Black tea soothes rattled nerves

Stressed out? Don't go for the alcoholic drink. Instead enjoy a cup of black tea.

Numerous benefits have been ascribed to black and green tea over the recent years and he recent study by Dr. Steptoe and colleagues (Psychopharmacology Sept 2006) further support for evidence for beneficial effects of black tea.

These investigators examined the effect of 6-week ingestion of black tea versus placebo on bodily responses to stress. This included stress induced effect on cardiovascular system, cortisol and platelets. These were measured before and after two challenging behavioral tasks.

The authors found the cardiovascular responses (blood pressure, heart rate and subjective stress ratings) were not affected by black tea suggesting that black tea does not affect the actual stress experienced. On the other hand, black tea consumption resulted in lower post-stress cortisol and greater subjective relaxation accompanied by lesser platelet activation.

The obvious conclusion from the above study is that black tea mediated health benefits may be due to faster recovery of the body to baseline after a stressful experience.

Do you like tea and/or drink it regularly? Are you a fan of green or black tea? Do you drink it for health benefits or just the taste and smell of it?