Warm Up at Teatime

Brrr…it’s cold in New York City and, I would imagine, other areas of the Northeast! Instead of warming up with high-calorie coffee or hot chocolate drinks topped with mounds of whipped cream, have a cup — or two or three — of tea.

Tea is a calorie-free, fat-free beverage choice that also has a lot of health benefits. I’m sure you have heard a lot about green tea over the past few years, but there are many different types of tea that are good for you, namely black, white, and oolong tea. The leaves of these four teas have antioxidant-filled polyphenols — natural substances found in fruits and vegetables. The polyphenols in these teas are flavonoids called catechins.

Green tea is the least processed of these polyphenol-filled teas, and therefore has the most polyphenols and health benefits. Studies have shown that benefits of green tea include:

• Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease
• Protection against cancer, especially prostate cancer
• Prevention of blood clots, due to thinning of blood
• Prevention of hypertension (high blood pressure)

For the most polyphenols, brew the tea at least 3 to 5 minutes and don’t add milk mdash; it reduces the health benefits!

If you don’t add sugar and milk to your tea you’ll have a zero-calorie drink that you can sip on all day long guilt-free! In addition, you won’t have to worry about getting too much caffeine. Green, black, white, and oolong teas have 40-50 mg of caffeine per 8 ounce cup, compared to 130 mg in coffee.

Do you like tea? What’s your favorite kind?