It’s likely that we all enjoy a hot cup of tea — or herbal infusion — at least from time to time, if not on a daily basis. But what are the most important health benefits that some of these soothing teas can bring us? Read on to learn more about the top teas for our health. “Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage,” writes 19th-century Japanese scholar Okakura Kakuzo in his infamous publication The Book of Tea. In it, he speaks at length about the history of tea and the philosophy of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Kakuzo was correct: modern research about the history of tea-drinking in the world confirms that this beverage was originally consumed less for pleasure or as a mindfulness aid, calling for the drinker to take slow sips and be in the moment. Instead, as shown by Prof. Victor Henry Mair — from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia — in The True History of Tea, early in its history, the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) became popular for its medicinal properties. The tea plant’s main varieties — Camellia sinensis sinensis and Camellia sinensis assamica — are responsible for most of the tea brews that we are accustomed to: black tea, green tea, white tea, and oolong tea. There are many other types of teas and infusions using various other plants, such as Aspalathus linearis, which is better known as “rooibos” or “redbush.” In this Spotlight, we’ll give you an overview of the top five teas that can benefit your health. 1. Green tea A favorite with tea drinkers everywhere, green tea has been praised for its medicinal properties for years. Some recent studies have now confirmed some of these benefits, suggesting that green tea may protect various aspects of our health. To begin with, this beverage has been found to enhance cognitive functioning, with one studyTrusted Source connecting it to better working memory, the type of we use on a day-to-day basis. Researchers from the University Hospital of Basel in Switzerland found that healthy people who agreed to consume a soft drink containing 27.5 grams of green tea extract exhibited more intense activity in brain areas linked to working memory. Therefore, participants who had ingested the green tea extract had better connectivity between the frontal and parietal lobes of the brain, which are two regions involved in aspects of learning, memory processes, and decision-making. The health benefits brought about by green tea have […]