Dangers in drinking TEA

Chapter 18

 TEA

                Tea is the most widely consumed liquid after water. Four types of tea are available in the market: black tea, oolong tea, green tea and white tea. ‘Herbal tea’ is prepared from herbs and not tea leaves.

                 Tea leaves come from a plant named ‘Camellia sinensis’. Only the top 1-2 inches of the buds and leaves called flushes of a mature plant are plucked so that the plant will grow new buds and leaves again. It takes 7 to 10 days for new flushes to appear.

The plucked leaves start wilting. To avoid wilting, the leaves are dried immediately and heated to avoid oxidation. The temperature should be controlled to avoid the formation of fungus. If a fungus is formed the tea becomes unfit for consumption.

Danger: Tea may relax you or refresh you, but it can be harmful to you if you make it a habit of drinking it. Caffeine is the most active alkaloid in tea. This is an addictive drug as it stimulates the central nervous system. You will soon get addicted to tea. Then one day when you are not able to drink tea due to some reason or the other, you will start feeling lethargic. You will get headaches, become anxious, irritable and will not be able to sleep. It can also raise the blood pressure.

Tea can harm digestion since it has tanine, a toxic element that disturbs digestion. Tanine affects the water content in the body making your skin brittle and rough. Tea is very bad for people suffering from frequent attacks of heart burns and stomach ulcers.

Sometimes tea causes fluoride poisoning. A high level of fluoride is bad for the teeth and bones. Gums become weak. Due to the toxic elements in tea, urine gets solidified, forming uric acid which gets deposited in the joints leading to gout and arthritis.

It is a good idea to take herbal tea or green tea instead of tea. Herbal tea has so many benefits. A few are mentioned below:

1. Cancer: Herbal tea has antioxidants which help reduce the risk of cancer. It keeps you young looking and active.

2. Stress & Strain: L-theanine, a kind of amino acid fond in present in herbal tea helps relieve stress and strain.

3. EGCG found in green tea helps cure allergies.

4. Ear infection: Dip a piece of cotton in green tea and clean your ear.

5. Bad breathe: herbal tea destroys bacteria in the teeth.

6. Alzheimer's Disease: green tea helps slow the process of reduced acetylcholine in the brain, which is the cause of Alzheimer’s disease.