As one reaches middle age, the body's organs begin to age and require careful attention to ensure good health and longevity. Dark Tea is a superb gift from nature, offering benefits such as heat-clearing, heat-dispelling in summer, detoxification, aiding digestion, reducing greasy and fatty foods, promoting diuresis, relieving constipation, expelling wind, relieving cough, stimulating saliva production, and extending life. Here, we summarize the various components of dark tea and its benefits for middle-aged individuals to help tea enthusiasts better understand the wonders of dark tea.
Four Major Benefits of Drinking Dark Tea for Middle-Aged Individuals
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1. Helps with digestion and clearing the intestines
Dark tea can quickly dispel heat and cool the body, aiding digestion and clearing the intestines. In summer, the digestive system bears a heavy burden, and constipation can occur. Drinking dark tea is very beneficial for maintaining intestinal health. Dark tea is known as the “body's scavenger”!
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2. Helps with diuresis and detoxification
The Caffeine in dark tea stimulates the bladder, promoting diuresis and helping to recover from alcohol intoxication. The tea polyphenols in dark tea can eliminate free radicals in cigarette smoke, reducing the harm caused by Smoking. Additionally, tea polyphenols have strong adsorption properties, so drinking more tea can alleviate the harmful effects of heavy metals!
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3. Helps lower blood pressure and blood sugar
Because dark tea contains tea polysaccharides that are similar to insulin, it can reduce blood sugar levels. The polyphenols and their oxidation products can dissolve fat, promoting the excretion of lipids in the blood vessels and lowering cholesterol levels. Therefore, those with high blood sugar can moderately consume dark tea!
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4. Helps reduce fat and aid digestion
The caffeine, vitamins, amino acids, and phospholipids in dark tea help with digestion and are effective in inhibiting the increase of abdominal fat. Dark tea is rich in vitamin B1, which is necessary for burning fat and converting it into energy, thus preventing the accumulation of fat.
Five Points to Note When Drinking Tea for Middle-Aged Individuals
Avoid drinking tea on an empty stomach
Tea enters the lungs and abdomen, cooling the spleen and stomach, akin to “inviting a wolf into your home.” In China, there has long been the saying, “Do not Drink tea on an empty stomach.”
Avoid drinking scalding hot tea
Very hot tea can strongly irritate the throat, esophagus, and stomach. Drinking excessively hot tea regularly may lead to diseases of these organs. Foreign studies have shown that frequently drinking tea above 62°C can damage the stomach lining, increasing the risk of stomach ailments. The ideal temperature for drinking tea should be below 56°C.
Avoid drinking cold tea
Warm or hot tea refreshes the mind, sharpens the senses, and improves vision and hearing; cold tea, however, can have a chilling effect, causing phlegm accumulation.
Avoid drinking strong tea
Strong tea contains high levels of caffeine and theobromine, which can be overly stimulating and may cause headaches and insomnia.
Avoid letting the tea steep for too long
Leaving tea to steep for too long causes the tea polyphenols, lipids, and aromatic compounds to oxidize automatically, resulting in a dark-colored, flavorless, and odorless infusion, losing its taste value. Moreover, the vitamin C, vitamin P, and amino acids in the tea decrease due to oxidation, greatly reducing the nutritional value of the tea. Additionally, leaving the tea for extended periods exposes it to environmental contamination, leading to an increase in microorganisms (bacteria and fungi), making it unsanitary.
Avoid over-infusing the tea
After three to four infusions, most teas have little tea juice left. According to relevant tests, the first infusion can contain up to 50% of the total water-soluble substances, the second infusion around 30%, the third about 10%, and the fourth only 1-3%. Further infusions can extract harmful components from the tea, as trace harmful elements tend to be released later.
Avoid drinking tea before meals
Drinking tea before meals dilutes saliva, making food less flavorful and temporarily reducing the digestive system's ability to absorb proteins.