Teas that cure any ailment

Tea has been around for thousands of years and is officially awesome for your health. Through that time, the Chinese have sipped on it for everything from hangover prevention to weight control and fending off the common cold. Now, modern scientific research has given us a much better insight into how tea improves health and to what benefit.

True tea, or that from the camellia sinensis plant, includes white, green, oolong, black and pu-erh. All of them contain antioxidants, catechins, and polyphenols, which positively impact our bodies.

Tea can offer many health benefits, such as lowered cholesterol, reduced cortisol levels, plus it’s anti-inflammatory, increases your memory, helps with focus and concentration, acts as an anti-allergen, helps decrease the risk of a stroke and helps reduce the risk of dementia.

So for all you coffee lovers, it’s time to put down your flat white and check out coffee’s little cousin…

1. Chamomile tea

Chamomile, meaning ‘earth apple,’ has been used for centuries; since the Roman Empire, during Egyptian rule, and in ancient Greece. Prized for its special flavonoids, chrysin, chamomile offers numerous health-boosting benefits. It can help protect your skin from sun damage thanks to its high concentration of the phytochemical quercetin, and promotes restful sleep, plus cramp relief during your period.

2. Ginger tea, or an infusion of fresh ginger root, chases away colds, helps you digest heavy meals, and works its beauty magic – as a powerful anti-inflammatory for your body and skin.

3. Green tea has the ability to block wrinkle formation and even apparently reverse UV damage, thanks to the catechins like EGCG in it, which helps fight free radicals. The catechins in green tea are even more powerful antioxidants than vitamins C and E, and they’ve demonstrated the amazing ability to restore and revive dying skin cells.

4. Rooibos, or red tea, is brimming with antioxidants, including quercetin, the UVB-damage protectant pigment that’s anti-aging, and — as a bonus for allergy sufferers — a natural antihistamine.

5. White tea contains anti-inflammatory phytochemicals that help to slow down skin ageing by preventing the breakdown of collagen and elastin in the skin. White tea offers anti-aging effects even in small amounts, so you can feel beautiful about sipping just one cup.