Ingredients that should not be added to tea.

Health and Life Magazine - Tea is beneficial for health, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease and support longevity. However, adding the wrong ingredients can reduce the effectiveness of the polyphenols and flavonoids found in tea.

Tea (especially green tea) contains many antioxidants (EGCG, polyphenols) that help protect cardiovascular health, prevent cancer, support weight loss, increase alertness, and slow down the aging process. However, adding some of the following ingredients can prevent the body from fully absorbing the benefits of the compounds in tea.

1. Avoid adding too much cream or milk to your tea.

Content

• 1. Avoid adding too much cream or milk to your tea.
• 2. Road
• 3. Essential oils
• 4. Old water or water that has been boiled multiple times.
• 5. Tea bags (tea pouches)
• 6. Artificial sweeteners

The health benefits of drinking tea can be attributed to the polyphenols and flavonoids it contains. These are naturally occurring plant compounds that act as powerful antioxidants, protecting cells from damage caused by free radicals. They offer significant health benefits such as reducing inflammation, stabilizing blood pressure, controlling blood sugar, supporting cardiovascular health, and improving brain function.

Adding cream or milk can reduce the polyphenol content in tea. Therefore, to ensure the body effectively absorbs these components and reaps health benefits, it's best to drink pure tea or limit adding anything to it.

You shouldn't add too much milk to tea because it will reduce the polyphenol content in the tea.

2. Road

While adding sugar can sweeten and enhance the flavor of tea, it can also reduce the polyphenol content. Therefore, to maintain the quality of the tea and preserve its polyphenols, instead of adding sugar, flavor it using warming spices like cinnamon.

3. Essential oils

Essential oils are derived from plants, but there is currently insufficient scientific evidence to confirm the safety of oral use, even when products are commercially available.

It's worth noting that essential oils have very high concentrations of active ingredients, far exceeding those found in fresh ingredients. For example, one drop of peppermint essential oil can be equivalent to about 26 cups of peppermint tea. Therefore, improper consumption of essential oils can have adverse health effects.

4. Old water or water that has been boiled multiple times.

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You shouldn't use old water or re-boil water multiple times to brew tea because it will reduce the flavor. Re-boiled water loses oxygen, causing the tea to lose its taste, and also accumulates harmful minerals (arsenic, fluoride, nitrates) and makes the water "stale," easily leading to bacterial growth. Therefore, you should use fresh water to ensure freshness and safety.

In addition, when brewing tea, ensure the water is not too hot, as this can burn the compounds in the tea. Similarly, if the water is not hot enough, the flavor compounds will not be released into the tea as usual.

5. Tea bags (tea pouches)

Many modern tea bags are made from plastic (PET, nylon) or contain microplastics. When steeped in hot water, they release billions of plastic particles and toxins into the cup of tea. Additionally, paper tea bags may contain dioxins or epichlorohydrin, components of pesticides, which can affect health.

Furthermore, prolonged steeping or using multiple tea bags at once creates a high concentration of tannic acid, causing protein precipitation, affecting digestion, reducing iron absorption, and potentially causing insomnia due to high caffeine content. Therefore, using fresh tea leaves instead of tea bags is recommended for a richer, stronger flavor and better health benefits.

6. Artificial sweeteners

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that long-term use of artificial sweeteners like aspartame may increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and death. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) says that artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame, may be carcinogenic. For this reason, it is advisable to limit the consumption of sugars contained in food or during processing and to avoid adding them to tea.

Some healthy ingredients that can be added to tea to enhance its flavor include lemon, honey, mint, ginger, cinnamon, etc.

Source: https://suckhoedoisong.vn/nhung-thanh-phan-khong-nen-cho-vao-tra-169260401143137253.htm