Studies are showing that tea may help reduce the risk of heart attacks and cancer. Besides that, it's easy and inexpensive to make, comes in more than 3,000 varieties and has only about one-third the caffeine of coffee. The difference between black teas, which are more popular in the United States, and green teas, once found only in China and Japan, is in the processing.
Tea contains polyphenols.
These chemicals are antioxidants, which are the substances found also in many fruits, vegetables and whole grains that may prevent or delay damage to your cells. EGCG appears to play a role in inhibiting cancer cell growth. Polyphenols also help protect you from free radicals, unstable molecules in your body that damage cells, and they help lower cholesterol. An animal study, published in the April 1999 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that the polyphenols in green tea may even lessen the severity of rheumatoid arthritis. Ironically, herbal teas, long associated with healthy living, have not been shown to have similar benefits.