Tea should not be drunk in the first half hour after eating. Or not to drink at all - if there were some foods on your plate. We tell you what combinations of tea and products can be dangerous for your health.
Drinking tea is a healthy habit. Black or green, it fills us with energy, improves digestion, stimulates the brain. In addition, it helps to fight the dangerous effects of free radicals, improves the functioning of the cardiovascular system, helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels, and is even useful in preventing cancer. Many of us like to have a cup of tea after a meal - and this is a good decision, especially if you wait at least half an hour after the end of the meal. But it is important to remember that some products should not be combined with tea. We'll tell you which ones.
Products containing iron
Red meat, heart or liver, broccoli, olives and olive oil, spinach, seafood and some types of fish - all these foods are rich in iron, which means they should never be washed down with tea, especially green tea. Why? An experiment on mice conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania showed that iron molecules can bind to epigallocatechin gallate, the main antioxidant found in green tea. As a result, the activity of an important anti-inflammatory enzyme, which is secreted by white blood cells in response to stimuli, is suppressed for some time. If this enzyme is secreted normally, then the body is able to resist inflammatory reactions in the intestines or stomach. But if you drink food rich in iron with a cup of green tea, then for some time the process will slow down or stop altogether, which means that the risk of developing an inflammatory disease will increase.
Fat Meating
many nutritional recommendations, there is an advice to wash down lunch, especially a "heavy" cup of tea: the substances contained in the drink stimulate metabolism, improve digestion and help the body cope with fat better. However, there is a small caveat: the temperature of the drink should not be high. So, gastroenterologist Irina Berez warns: if you drink fatty foods, especially meat, with tea, the temperature of which is higher than the temperature of the human body, the negative impact of fat on our health will only intensify.
Alcohol
Firstly, hot tea after alcohol is a double blow to the mucous membranes. By itself, alcohol has a negative effect on the membranes of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, and hot tea can additionally burn the pharynx and esophagus. If you practice this regularly, the risk of cancer will increase significantly. The second reason: increased load on the cardiovascular system. Caffeine, which is abundant in almost all types of tea, in combination with alcohol can overload the heart and blood vessels, which is not at all useful.
Milk
One of the most beneficial compounds found in tea is the antioxidant catechins, which can neutralize the effects of dangerous free radicals that damage our cells, support cardiovascular health, and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. Unfortunately, some research confirms that casein, a protein found in milk, can bind to the antioxidants found in tea and stop their activity. The good news, however, is that a small study found that brewing tea longer helps antioxidants be better absorbed, even when milk is added to the drink.
What other mistakes in the preparation and use of tea make it harmful?
Drink tea on an empty stomach
Tea leaf extract suppresses gastric secretion and reduces the production of gastric juice. Simply put - tea drunk on an empty stomach suppresses appetite, and we refuse breakfast. And this is the biggest crime against our health that we can only commit in the morning!
Brewing tea too strongThe golden rule: one teaspoon of tea leaves for each cup, plus one more - "for the teapot." If you reduce the dose, the tea will turn out to be too weak, but if you exceed it, the drink will have too much caffeine. Because of this, the nervous system can become too excited (in the most serious cases, tachycardia and hand tremors may appear), and an excess of diuretics will lead to dehydration. In addition, an excess of tannins in too strong tea can adversely affect bowel function and provoke constipation. So follow the measure!
drinking tea too hot
Constantly drinking too hot drinks that irritate the mucous membranes of the throat, esophagus and stomach. Regular burns can lead to the formation of scar tissue, which has an increased susceptibility to infections and a tendency to form malignant tumors. So, having brewed a cup of fragrant tea, let the drink cool down a bit!
Take medicine with tea
Any medicines can be washed down only with clean water without gas - otherwise, their effect may be weakened or, on the contrary, strengthened. And in no case should you take tablets and powders with tea: this drink contains a lot of active substances, many of which are categorically incompatible with drugs. So, for example, eufellin or papaverine, taken with tea, can have a bad effect on cardiac activity. And contraceptives or sedatives washed down with tea may simply not work.
Drink yesterday's tea
Tea that has spent the night in a teapot not only loses most of its useful substances - pathogenic microorganisms that can cause serious harm to our health also actively multiply in it. If fresh tea is a medicine, then yesterday's tea is, alas, a real poison.
