Common Habits That Are Making Your Daily Cup Of Tea Unhealthy
Anyone fancy a cuppa? Teatime is one of the best parts of the day, and perhaps one of the best aspects of tea drinking is that there's a tea for any occasion and any time of day. The difference between black tea and green tea, for example, is more than just their caffeine levels, but these differences can help determine when they should be best enjoyed.
Each type of tea does something different for our bodies. They have different vitamins and minerals, and some even have high levels of antioxidants (via WebMD). However, the health benefits of tea can be neutralized depending on how people consume it. Naturally, the worst offender is stirring too much sugar into your tea. This can take what some believe to be nature's medicine and turn it into an elixir as sweet as a dessert (via Eat This). It's recommended that people drink tea straight with no added sugar, though a pinch here and there won't harm you much in the long run.
Sugar isn't the only thing making your tea unhealthy, though.
Stopping these practices will lead you to a wholesome relationship with tea
Some may wonder what happens to your body when you drink tea every day, and the answer is that a daily cup of tea won't harm you. However, if you consume too much daily, it becomes unhealthy. According to Healthline, drinking too much tea can reduce how well your body absorbs iron (and how much), can increase your overall stress and anxiety levels similarly to coffee, make you struggle to sleep at night, and even give you heartburn and/or nausea. Some of these side effects come from tea's caffeine, but others, like the heartburn and/or nausea, come from the tea itself.
Moreover, The Guardian noted that excessive tea consumption can lead to an influx of fluoride in the body, which can lead to several serious health problems. Still, most unhealthy tea habits never get that serious. Rather, like sugar, people add too much artificial sweeteners to their tea, too (via Eat This). Neither sugar nor artificial sweeteners are good for you, and neither maintains the health benefits of the tea.
A few other unhealthy tea practices include adding too much milk/cream to your team, over-steeping your tea, and drinking pre-packaged tea beverages. Excessive amounts of cream can make your tea calorie dense, and over-steeping your tea can greatly increase its caffeine contents. This can be harmful for those who won't suspect the caffeine they're about to drink. Finally, pre-packaged tea beverages are often full of sugar, though healthy options exist too.
Ultimately, tea is what you make it. Cheers!