Photo courtesy of iran-daily.com
As we get in to the depths of Winter and temperatures continue to drop, the body becomes weaker and more susceptible to illness. If you are like most people, you probably wait until your body gives in and you fall ill, and then you make a dash to the nearest drugstore to buy medicine. However, what if we told you that you might be able to avoid this dilemma and lower your chances of getting sick this winter simply by looking into your kitchen cupboard and making yourself a cup of tea?
We here at Maxim Hygiene like to believe in trying natural health remedies, like Chinese traditional medicine before moving over to synthetic drugs, Our company produces organic and natural cotton feminine hygiene products, so whenever we come across a natural way to stay healthy, we want nothing more than to share our findings with you.
Tea is a natural health remedy that has been around for thousands of years. According to legend, tea was first discovered in China in 2737 B.C. when the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was sitting under a tree and some of the leaves of the tree fell into his hot water. The leaves were from the camellia sinensis tree, which is where all tea comes from today.
Camellia Sinensis. Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org
There are five main types of tea:
- Black
- Green
- White
- Oolong
- Pu-erh
Tea contains antioxidants, known as flavonoids, which help the body fight against cancers, increase metabolism, fight free radicals and can even lower the risk of developing neurological diseases later in life, like Alzheimer’s. The infographic below highlights some of the potential health benefits of the different tea varieties. It is important to note however, that herbal infusions like chamomile cannot really be considered to be “tea” because herbal infusions do not come from the camellia sinensis tree. However, these infusions do contain some medicinal properties as can be seen in the infographic, so if you are not a huge traditional tea drinker you can still give infusions a try:
Photo courtesy of care2.com
After looking at all of the different health benefits that tea and herbal infusions offer, you may be wondering which one is best to choose. We personally believe that your choice should be made based on taste, because a lot of studies are frequently conducted about which tea has the most potential health benefits, but the results are rarely conclusive. However, if you are looking to keep your immune system in check during the winter, we recommend drinking 3-5 cups of green tea or chamomile per day.
Just keep in mind that whatever tea or herbal infusion you choose, try avoiding any sugar, milk or cream additives, otherwise you won’t be able to reap all of the antioxidant goodness.
Happy sipping!