The benefits of tea

It was thousands of years ago that tea, this natural health drink, was discovered.  Throughout the dynastic history of China, the enthusiasm of the Chinese people in tea-drinking has remained unchanged.  This is probably due to the fact that tea is a health drink.  

To the Chinese, tea is more than a drink for quenching thirst.  It is also used as a form of offering in ancestral and deity worships, and it forms one of the gifts that the groom gives to the bride before marriage.   Today, tea beverage is the most common drink that people will offer to visitors either at home or at official parties in China.  However, at the early stage when tea was discovered, probably dating back to the 11th Century BC in the Zhou dynasty, tea was not a common beverage but was in fact taken either as medical decoction or as soup at meals.

According to Bencao Gangmu (Guide to Chinese Medical Herbs) by Li Shizhen of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), a classical book in the History of Chinese Medicine, tea is a drink good for our digestive system and the brain.  

Tea contains rich amino acids, minerals, vitamins, tea derivatives, essential oils and fluoride. Therefore, its medical properties and benefits to the human body are undoubted. 

Many researches and reports have proved the benefits of tea in the prevention of cancer and other diseases.  In addition, the fragrant oil in tea can break down fat in the body and benefit those who are overweight as well as those with blood pressure or heart problems.  Tea is also a deodorant thus drinking tea in the morning will freshen you up for the day.

Below are some of the main nutrients found in tea.