products that are often thought to help calm a person's digestive tract and produce other health benefits. Fratellone, for instance, says teas that are nervines, such as chamomile and lemon balm, "improve digestion, which helps maintain a healthy body."
Finding the Right Tea for You
If you aren't a regular tea drinker and want to give it a try, here are three strategies experts recommend:
Try a variety of teas. There are hundreds of teas on the market, and if you try different flavors, you're more likely to find one you like, Zelman says. "It doesn't matter how good something is for you; if you don't like it, you won't consume it," she says. If you prefer caffeine-free teas, Zelman suggests trying flavored herbal teas, which are made from bark, leaves, flowers, buds and fruits. "I think mint herbal tea is just amazing, and the flavor is really satisfying," she says. "Wrapping your hands around a warm cup of herbal tea is really soothing to me."
Buy organic. Fratellone recommends trying to buy organic teas because they're cultivated from pesticide-free plants that were typically produced with clean, toxin-free water.
Be careful about buying teas from countries like China and Nigeria, where tea might be cultivated in soil that contains potentially toxic heavy metals and other inorganic materials. The packaging on organic teas typically says where a tea was cultivated, Fratellone says. He recommends checking ConsumerLab.com, a website that publishes recalls and consumer warnings about teas worldwide.
Follow your nose. Many organic food stores have a wide variety of teas, and some shops sell just tea. Smell different types to see which ones appeal to you, Kasper advises. "If you like the way it smells, you will probably like the way it tastes," Kasper says.
Ruben Castaneda is a Health & Wellness reporter at U.S. News. He previously covered the crime beat in Washington, D.C. and state and federal courts in suburban Maryland, and he's the author of the book "S Street Rising: Crack, Murder and Redemption in D.C." You can follow him on Twitter, connect with him at LinkedIn or email him at rcastaneda@usnews.com.
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