The Benefits and Effects of Wuyi Black Tea, and Precautions for Consumption and Dietary Taboos

Black tea belongs to the fully fermented tea category. It is made from suitable fresh buds and leaves of the tea plant as raw material, refined through a series of processes including withering, rolling (cutting), fermentation, and drying. So what are the benefits and effects of black tea? What are the taboos of drinking black tea and the precautions for drinking black tea?

I. The Benefits and Effects of Black Tea

1. Preventing Osteoporosis

Many middle-aged and elderly friends develop osteoporosis and bone aging in their later years, but drinking black tea can very effectively prevent this from happening, because black tea contains a substance that counteracts bone aging. If you want the effect to be even better, you can add some lemon slices to the black tea, which will strengthen your bones.

2. Cancer Prevention

That green tea can fight cancer is well known to us all, but recently quite a few scientists have found through research that black tea also has anti-cancer effects. Therefore, it is recommended that everyone drink more black tea, especially middle-aged and elderly people, to help prevent cancer.

3. Benefiting the Liver

Black tea contains a substance that can break down heavy metals, which is what we often hear called tea polyphenols. And we all know that the liver is the organ used for detoxification in daily life. In big cities, especially industrialized cities, environmental pollution is severe, and the liver runs under overload every day. Black tea can help the liver detoxify the human body, thereby reducing the burden on the liver and achieving a liver-protecting effect.

4. Restoring Physical Strength

Again, it is the tea polyphenols contained in black tea. They can also help the brain stay clear and alert, with an effect somewhat similar to caffeine, but healthier and without side effects. If you often feel exhausted, or have important matters that require staying up late to work overtime, then you might as well brew a cup of black tea. It can help you restore your physical strength and finish your work more quickly.

5. Promoting Blood Circulation

Black tea contains various elements. The role of two substances, manganese and potassium, is to promote blood circulation and promote the softening of our cerebrovascular and cardiovascular vessels. People who usually drink black tea have relatively softer cardiovascular and cerebrovascular vessels and a rosy complexion. Blood flow speed will also be very fast, so drinking more black tea plays a great role in preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

II. Taboos of Drinking Black Tea

It is inadvisable to drink black tea during special periods

Drinking black tea during menstruation, especially strong tea, can induce or worsen premenstrual syndrome. Medical experts have found through research that, compared with those who do not drink tea, those who have the habit of drinking tea have a 2.4 times higher chance of experiencing premenstrual tension, and those who drink more than 4 cups a day have a 3 times higher chance.

Do not drink black tea on an empty stomach

Drinking black tea on an empty stomach can dilute gastric juice, lower digestive function, and, with a high water absorption rate, cause large amounts of harmful components in the tea leaves to enter the blood, triggering symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations, and weakness in the hands and feet.

It is inadvisable to drink black tea when running a fever

Tea leaves contain theophylline, which has the effect of raising body temperature. For a fever patient, drinking tea is no different from “adding fuel to the fire.”

III. Precautions for Drinking Black Tea

1. New tea is not necessarily better the newer it is. Drinking it improperly can easily harm the stomach and intestines. Because new tea has just been picked and has been stored for a short time, it contains relatively more unoxidized polyphenols, aldehydes, alcohols, and other substances. These substances do not have much effect on healthy people, but for people with poor gastrointestinal function, especially patients who already have chronic gastrointestinal inflammation, these substances will irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa, and people whose gastrointestinal function is already poor are more likely to develop stomach problems. Therefore, new tea should not be drunk in large amounts, and new tea stored for less than half a month should especially not be drunk.

2. New tea also contains relatively more caffeine, active alkaloids, and various aromatic substances. These substances can also excite the central nervous system. Patients with neurasthenia or cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases should drink it in moderation, and it is inadvisable to drink it before bedtime or on an empty stomach.

3. Do not take medicine with tea; do not drink tea within 1 hour before or after taking medicine. Ginseng and American ginseng should not be consumed together with tea. Avoid drinking strong tea to sober up; it is inadvisable to drink tea before meals; avoid drinking tea immediately after meals; young girls should avoid drinking strong tea.