Health: Black Tea & Being Pakistani

Pakistani Effects:

A cup of tea here in Pakistan means, a cup loaded with sugar and fatty whole milk. Those hundreds of calories are taken at least 3 times a day. Sure there are billions of health benefit of black tea but the amount we intake per day is crazy. We are already addicted to black tea therefore let’s discuss the “harms of excessive tea” only.

Caffeine Effects:

Black tea contains the highest level of caffeine content than any other tea. It’s important to talk about caffeine for it is highly addictive drug. Once you are addicted there is no stopping, and I think most of us are already there. Caffeine dependency causes lack of concentration, irritability, headaches, and tiredness leading to the urge for tea again. 

Although side effects of excessive caffeine differ from person to person. Side effects like rapid heart rate, anxiety, insomnia, upset stomach and tremors. And there are more but that is enough to freak us out. 

Watch for Iron Deficiency:

 Now we all have heard of the component called Flavonoids in tea. Ahem, Flavonoids have health benefits but there is one problem. It blocks your body’s tendency to absorb iron from the food consumed. Black tea right after meals slows down digestion of protein and wastes vitamins in it. This can be a serious problem for people with already existing IRON DEFICIENCY!

Colorado State University reports: “Tea may reduce your ability to absorb iron by 60 percent.”

Mess with other Drugs:

Drinking large amount of black tea (or like a Pakistani) can mess with your medications. Black tea may increase or decrease the effectiveness of your medications. It can also lead to adverse side effects in some cases. Scarier than that is some drugs can keep caffeine in your body for abnormally longer period of time. If you are on medication avoid excessive tea intake. 

Tinted Teeth Alert:

This one is shocking; tea can stain our teeth! Tea is a colored beverage which contains staining agents. Only if you are aware and cautious about it then solutions are simple and easy. All you have to do is either brush your teeth or simply drink water immediately after having a cup of tea. 

Untamed Sugaholics:

Sadly all the calories in your cup of tea come from the added sugar. Moreover sugar lacks any nutritional value, and converts into fat directly. We can eliminate this problem entirely if we learn to drink sugar-free. Which will never happen so why not replace sugar with something better like HONEY? 

One teaspoon of honey (21 calories) will still taste sweeter than those 4 tsp of sugar you take. Plus honey comes with added nature’s gifts of health like vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and aid in digestion! 

Then there are people like me who have had a large chocolate bar, fruit trifle, double layered chocolate mousse cake and in the end order for a SUGAR-FREE tea! 

So are you guilty of it too? What is  your desi bad habit related to tea consumption? Like & comment below! =)