A nice cup of tea (or coffee) is a good way of warming up after coming in from the winter cold, wrapping our hand around the cup in itself is comforting as ice cold hands thaw out. Whilst tea contains flavonoids which have antioxidant properties, black tea also contains caffeine which acts a diuretic which means you may become dehydrated. It is important to note that moderate intake of tea will not result in you becoming dehydrated as remember the main component of tea is actually water and whilst there is bad press about caffeine is does serve a purpose of sort by helping our cognitive function i.e. keeping us alert when we are tired.
Caffeine has also been shown to alter your digestive habits hence the reason why we have chosen to talk about tea in our blog this week. Whilst for some, anything but traditional tea is not an option, for those of you that would like to try an alternative, peppermint tea may be an option. It is naturally caffeine free and helps aid a healthy digestive system. Peppermint tea has been shown to act as a muscle relaxant which in turn aids the breakdown and digestion of food enabling easier movement though the gastrointestinal tract. It can also help with excessive flatulence. Experts often recommend that you drink peppermint tea quite after a meal as this helps to breakdown the gases produced and promoting better digestion.