5 Types of Teas to Keep You Healthy

Tea is undoubtedly a healthy beverage. Almost half of the world consumes tea on a daily basis. We also know several types of teas that are brewed around the world. Here are however, some of the healthiest types of teas that you can find in the market.

1) Green Tea

Green tea is the 'in-thing' today when it comes to a healthy type of tea. It has also become a fashion quotient for many tea drinkers. So, what exactly is green tea? Green tea is made from leaves from the Camellia Sinensis tea plant. It is made from minimal oxidation (or) minimal fermentation process, by drying and heat-treating immediately after they are picked.

Green tea is considered healthy for a reason. It is full of antioxidants called catechins. These catechins may ward off everything from heart disease to cancer. In fact, one cup of green tea every day may lower the risk of heart diseases by 10%. It can also improve the metabolic rate by 4% without increasing your heart rate, due to the polyphenols and caffeine that stimulate fat oxidation.

2) Ginseng Tea

Ginseng tea has become one of the popular teas due to its health benefits. Ginseng is cultivated in China, India, Japan and some western countries. Ginseng is actually one of the 11 species of perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to Panax genus and family Araliaceae. The dried root is used in preparing tea. There are mainly three types of ginseng tea viz. American, Siberian and Asian.

Ginseng tea has a number of anti-carcinogenic properties. Hence, drinking ginseng tea regularly reduces chances of developing cancer. Apart from its anti-carcinogenic properties, it has other health benefits. American ginseng tea is popular for reducing menstrual problems such as cramps and distress. Asian ginseng tea is effective for people suffering from low blood pressure. Ginseng tea improves concentration and cognitive capabilities. It can help you shed extra pounds as it boosts your metabolic rate and is a natural appetite suppressant. Last, but not least, it reduces the symptoms of erectile dysfunction in men.

3) Oolong Tea

Oolong tea is a traditional Chinese tea and one of the healthiest types of teas. It is produced through a process of withering under strong sun and then oxidizing before twisting and curling. The degree of oxidation can vary between 8-85%. The taste can vary widely among subvarieties.

Some of the benefits of the oolong tea involve improving mental alertness, due to the caffeine content. It can also prevent ovarian cancer in women. There are also evidence of benefits including the tea's ability to treat skin allergies such as eczema, treating diabetes, preventing high blood pressure, strengthening bones, promoting weight loss and preventing tooth decay.

4) White Tea

No.. Contrary to common misconceptions, it is not milk tea. Or tea leaves mixed with a dairy whitener. It is a lightly oxidized tea harvested mainly in China. In recent times, it is also being grown in parts of Northern Thailand, India, Eastern Nepal and Taiwan. Interestingly, the beverage is neither white nor colourless, but yellow. The name 'white tea' comes from the silvery-white hairs of the buds of the tea plant.

While white tea is derived from the same Camellia Sinensis as green and black tea, it contains the most antioxidants. Hence, it is healthier than green tea, though both teas share many chemical properties. Not only does it keep heart ailments such as strokes, cancer and atherosclerotic plaques away, but it also has antibacterial and antiviral properties.

5) Herbal Tea

Herbal tea essentially consist of mixture of different types of medicinal herbs with tea powder/leaves. One can choose a wide variety of herbal teas such as mint, ginger, lemon, berry, tulsi and many more. Each tea has its own health benefit, apart from the natural benefits of tea leaves. For example, ginger tea helps with nausea, berry tea helps in curbing night time cravings, mint teas help in optimizing digestion as well as settling stomach upset and tulsi tea helps in beating stress as well as strengthening immune system.

There are several other healthy types of teas. Do leave your comments on what other teas you know that have health benefits.