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To tea or not to tea, that is the question..
It wasn't until I was 15 years old when I was allowed my first tiny cup of tea. Coffee was considered an illicit substance for all I knew. India is a land of thousands of micro-cultures, with few commonalities, but something that weaves through language, age, people, and most importantly, occasions is tea, with coffee being a close second. These two beverages are enjoyed by billions of people everyday around the world with most of them swearing by its benefits and its necessity in their everyday routine and life. I, like most people, always wondered which one is better, and more importantly, how good or bad are these drinks for our body?
The benefits of a variety of herbal teas and combinations of plant based drinks have been praised through generations. These drinks are often consumed throughout different cultures and ages, yet there is a lot of debate around what constitutes an “unhealthy” amount of these drinks. Most opinions about these topics arise from misconceptions or are simply unscientific and illogical myths. I, for one, find it quite interesting to share the actual science and medicine behind the consumption of tea and coffee and watch their joyful agreements unfold.
THE EXPERIMENT
One of my favorite experiments done in this regard was by the King of Sweden, Gustav III, in the 18th century. Seeing the invasion of coffee in his country and the rise in its popularity with the upper class, the concerned king ordered a ban on it. When the ban failed to be effective, he ordered his court’s health minister to conduct an experiment regarding the harmful effects of overconsumption of coffee and tea. In the experiment, they took a set of identical twins, who were condemned to death for their crimes, to instead serve a life imprisonment on the condition that one of them drinks 3 pots of coffee a day for the rest of his life and the other would drink the same amount of tea.
Two separate doctors were appointed to monitor and overlook each of the twins during their sentenced life. But unseemingly so, years later King Gustav III was assassinated, and the health minister also died. The physicians who were in charge also passed away of natural causes over the years. But interestingly, the twins continued to live way past their experimenters.
Though a bit comical, this ‘clinical trial’ formed a good basis for an undisputed position and popularity of coffee in Swedish culture thereafter.
There have been numerous studies by universities across the world crediting the health benefits and discrediting the misconceived notions of harm. Some of those are linked at the end of this post for your indulgence.
So if coffee and tea are elixirs that make us stronger and better, why aren’t we all just placing them in our taps instead of water? Well, of course, there are certain considerations involved.
SIDE EFFECTS AND EXCESS
We are going to proceed by taking an objective look at the physiological changes caused by the consumption of tea and coffee. The most common side effects that people usually experience with black tea and coffee are due to their caffeine content, and more specifically the cholinergic effect on our autonomous nervous system. Namely, restlessness, nausea, excitement, insomnia, diuresis(increased urination), gastrointestinal disturbances, muscle twitching, and tachycardia(increased heart rate).
It is fundamental to understand a couple of things in this process. First, everyone has a physiological capacity and tendency to experience these effects differently. And secondly, as we here at Medler firmly believe, it is not the substance consumed, but the quantity that matters.
There are, no doubt, unhealthy doses and quantities of every substance we consume, and it is important to know what the limits are. Throughout different studies, it is noted that consumption of more than 150mg/kg of body weight of caffeine has been known to cause fatality and/or serious health issues. That would roughly equate to more than 100 cups of coffee or 200 cups of tea for an average-sized person. These are experimental calculations, so we would suggest that you do not consume 99 cups for yourself either. It is also crucial to know that any of these drinks should be severely restricted in pregnant women, for caffeine is well known to cause fetal defects and growth retardation.
Caffeine withdrawal is another phenomenon commonly experienced when regular consumption of coffee is suddenly stopped. This includes headaches, difficulty concentrating and flu-like symptoms.
The second most important compound in question would, our sweet old friend, sugar. Refined sugar or its other forms, no matter how micronutrient rich, in excess, will ubiquitously cause harm in your body. Not only does it spike your blood sugar level and ultimately add on to type 2 diabetes mellitus, but also causes more psychological cravings.
And lastly, given that all these teas and coffees are available for consumption in pure forms, without any adulteration or contamination. Various green teas and black teas are known to have trace amounts of aluminum, lead, iron and other heavy metals. If their quantities are compounded, it may lead to metabolic problems such as anemia, toxicity, and neurodegenerative disorders.
THE BENEFITS
Coffee - the most consumed psycho-stimulant drug in the world has contributed to increased productivity, general alertness, higher metabolic rate, along with decreased risk of neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes type 2, gallstones, and most importantly, depression.
Tea - There are established benefits including decreased multiple cancer incidence, cardioprotective abilities, protection against strokes kidney stones, arthritis, obesity and general immune function and many more.
CONCLUSION
Tea, conclusively, has almost no harmful effects, even with high consumption. It is noted that in most cases it is not only better than any other beverage including coffee, but has markedly higher benefits when drunk in combination with coffee.
So, our inference from this is not just that there is nothing wrong with reasonable and moderate consumption of these two beloved beverages, but also that they are medically beneficial for you in a myriad of ways.
So if you happen to invite us over to your house and ask us, “Tea or Coffee?” we’d reply with, “Till the time the tea is being steeped, let's have a cup of coffee.”
LINKS
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