Last week I wrote about yet another reason to consider swearing off coffee. I haven't yet taken the plunge and quit, but after all the reading and anecdotal research I've done recently, I might give it a shot, at least temporarily.

Tea is the obvious stand-in for a morning coffee habit. Not only is it served hot; not only does its preparation consist of a similar ritualistic air; but tea also has many well-documented benefits. Various studies have shown the polyphenols (a type of antioxidant) in tea can reduce the risks of certain types of cancer, prevent blood clots and lower cholesterol. The polyphenols are also believed to have a role in preventing heart disease and strokes. The Tea Association has compiled a wealth of information about various health claims that have been made of tea.

One notable detail I didn't realize is that white, green and black tea all come from basically the same plant, but they're processed differently, with white tea being the least processed version and black being the most. All types of tea have polyphenols, although it's unclear how the processing changes the structure of the polyphenols and if one type of tea is better than another. The decaffeination process, however, does remove some of the polyphenols, so decaf tea isn't quite as good for you. As for herbal teas (which are more rightfully called tisanes or herbal infusions since they don't actually contain tea), these do not have the same benefits... unless, that is, they're made from a fruit or herb that posesses its own health attributes.

As with the information available about coffee and its effect on health, the studies and articles written on tea are equally conflicting, and some of the common beliefs we have are proving to be overhyped. For instance, it turns out that green tea might have fewer cancer-protecting powers than previously believed.

The best news for me personally relates back to my initial investigation of coffee and whether it can make you fat. Researchers studying the effect of tea drinking on obesity have emerged with some pretty promising preliminary results. Researchers found that green tea extract increased the energy expenditure and fat oxidation in healthy men, and moderately obese patients who consumed green tea extract for three months saw a 4.6 percent decrease in body weight, according to the Tea Association. And a study performed on mice showed that feeding them food mixed with green tea extract caused them to gain less weight and fat. But an article about the study cautioned that there's no indication yet that green tea will have the same effect on people... and even if it did, the human-sized equivalent of what the mice were fed would equal roughly seven cups of green tea a day!

I can handle one or two cups of the stuff on a daily basis, though, so I think I'll see for myself if the miraculous benefits of tea will outweigh the deliciousness of coffee. Stay tuned for my report...

Image courtesy adactio.