THE GREAT DEBATE OF TEA

Tea is the most widely consumed drink after water! `Camellia sinensis`- which we popularly call as tea leaves have been used to make a decoction since 5000 years!!! In some places tea used to be consumed as a beverage, and in some places as a medicine. Though the intake of tea has been for centuries in North India… its consumption has gained momentum after the British has introduced it in the 18th century. When it was found that places like Assam and Darjeeling are highly suitable for tea plantation, the Indian Tea Board started promoting tea post-independence.

Contents:

Caffeine constitutes almost 2-3 percent of dry tea powder. Its exact composition depends on the environment and process under which the powder was made. Caffeine is known to be the most popular stimulant of our nervous system. However the content of caffeine in tea can be considered safe. Caffeine is considered toxic only if a person takes more than 10 grams of it. But, the amount of caffeine in a glass of tea (125ml) would not exceed 50mg… which means we have to take at least 200 cups of tea per day to prove it lethal!  Apart from the caffeine, stimulants such as Theophylline and Theanine were also present in the tea in small quantities. Traces of aluminum and fluoride can also be found in the tea which finds their place in the tea leaves through the water.

Medicinal properties:

There is a huge debate regarding the health benefits of tea. Tea is found to decrease the risk of diabetes, cancer, cardio-vascular diseases and what not! But very few studies found enough evidence to promote the medicinal benefits of tea. Moreover A 2007 study published in the `European Heart Journal` stated that the beneficial effects are lost when milk is added to the decoction. Whenever a study on tea gets published, people often ignore to observe the TEA mentioned in it. The tea we consume is different from the Black tea and Black tea is different from the Herbal tea.  At far, tea can be considered as a best beverage to increase alertness in us. The anti oxidants present in the tea might be of some help for us to stay healthy. But to give a conclusion- Tea is not a miracle drug!

Consumption:

Tea is a sort of addiction for us. Apart from keeping us alert… it serves as a time to relax. Having tea together would be a great occasion to spend some time with friends and relatives. Hosting tea parties were found to bring people together, serving as a social bondage. But over intake of tea if harmful right from our teeth to our kidneys! Consuming too much of tea might provide our body with more calories (through sugar and milk) and fluoride (through decoction) which is not a healthy sign. `The safe levels of tea to be consumed` is a topic for another debate. It depends on the size and nature of the drink. We Indians normally consume tea in lower quantities (sometimes as low as 80ml). So 6 cups of tea per day might be concluded as a safe limit.

- Nirjara.