Why Tea is Good For Your Health

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I think the next time I'm in the coffee shop I'll try tea.

Tea can help your heart, boost your brainpower, keep your metabolism humming, and more. Our guide to the supersip covers it all, including how to brew a cup that's fit for a queen.

Tea does a body good. "It's also calorie-free if you don't add milk or a sweetener like sugar or honey," says Diane L. McKay, PhD, an assistant professor of nutrition at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy in Boston. Check out the myriad benefits of that mug:

Your brain: A cuppa doesn't just make you more productive at the office (one study showed that tea drinkers have improved accuracy and attention when switching between tasks). It may also ward off Parkinson's disease and slow the progression of Alzheimer's.

Your bones: Studies indicate that phytochemicals in tea, such as flavonoids, may protect against bone loss: Regular tea drinkers have higher bone density than non-tea drinkers.

Your heart: A study of more than 40,000 adults found that women who drank five or more cups of green tea a day had a 31 percent lower risk of death from heart disease than those who downed less than one. Other research linked black tea to lower LDL cholesterol.

Your skin: EGCG, the main polyphenol in green tea, has anticancer properties that may prevent the development of skin tumors. In an animal study, green-tea extracts reduced the severity of exposure to UV radiation.

Did you know? Green tea contains metabolism-revving caffeine plus the potent antioxidant EGCG, which activates the sympathetic nervous system to encourage fat burning. In one study, exercisers blasted more fat during a half-hour workout when they consumed tea beforehand. In addition, there is evidence that tea may decrease fat absorption and contribute to weight loss. "Tea is a safe, effective way to increase calorie burn and the release of fat from your fat stores," says Paul Arciero, PhD, the director of the Human Nutrition and Metabolism

Laboratory at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York. Try one or two cups of green, black, or oolong tea -- iced, if you prefer -- 30 minutes before you sweat.

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