The health benefits of tea

Drink more tea. When the whole Starbucks craze started, I always felt left out when my girlfriends wanted to meet for coffee because while I love the aroma of fresh brewed coffee, the taste makes me gag and cringe. But then a friend turned me onto hot tea, and things have never been the same since.

I love hot tea for many reasons. For one, it has turned out to be my herbal Xanax. It calms me when I'm feeling anxious, and comforts me when I'm having a rough day. I'm known for being freezing cold at all times, so I enjoy holding a hot mug while reading a book or people watching. These are all of my emotional reasons for drinking tea, but here are 10 health reasons to make the switch!

• Tea contains antioxidants that protect your body from the ravages of aging and the effects of pollution.
• Tea has less caffeine than coffee. An eight-ounce cup of coffee contains around 135 mg caffeine; tea contains only 30 to 40 mg per cup. If drinking coffee gives you the jitters, causes indigestion or headaches or interferes with sleep -- switch to tea.
• Tea may reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke. Drinking tea may help keep your arteries smooth and clog-free, the same way a drain keeps your bathroom pipes clear.
• Tea protects your bones. It's not just the milk added to tea that builds strong bones. One study that compared tea drinkers with non-drinkers, found that people who drank tea for 10 or more years had the strongest bones, even after adjusting for age, body weight, exercise, smoking and other risk factors.
• Tea gives you a sweet smile. Tea itself actually contains fluoride and tannins that may keep plaque at bay. So add unsweetened tea drinking to your daily dental routine of brushing and flossing for healthier teeth and gums.
• Tea bolsters your immune defenses. Drinking tea may help your body's immune system fight off infections.
• Tea protects against cancer. Thank the polyphenols, the antioxidants found in tea, once again for their cancer-fighting effects.
• Tea helps keep you hydrated. The only time the caffeine becomes a problem as far as fluid is concerned is when you drink more than five or six cups of a caffeinated beverage at one time.
• Tea is calorie-free. Tea doesn't have any calories, unless you add sweetener or milk. If you're looking for a satisfying, calorie-free beverage, tea is a top choice.
• Tea increases your metabolism. Green tea has been shown to actually increase metabolic rate so that you can burn 70 to 80 additional calories by drinking just five cups of green tea per day. Over a year's time you could lose eight pounds just by drinking green tea. Of course, taking a 15-minute walk every day will also burn calories.

People frequently wonder which tea is better - green, black, or white? To be honest with you, there really isn't enough difference to get overly excited about. All teas generally contain the same amount of flavonoids. Green and black teas come from the same plants, but green tea is dried for a shorter time and doesn't go through a fermenting process used for black tea.

Brought to you by Amber O’Neal, Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Café Physique, a fitness and nutrition company specializing in studio and in-home personal training, yoga & pilates and nutrition & wellness counseling in Metro Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.CafePhysique.com.