The virtues of tea and the perils of hot drinks

Since the Dutch went to China (or possibly Japan) and discovered the medicinal drink of tea, it has come an awfully long way.

The British were introduced to it by the Dutch and Charles II's wife (who was actually Portuguese) made it popular. In 1664 the English East India Company brought the gift of tea to the British king and queen. In the same year the British took over New Amsterdam, named it New York, and the British tea tradition began.

Tea has been called the drink of Britain in spite of the fact that almost none is grown in the UK. (There is at least one small tea growing farm in Cornwall.) It has been the beverage that fuelled the growth of empire.

Tea has been in the news again recently, it appears that regular consumption of tea may boost your memory (BBC story here) and reduce the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

If the health benefits are what you are looking for then Green tea is the way to. If like me nothing gets you started in the morning like a cup of tea then it's the black leaf every time and this still has some protective effects on the brain.

Black tea or traditional English breakfast tea, is derived from the same plant as green tea, Camellia sinensis, but has a different taste and appearance because it is fermented.

Hot tea can kill!
But now there is shock news from Iran that drinking your tea too hot can increase the risk of throat cancer! It appears that if you regularly drink tea that is hotter than 70 degress C, it increases the risk of throat cancer. This thought to be because of the repeated damage to the cells in the throat from the heat of the liquid. In Iran, tea is typically drunk black i.e. with no milk. In Britain, most people add milk and this is enough to lower the temperature to around 60 degrees C.

More tea Vicar? Splash of milk? Lovely!

Anxiety, food & Dementia

In the next week or so the UK government is going to outline its strategy for dealing with Dementia in England. On the BBC Breakfast TV show this morning an expert was asked what step we might all take to stave off this illness.

His response was that 20% of dementia could be avoided altogether by ensuring that you eat a diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables ensuring that you get lots of anti-oxidants and vitamins, Vitamin C in particular.

In previous studies vitamin B3 has been show to be helpful as well in reducing a damaging protein that causes Alzheimer's disease. B3 is found in meat, fish and potatoes.


It seems that with each new study that is published diet seems to form an ever more important role in the prevention of disease.

In my own one to one therapy work I see many people with raised levels of anxiety leading to a lack of self confidence and sometimes panic attacks.

So here are three simple, diet related ways to lower your overall level of anxiety;

1) How much tea, coffee or cola/energy drinks to you take each day. If you are up to 8 cups of coffee a day or several cans of Red Bull, the caffeine will be doing its best to over excite the brain. Try reducing the amount of caffeine you drink, or for at least part of the day switch to a decaf version.

2) Related to point 1, some people just do not drink enough liquids throughout the day. For most people about 1.5 litres (about 2.5 pints) is enough and this can be almost any non-alcoholic, un-caffeinated drink. Water, milk, fruit juice, and fruit infusions will all do the job just fine. Being correctly hydrated will ensure that you brain is working most effectively for you.

3) Consider taking a multivitamin and multi-trace element supplement. If your diet is not quite as good as it might be then these low-cost additions to your diet will ensure that you have the building blocks you need to reduce anxiety. A low level of Magnesium for example is often cited as leading to increased anxiety.

The good news is that taking these simple steps will also help reduce the risk of you having dementia later in life.