In today's society, drinking habits have become a topic of health discussion that people are increasingly concerned about. When choosing a daily drink, many people tend to choose between plain water and tea.
Among them, boiled water is loved by many people who pursue a healthy life because of its simple and pure characteristics. Tea, a beverage with thousands of years of history, is not only culturally important, but also revered for containing a variety of health-promoting compounds.
However, whether long-term drinking of plain water or tea, which option is more beneficial to health?
Benefits of plain water
Plain water, as the most basic drink, has many benefits that are essential for human health.
Plain water maintains the body's water balance, which is essential for the proper functioning and metabolism of cells. An adult needs to drink enough water every day to ensure that the body's physiological functions are carried out properly, for example, the right amount of water intake can help stabilize the body temperature and eliminate the accumulated metabolic waste products in the body.
In addition to this, drinking plain water can also help maintain good heart health. Studies have shown that regular and adequate hydration can reduce the risk of heart failure and other heart diseases, as water helps keep blood thin, which reduces the burden on the heart.
What's more, plain water is also great for boosting metabolism and maintaining a normal body weight. Water is an indispensable component of metabolic processes, it is involved in the transport of nutrients ingested from food and the excretion of metabolic wastes. Proper water intake also promotes fat burning and helps with weight control.
Drinking plain water regularly can prevent constipation. Adequate hydration makes it easier for intestinal contents to pass through, thus reducing the occurrence of constipation. Plain water also plays a significant role in preventing stone formation, especially for kidney stones, as adequate water can dilute potential crystalline components in the urine.
From a kinematic point of view, plain water is also able to accelerate the excretion of metabolic waste products from the body, including lactic acid after exercise, thereby speeding up recovery and preventing muscle pain. From a nutritional point of view, it provides a smooth channel for the transport of nutrients in the body, ensuring a good supply of nutrients and thus maintaining a healthy body.
Benefits of tea
Long-term consumption of tea, especially green tea, oolong tea and black tea, brings many health benefits to the human body. The tea polyphenols in tea have powerful antioxidant properties and can effectively prevent the occurrence of many cancers. These antioxidants neutralize free radicals and reduce cell damage, which in turn reduces the risk of cancer.
Long-term tea consumption also reduces the risk of all-cause mortality. Studies have shown that people who drink two cups of tea a day have a significantly lower risk of death than those who do not. This may be related to the positive effects of multiple compounds in tea, such as catechins, on cardiovascular health.
In addition, catechins and other components in tea can also regulate blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids, the so-called "three highs". By adjusting these physiological indicators, the risk of cardiovascular disease in the long-term tea drinker has also been significantly reduced.
Tea has also been found to have a preventive effect on Alzheimer's disease. Long-term tea consumption, especially in the elderly, can help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. This effect may be related to the polyphenols and other active substances in tea, which promote brain health and protect neurons from damage.
Drinking contrast
When discussing the health effects of long-term consumption of plain water versus tea, both have significant health benefits, but there are also some differences.
Plain water is the source of life and is essential to maintain the body's water balance and ensure normal cell function. It is effective in boosting metabolism, helps maintain a normal weight, and can reduce the risk of heart failure, stones, and gout. In addition, plain water also has a positive effect on relieving colds and improving constipation symptoms, which are mainly due to its pure and additive-free properties.
In contrast, long-term tea consumption presents a different picture. Active substances such as tea polyphenols in tea have obvious effects on preventing a variety of cancers, reducing the risk of all-cause mortality, and regulating blood pressure, blood sugar and blood lipids. These ingredients also help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer's.
However, it is important to be aware of the caffeine content in tea, as excessive consumption may lead to insomnia, anxiety and other problems, especially for people who are sensitive to caffeine.
How to choose
When choosing whether to drink plain water or tea for a long time, the most important thing is to understand your own internal needs and external living environment. Everyone's health status, lifestyle habits, and dietary preferences are different, so it is not possible to generalize.
For example, if a person who regularly performs high-intensity exercise sweats a lot and needs to frequently replenish the water lost by the body, plain water is often the best choice at this time, because it can quickly replenish water, maintain the water balance in the body, and avoid weight gain without additional calorie intake.
On the other hand, if your lifestyle is more sedentary and you need to focus on cardiovascular health, blood pressure control or prevention of haemorrhoids in old age, then moderate consumption of tea may bring additional health benefits, such as antioxidants such as catechins that have a positive effect on cardiovascular health.
Especially for people with special health conditions, such as diabetics, proper intake of catechins and other health ingredients in tea may help with blood sugar control. However, it should be noted that whether it is plain water or tea, the intake should be appropriate, and excessive tea consumption may cause physical discomfort due to the influence of ingredients such as caffeine.
On the whole, drinking plain water or tea for a long time is not absolutely good or bad, the key is how to reasonably match it in daily life and match it with a comprehensive healthy lifestyle. Advocating a healthy and rational concept of drinking water and being responsible for our own health is also a long-term attitude we should adhere to.
Do you prefer to drink boiled water or tea?