Tea was first used as food and medicine, with consumption as a beverage developing from these uses. Although drinking tea is very pleasant, it's important to pay attention to the method of drinking tea to avoid inadvertently "drinking" yourself into a host of health problems.

1. Drink Tea According to Your Body Constitution

Those prone to excessive internal heat should drink more green tea or Tieguanyin; those who often have diarrhea should drink more oolong and Pu-erh.

Tea, through different processing methods, also has cooling and warming properties. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, people's constitutions are distinguished as hot or cold, so people with different constitutions should be mindful when drinking tea. Generally, people with a dry, heaty constitution should drink cooling teas; those with a deficient, cold constitution should drink warming teas. Specifically, people who smoke and drink, are heavier in build, and are prone to internal heat (i.e., those with a heaty constitution) should drink cooling teas. Those with weak, cold stomachs who get diarrhea from eating raw or cold foods, or those with weaker constitutions (i.e., those with a cold constitution), should drink neutral or warming teas.

tips:

Cooling teas: Green tea, Tieguanyin from the green tea (Qingcha) category.

Neutral teas: Oolong tea, Da Hong Pao from the green tea category.

Warming teas: Black tea, Pu-erh tea.

2. Tea Drinking Also Varies by Season

The climate differs across the four seasons, and the types of tea consumed should be adjusted accordingly. Green tea is more suitable for slightly hotter weather.

Generally, scented tea is suitable for spring, as the flowers can dispel the cold evil accumulated in the body over winter and promote the growth of the body's yang energy; green tea is suitable for summer, as its nature is bitter and cold, capable of clearing heat, relieving summer heat, detoxifying, enhancing gastrointestinal function, promoting digestion, and preventing diarrhea, skin infections, etc.

3. Different Benefits: You Can Also Choose Tea Based on Specific Needs

Beyond simply choosing tea types based on a hot or cold body constitution, you can also drink tea according to your own more specific physical condition.

4. Drink Different Teas Based on Their Special Effects

Detox and Radiation Protection — Chrysanthemum Tea

Chrysanthemum tea, made from white chrysanthemums and high-grade oolong tea, is essential for office workers exposed to electronic pollution daily. The white chrysanthemums in the tea have detoxifying effects, resisting and eliminating accumulated summer heat, harmful chemicals, and radioactive substances in the body.

Lowering Blood Lipids — Kuding Tea and Pu-erh Tea

Due to its strongly cooling nature, Kuding tea is better than other teas at clearing heat, detoxifying, softening blood vessels, and lowering blood lipids. It is most suitable for long-term health maintenance for those with high blood pressure, a heavier build, and a heaty constitution. Pu-erh tea also has the function of protecting cardiovascular health, and its nature is mild, making it suitable for people with a cold constitution.

Health Maintenance & Lowering Blood Sugar — White Tea

Results from animal and human studies show that white tea contains blood sugar-lowering factors, making it a natural resource for lowering blood sugar. Its blood sugar-lowering mechanism may be related to its rich content of tea polysaccharides, theanine, flavonoids, low free radical content, and strong antioxidant activity. Recent research from China and abroad shows that flavonoids have powerful antioxidant effects, protecting pancreatic beta cells from free radical damage and promoting insulin synthesis; tea polysaccharides can enhance liver glucokinase activity, acting similarly to insulin to promote sugar utilization and lower blood sugar levels. White tea processing is simple, preserving more of the fresh tea leaf's nutrients. It is rich in tea polysaccharides, theanine, and flavonoids, effectively preventing and treating diabetes.

Of course, the efficacy of white tea goes far beyond this. White tea has very unique and clever medicinal value, often described as "one year tea, three years medicine, seven years treasure." White tea's effects include three resistances (anti-radiation, anti-oxidation, anti-tumor) and three reductions (lowering blood pressure, lowering blood lipids, lowering blood sugar) for health benefits. It also has nourishing effects on the heart, liver, eyes, spirit, qi, and complexion for bodily health.

Sobering Up and Weight Loss — Oolong Tea

If you love parties and drinking alcohol, you need to keep oolong tea on hand. Oolong tea is very effective at sobering up; it can prevent bodily chills and reduce the deposition of alcohol and cholesterol in the body. Additionally, oolong tea has the effect of dissolving fat. Data shows that drinking 300 ml of oolong tea is equivalent to skipping rope continuously for 7 minutes. Consistent consumption for a year can reduce weight by over 2 kg.

Combating Pollution and Radiation — Green Tea

Furthermore, you can choose teas based on specific special circumstances. For example, if work has been too busy lately and you've been overusing your brain, you can choose oolong tea, green tea, or jasmine tea to refresh and clear your mind; after physical labor or exercise, you can choose oolong tea or black tea to quench thirst and replenish energy; if air pollution has been severe recently, you can choose green tea to combat pollution; if you don't have time to exercise, you can choose oolong tea, green tea, and scented tea to dissolve fat and burn calories.

Preventing Heart Disease — Black Tea

Black tea is made through fermentation and baking. During fermentation, the tea leaves turn into red oxides under the action of oxidase, becoming black tea. Black tea has a mild nature and a mellow taste. Besides containing various water-soluble vitamins, it is also rich in the trace element potassium, 70% of which dissolves into the tea water after brewing. Potassium enhances heart blood circulation and reduces calcium consumption in the body. Because the manganese contained in black tea is one of the essential elements for bone structure, regularly drinking black tea is also beneficial for strong bones. Foreign reports indicate that regularly drinking black tea also has effects in preventing influenza, stroke, and skin cancer.

Research shows that because black tea contains a type of flavonoid compound, which acts similarly to an antioxidant, it can prevent stroke and heart disease. A recent US study showed: people who drink a cup of black tea daily have a more than 40% lower risk of heart disease compared to those who don't drink tea.