Most of us have reached for a hot cup of tea in the hope of relieving a throat pain or avoid the common cold.
The concept of tea as medicine is nothing new. “The Chinese have been using this method for centuries to reduce ailments and improve the immune system,” he says. Paulina Lee, DRa Houston-based registered dietitian who uses Western medical practices and alternative and integrative therapies to help clients address the root causes of their health problems.
Despite the widespread use of tea for immunity, there is little strong scientific evidence to show that tea offers this type of benefit. Read on to learn what we’ve discovered about how tea may, or may not, keep your immune system on point.
How Tea Can Support Your Immune Health
Most of the general health and immune benefits of tea are tied to a group of antioxidants known as polyphenols. “A significant amount of epidemiological data has shown that a diet rich in polyphenols protects against chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes,” he says. Dr Megan Meyer, the senior director of science communications for the Durham, North Carolina-based International Food Information Council. His previous research examined the effects of nutritional antioxidants on the immune system’s response to influenza.
Dr. Meyer points out a review published in September 2017 in Nutrition Newsletter, which discovered that teas are especially rich in polyphenols known as flavonols. These plant chemicals have been shown to help lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
When it comes to your immune system, antioxidants (like the flavonols in tea) can help protect your body against free radicals generated by pollution, cigarette smoke, and ultraviolet rays, according to Harvard Health. Free radicals can have harmful effects on the body, including a weakened immune system, for a previous review.
There are many varieties of tea that can support your immune health. Popular options like green, black, white, and oolong come from the same evergreen plant, camellia sinensisaccording to the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. “What sets them apart is how they’re prepared,” says Meyer. Differences in processing, geographic location, and plant varieties account for the tea’s unique flavors and nutritional compositions, and may mean that some teas offer more immunological benefits than others.
Herbal teas can also support your immune health. “Most herbal teas are known to have health-promoting qualities,” says Lee.
Herbal teas are not made from the Camellia plant, but of dried herbs, spices, roots, seeds, fruits or leaves of other plants, according to the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health. Depending on the nutritional makeup of a given plant, some herbal teas may be better for your immune health than others.
More research is needed on tea and immune health
While the research on tea and immune health looks promising, studies so far have not used humans or the population size is relatively small. Many studies also use tea in capsule or tablet form, which typically contain a much higher dose of plant compounds than you’d find in a tea bag. Given these limitations, it’s hard to know if and how a cup of tea will benefit the immune health of a typical person. Larger human studies using brewed tea are needed.
That said, health experts generally agree: Tea brewed without sweetener is a healthy beverage choice. “Personally, I think teas are a great way to add functional foods and herbs to your daily diet,” says Lee. So drink up! And if immune health is your main concern, you might want to start with this list of the best teas for a healthy immune system, in order from strongest evidence to weakest.
