Can drinking tea cure a cold?

Tea can refresh the mind, boost spirits, enhance memory, aid digestion, increase appetite, eliminate bad breath, nourish skin, aid weight loss and beauty, prevent drunkenness, relieve fatigue, and promote metabolism. It can also prolong life, prevent tooth decay, protect eyesight, prevent cardiovascular diseases such as arteriosclerosis, hypertension, and cerebral thrombosis, and even has anti-cancer properties.

There has long been a folk belief that one should not drink tea when having a cold because the tea polyphenols and theophylline in tea leaves can counteract the effects of cold medicine. In other words, it means you shouldn't drink tea after taking cold medicine, but it is acceptable if you haven't taken any medication. Some teas have therapeutic effects for colds and are essential beverages for men's health preservation in winter. So, what teas can actually help treat a cold?

What tea is good for winter colds?

1. Sangju Tea: Take 5–10 grams of mulberry leaves and chrysanthemum, 2 grams of licorice, and 3 grams of Longjing tea. Brew with water daily and drink as tea. It has the effects of dispelling wind, clearing heat, soothing the throat, and relieving cough. Suitable for wind-heat colds with symptoms such as fever, cough, headache, sore throat, and slight thirst.

2. Shenmai Tea: 10 grams each of adenophora root, ophiopogon, fragrant solomonseal rhizome, and rehmannia root, and 5 grams of green tea. Decoct together and drink as tea. One dose per day. It has the effect of nourishing yin and relieving the exterior. Suitable for colds accompanied by dryness, with symptoms such as dry mouth and throat, hot air from the nose, and dry cough with little phlegm.

3. Congdi Tea: 20 grams of scallion white, 9 grams each of fermented soybeans and ginger, and 12 grams each of prepared rehmannia root, angelica root, and ophiopogon, and 3–5 grams of tea leaves. Decoct together in water and drink as tea. One dose per day. It has the effect of nourishing blood and relieving the exterior. Suitable for blood-deficiency colds with symptoms such as headache, fever, slight chills without sweating, pale complexion, pale lips and nails, dizziness, and palpitations.

4. Congchi Tea: 3 scallion whites, 9 grams of light fermented soybeans, 3 slices of ginger, 15 grams of schizonepeta, and 5–10 grams of tea leaves. Boil together in water and drink as tea. One dose per day. It has the effect of dispersing cold and relieving the exterior with warmth. Suitable for wind-cold colds with symptoms such as aversion to cold, fever, no sweating, nasal congestion, and runny nose.

5. Shigao Tea: 50 grams of gypsum and 3 grams of purple bamboo shoot tea leaves. First, grind the gypsum into fine powder, decoct in water to extract the juice, then use the medicinal juice to brew the purple bamboo shoot tea leaves and drink. It has the effect of clearing heat and purging fire. Suitable for influenza with symptoms such as fever, headache, and general muscle pain.

6. Wushen Tea: 6 grams of tea leaves, and 10 grams each of schizonepeta, saposhnikovia root, perilla leaf, and ginger. Add an appropriate amount of water, decoct over low heat for 15 minutes, then add 30 grams of brown sugar to dissolve and drink. Twice a day. It has the effect of dispersing wind-cold and relieving pain. Suitable for wind-cold colds with symptoms such as aversion to cold, body aches, and no sweating.

What teas should be avoided during a cold?

1. Strong Tea: Strong tea contains large amounts of caffeine and theophylline, which are highly stimulating to the body. Drinking strong tea can cause insomnia, headache, tinnitus, blurred vision, and even a sense of nausea. People with poor gastrointestinal health should definitely avoid it.

2. Moldy Tea: Moldy tea contains a large amount of toxins.

3. Tea with Off-flavors: If tea is stored with many miscellaneous items, it can easily absorb off-flavors. Some smells are toxic, such as paint or camphor.

4. Burnt Tea: Tea that has been over-roasted during processing. The nutrients in this tea are lost, and the taste is poor. Drinking it offers no benefit.

5. Overnight Tea: Overnight tea, especially tea that has changed flavor, even if the change is not yet noticeable, likely harbors a large number of bred and multiplied bacteria.

6. Over-brewed Tea: Tea that has been steeped for too long slowly releases all its substances, including those harmful to the human body.

7. Cold Tea: Tea is best drunk warm. Cold tea can cause stagnation of cold and accumulation of phlegm.

8. Scalding Hot Tea: Tea is generally brewed with boiling water, but it should not be drunk when it's too hot. Excessively hot substances are extremely harmful to the stomach and intestines.