No matter how you prefer your tea, whether it's sipping from a fine china tea cup or gulping from your favourite mug, by including it as part of a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle, it can boost your immunity and protect your bones, teeth and arteries. Plus, it's as rich in antioxidants as a plate of vegies.

According to nutritionist Catherine Saxelby tea contains antioxidants, a group of chemical compounds called flavonoids, which seem to be responsible for the health-giving benefits.

'We can measure the antioxidants in the bloodstream within 20 minutes after drinking a cup of tea,' she says. 'A lot of people think only green tea is healthy and regular or black tea isn't. This is not the case - antioxidants occur in green and black tea, but in different chemical forms.

'Green tea yields the simplest form, due to the curing process. The leaves are picked, steamed and then dried. However with black tea, they're steamed, left to wither and wilt until an oxidation process occurs. This is a more complex form of antioxidant,' she says.

There's a lot of emerging research on the health benefits of tea, most of it referring to the high levels of antioxidants and their ability to protect the body from free radical damage. This is why consumption of tea has been linked to the prevention of skin cancer and cancers of the digestive track, oesophagus, stomach and bowel.

Research by the University of Cambridge in the UK has shown a reduced level of osteoporosis in older women who drink tea. Also, the Erasmus University Medical School in Rotterdam, Holland, found that in 3454 people who were part of the study, drinking tea had a protective effect against ischaemic (blocked artery) heart disease.

'What tea seems to do is keep our blood vessels flexible and thin the blood a little so the heart is more free flowing,' Catherine says.

And studies show drinking tea can help with weight loss. Catherine says this appears to be because tea can either increase your metabolic rate or improve the action of insulin to allow you to metabolise your sugar better. And by excluding milk and sugar a cup of tea has almost no kilojoules.

Long-term health benefits aside, sitting down with a cuppa can instantly boost your feelings of alertness. 'This is because the recently discovered amino acid, L-theanine, found in tea, gives us that alert yet relaxed feeling,' Catherine says.

And when combined with the small amount of caffeine naturally found in tea - about a third to half the amount in coffee - the result is a feeling of alertness without the coffee jolt.

There's an art to brewing a cup of tea and drinking it to get the best health benefits.
'A longer length of time brewing will give you a greater concentration of antioxidants,' Catherine says.

And there's a difference between loose-leaf tea and tea bags. She recommends you leave loose tea to infuse for longer than a tea bag, which contains finely ground tea leaves designed to infuse within 30 seconds. Nutritionally there doesn't appear to be a difference between tea bags, loose-leaf teas and blends such as Earl Grey or English Breakfast.

As tea can interfere with the absorption of iron, Catherine suggests you enjoy tea between meals, or at least half an hour after eating.

The great milk debate

There have been recent reports that adding milk to tea will interfere with the absorption of antioxidants, but Catherine Saxelby isn't worried. 'That myth was debunked some time ago. We have numerous studies showing there's no interference with absorption by adding milk to your tea.'

By Erin Kisby

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