Tea Benefits
“Tea stimulates the humours and wise thoughts. It refreshes the body and soothes the mind. If you are downhearted, tea will give you strength.”
Emperor Chen-Nung
European doctors have noted the beneficial effects of tea ever since the seventeenth century. In 1641, a Dutch physician named Nicolas Direks claimed in his Observationes Medicae that no other plant had such remarkable virtues, and that “the habit of drinking tea preserves people from all kinds of sickness, insuring a long life”.
In 1678, another Dutch doctor, Cornelis Bontekoe, published a treatise on "Tea, that Excellent Beverage” in which he listed its beneficial properties, translated form Chinese:
The Power of Tea
Tea has the following virtues:
- Purifies the blood
- Expels heavy dreams
- Relieves the mind of dark thoughts
- Relieves and heals vertigo and headaches
- Is en excellent remedy for catarrh
- Dries of humidity
- Cures constipation
- Clears the sight
- Protects from bad humors and liver disorders
- Is a good remedy for all bladder trouble
- Alleviates spleen maladies
- Vanquishes drowsiness
- Vanquishes dullness
- Renders active and energetic
- Renders courageous
- Eliminates fear
- Dissipates pain caused by colic
- Strengthens all internal parts
- Sharpens the mind
- Purges bile
- Reinforces sexual energy
- Flakes thirst.
Tea is healthy, beneficial, stimulating, diuretic, and alkaline.
Healthy
Tea leaves contain essential vitamins and mineral salts:
notably vitamins A,B1,B2, B12, C (especially green tea), E, K, P and PP,
calcium, potassium, manganese, copper, zinc, nickel and phosphoric acids, plus fluoride (helps prevent tooth decay),
carotene and chlorophyll.
Stimulating
Tea stimulates rather than excites. Both of its main components, theine and tannin, have marked stimulating effects. Theine has a remarkable effect on the brain and a central nervous system. Tea efficiently stimulates intellectual activity and clearly alleviates fatigue.
Diuretic
The theine and theophylline in tea stimulate kidney functions. Tea has no calories, is salt free, dissolves fats and aids digestion. Tea is perfect for salt-free diets.
Alkaline
Drunk in normal quantities, the alkaline components in tea help limit acidification of the human body.
Beneficial
Tea acts on the circulatory system. Chemists have confirmed the presence of theine and theophylline, which are cardiac, cerebral, and diuretic stimulants, as well as flavonoids, which inhibit cholesterol build-up and lower blood pressure. Tea also contains fluoride (three cups a day efficiently protects tooth enamel), catechins, which have antiseptic effects, and vitamin C (especially green tea). Tea is also perfect for health diets: it has no calories or salt, dissolves fats and aids digestion.
