[quote=“ediets.com”"]
Most Americans can’t greet the day without a caffeinated kick in the pants, usually in the form of a cup of coffee. Or three. In recent years, however, coffee has been saddled with a bad reputation, linked to high blood pressure, ulcers and even infertility. Plus, some people figure that any beverage that causes such a powerful addiction to caffeine couldn’t be that great for you.
You may have heard that tide is turning. Most recently, coffee has been shedding its dangerous reputation as researchers uncover evidence that the daily cup of Joe also has health benefits. Individuals who drink java are at lower risk for diabetes – a looming public health problem. Coffee is also chock-full of disease-busting antioxidants. In fact, it’s the number one source of such chemicals in the American diet.
But then there’s tea. Tea has never had a bad rap to overcome. Except for staining your teeth, the brew hasn’t been linked to any problematic side effects. Indeed, news reports have extolled the beverage’s benefits for years. So much so, that java lovers have wondered is they wouldn’t be better off switching teams. But is tea really that much better? Psychology Today recently pitted the brews head-to-head. We report, you decide.
Consider how tea affects:
- Your Heart: Tea relaxes your blood vessels and lowers blood pressure, which is good for your heart.
- Your Brain: Green tea may prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
- Your Plumbing: Green tea may prevent kidney stones.
- Your Bones: Green tea may help keep bones strong, while studies have linked coffee to osteoporosis in the past.
- Weight Control: Caffeine from either source suppresses appetite, but green tea may spur fat metabolism.
- Your Mouth: Green tea’s main antioxidant may prevent cavities.
Consider how coffee affects:
- Your Risk of Diabetes: Drinking more than four daily cups of coffee lowers the risk of diabetes. Tea has no similar effect.
- Your Brain: Coffee protects seniors against Parkinson’s disease.
- Your Risk of Cancer: Coffee is linked to lower rates of liver and colon cancer, while the FDA says more research is needed to support tea’s anticancer claims.
- Your Plumbing: Coffee seems to prevent gallstones.
- Your Heart: A recent study found that people who don’t metabolize caffeine as quickly as others may be at an increased risk for a heart attack if they drink coffee. Decaffeinated coffee may be associated with high cholesterol levels.
The final score: Tea = 7, Coffee = 4.
The bottom line is that everyone should drink either coffee or tea, says Joe Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Both beverages are brimming with disease-fighting antioxidants. Don’t be a teetotaler thinking you’re doing it for your health, because health findings clearly favor consumption of coffee and/or tea.
If you’re not choosy, drink tea. “It’s unquestionably better for your heart and has hardly any negative side effect,” Vinson said.
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