Tea has nutritional properties and is rich in vitamins and minerals. What's more, being nature's drink, Tea maintains the body balance apart from providing nutrition.
Tea drinking is reputed to:
- Increase blood flow to all parts of the body
- Stimulate clear thinking and mental alertness
- Speed the elimination of alcohol and other harmful substances (fats and nicotine, for example) from the bodily organs.
Doctors therefore recommend that it is vital we drink at least 1.5 litres of fluid a day to prevent dehydration. Tea also contains caffeine, but much less than coffee and therefore any dehydration from tea is very unlikely. In fact doctors recommend weak cold tea for oral rehydration.
As the world's most popular drink, tea makes a significant contribution to the nation’s fluid intake. In the Tea Council’s Healthy Drinks Survey in UK, tea was considered the best value-for-money drink by 58 percent.
Taken on its own, tea has no calories. Taken with milk, the average daily tea consumption provides approximately 16 per cent of the recommended daily amount of calcium and significant amounts of folic acid, riboflavin (B2) and vitamin B6.
Tea & Beauty
Apart from being a healthy drink, tea is an excellent beauty aid too that is easily available in all homes.
Brew 1/2 cup of unscented black or green tea leaves in approximately a litre of boiling bottled water for at least 10 minutes. Strain and set aside. Cool the filtrate and refrigerate. Use this solution to soothe sunburns.
For minor cuts and scrapes, apply the cold tea brew with a pure cotton pad onto the cuts or abrasions. Leave the cotton pad on the affected area for at least 5 minutes. Do not wash off. Apply this 4 times and day and see the difference.
Apply a piece of cotton cloth that's been soaked in the cold tea brew to the sunburned area. Leave on until the affected areas cool off. Repeat this 3-4 times a day.
To remove puffiness from eyes, soak cotton pads in the cold tea brew and keep the pads on your lids for about 10 minutes. Refrigerated used tea bags are another alternative.
In case you have had a rough day, soak your feet in the cold tea brew for about 15 minutes. This is a great way to treat your feet after a long day of standing, walking, or running. For an aromatic soak, you can use flavoured tea brews.
For a face scrub, mix 1 teaspoon of fine cornmeal or oatmeal with cooled chamomile tea brew. Apply on face and neck. Rub off gently when dry. This scrub is not recommended for sensitive skin.
Another exfoliating paste would be using chamomile tea brew with powdered milk. Rub gentle and wash with warm water when dry.
Rinse your face with brewed tea solution. Tea acts as an astringent, so it works well on pimples.
To strengthen hair, warm 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons fresh ground lavender and the dry contents of 2 peppermint tea bags (easily available in departmental stores). Massage into scalp over damp hair. Cover hair for 20-25 minutes to keep the heat in. Shampoo and rinse hair. Repeat this treatment once a month. A great nourisher and hair strengthening agent.
Tea also makes excellent hair colour. It’s cheap and can be easily made at home. Make a pot of medium strength tea, strain and cool. Pour as last rinse over shampooed hair. This tea rinse imparts color to hair. For a glossy look on your hair, polish it gently with a silk scarf. Alternatively, to colour hair, you can mix henna with tea when applying the henna pack to your hair.
To ease toothaches, apply spent tea leaves on affected tooth till you manage the visit to the dentist.
