…health benefits of coffee and tea

Coffee and tea are the two foundational beverages I turn to besides water. Besides the aroma, comfort and jump-start you might get through a cup of tea or coffee, there are many incentives to drinking these beverages, including a number of health benefits from just a cup (or more) of either or both a day. The nicest thing about enjoying a cup of tea or coffee is that there are endless options of flavors from dark to light, green to white.

Coffee seems to be a go-to beverage of most mornings because of the reputation it has associated with caffeine. Whether we need to jump-start our days with caffeine or have an extra jolt when the afternoons slump, both coffee and tea have an adequate amount of caffeine just in one cup.

“Caffeine makes your body release hormones that keep you active, boosting your heart rate and blood pressure,” Dr. Laura Klein, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health at Penn State University said.

Caffeine is also associated with improved alertness and increased productivity and concentration as well as enhanced athletic performances. According to the Mayo Clinic, one 8 oz. cup of tea averages anywhere from 14-61 mg of caffeine and one 8 oz. cup of coffee contains at least 95 mg of caffeine. If you’re looking for that extra jolt, coffee is hands down the way to go.

Coffee may get you going in the morning, but according to WebMD, coffee drinkers also have a less likely chance to have type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, dementia and have fewer cases of certain cancers, heart rhythm problems and strokes compared to non-coffee drinkers.

There has been a lot of positive news about coffee in recent years. Drinking coffee is not a guaranteed cure from anything, but only provides the drinker with some benefits. Coffee drinkers should be aware of the intake of coffee they are consuming each day. The maximum recommended amount of coffee is four 8 oz. cups because of the caffeine content and increased blood pressure associated with caffeine. Coffee drinkers also should be cautious about the extra add-ons to their cup o’ Joe.

Tea drinking is also linked to very positive health benefits, which include: reduced risk of heart attack and possible protection against cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Despite its caffeine content, tea is a very hydrating beverage.

Be careful not to fall into a marketing scam with claims of being “real tea.” Snapple and Lipton bottled teas are packed full of sugar. For example, Snapple Green Tea has 46 grams of sugar in it- that is more than twice as much sugar as you get in a Hershey’s chocolate bar, which has 22 grams of sugar. Real tea is derived from a Camellia sinensis plant, which includes only four kinds: green, black, white and oolong tea. Herbal “tea” is merely an infusion of a different plants and isn’t technically tea.

There has been a lot of buzz about tea and the antioxidants found in it.  According to Good Morning America, medical contributor David Katz, antioxidants can prevent inflammation of the blood vessels, and has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer. Green tea in particular has been studied and research shows the powerful antioxidants found in green tea could help prevent prostate cancer. In terms of antioxidant value, white tea has the most, followed by green, black and then coffee. As stated earlier, like coffee, green tea is not a cure to any of the above but only increasing your chances in prevention.

If you’re trying to lose weight, according to Men’s Health, tea is the right choice given the EGCG, an antioxidant that recharges the white blood cells that prevent viruses from reactivating, and caffeine. This combination found in green tea can help shrink fat cells and rev up muscle cells to become more active.

Tea is best for burning fat and Men’s Health also says coffee is the winning drink when you want to build more muscle. The caffeine in two cups of coffee is enough to power through a workout with more reps. A recent study in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise tested males who drank two and a half cups of coffee a few hours before working out and found that they could sprint 9 percent longer in distance than when they didn’t consume coffe pre-workout.

For me, there isn’t much thought put into my choice of choosing coffee or tea, but simply what I’m in the mood for. A fresh brew of straight, black coffee is the drink I enjoy on early mornings— a couple of my favorites include: Equal Exchange Organic Mind, Body & Soul and the Organic Breakfast Blend, also by Equal Exchange.

As much as I love coffee, I’ve always been an avid tea drinker and my excursion to Teavana this past weekend can vouch for that. There’s always a comfort I find in a warm, hearty cup of tea. Some of my favorite teas include any kind of green tea or jade green tea and one of my all time favorite teas from Teavana is White Ayurvedic Chai Tea. Whatever you choose, coffee or tea, you can’t go wrong with either. Now it’s just a matter of finding the taste of your liking.