Indian tea is more than just tea. It is filled with joy and peace. It is a soothing and warming drink that contains beneficial ingredients. In this article, I will tell you about the health benefits of Indian tea that every tea lover or nonlover should know as it can be beneficial for you as well.
About Indian Tea
Indian Tea means Chai. It refers to tea with milk. Most people think that Indian Tea is black tea with spices but real Indian tea is made pure with no spices. It is of two versions, the spiced version is called Masala chai which in English is called spiced tea. And the basic Chai or Indian tea is the recipe that includes strong black tea, usually CTC Assam tea, water, milk, and sugar.
Spiced tea includes many spices like cardamom, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, fennel, nutmeg, turmeric, saffron, and others. There is no doubt that Chai or Indian tea is delicious, soothing, and one of the best milk teas in the world. It is usually made with loose leaf tea but in the modern world, tea bags are also in huge use. However, the best taste of a cup of Indian tea comes when it is made from high-quality loose leaf tea and when the leaves are boiled together with the spices.
Related: Health Benefits Of Drinking Lassi
Health Benefits of Indian Tea
Indian tea has many benefits as it contains spices which have their benefits too. The most common spices like cinnamon, cloves, and ginger which are used in traditional Indian tea are beneficial to our health as they are also used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine. Both tea and spices in Indian tea are boiled for longer so that they can release both the flavor and beneficial compounds. The following are the health benefits of Indian tea that we get due to its ingredients:
Boosts Energy
Indian tea contains high amounts of caffeine and is made with black tea with broken leaves or CTC. CTC teas are a specific type of tea that is crushed and shaped into small pellets. It helps in boosting energy and gives relief from mental stress. Many people consider that a cup of tea gives them peace and releases their stress.
Helps in Digestion
The ingredients like ginger and black paper in Indian tea are helpful in digestion as it is shown in studies that black paper and ginger have qualities that improve health and digestion.
Antioxidant
Both types of Indian tea that is black tea and spices may help to protect the cells from oxidative stress. The most common Indian tea Or Masala chai is Assam tea that has higher polyphenolic content than any other Indian Black tea. The antioxidants help to protect the cells and boost our immune system.
Regulates Cholesterol
The ingredients in Indian tea such as black tea, cinnamon, black pepper, ginger, cloves, and other spices help to reduce the levels of bad cholesterol so we can say that Indian tea helps in regulating cholesterol.
Anti-Inflammatory
Inflammation leads to many chronic diseases like Diabetes to Alzheimer’s. Research shows that black tea and spices like ginger, turmeric, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon have qualities that show anti-inflammatory properties so Indian tea may help in fighting many diseases.
Helps in Stomach Ache and Nausea
As we all know that in Indian tea, ginger is a must and no cup of chai will ever be perfect without ginger. Ginger is commonly used for treating different types of problems like nausea and vomiting. Therefore, herbal chai blends are a better choice for an upset stomach than black tea blends.
Beneficial for Heart
Indian tea is also beneficial for the heart as drinking black tea reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke. Research shows that ginger, black pepper, and cinnamon help in keeping our hearts healthy.
Beneficial in Weight loss
The combination of black tea and chai helps in achieving weight loss goals but you should be careful because it contains sugar too which means it also shows opposite effects. Additionally, research shows that cinnamon helps in metabolic syndrome and helps lose weight, reduce bad cholesterol, blood sugar levels, and fat and blood pressure while black tea helps in reducing the calorie intake and enhancing fat burn.
Are there any side effects of Indian tea?
However, Indian tea has very little or no side effects but you should still be cautious. The first disadvantage is that it contains a lot of sugar like if you are making traditional Indian tea, you should make it less sweetener. Another disadvantage is that spices in the tea can cause heartburn in some people.
I hope this article was helpful and now you know the health benefits of soothing and peaceful Indian tea.
