What’s the healthiest tea to drink? The benefits of peppermint, chamomile, oolong and more.
On a chilly day, there’s nothing more comforting than curling up under a cozy blanket with a warm cup of tea. But tea offers much more than just comfort and hydration in cold weather. The world’s second most popular beverage behind water comes with several perks, including supporting heart health and protecting bones.
From green tea and peppermint to chamomile and oolong, each variety of tea has its own unique flavor and several health benefits. So how do they compare — and which one is the healthiest? Here’s what you need to know.
Health benefits of drinking tea
Tea isn’t just tasty. It also contains several types of health-promoting polyphenols, which are plant-based antioxidants that include catechins, epicatechins and L-theanine. Some of the benefits of tea drinking in general include:
Heart disease: Observational research suggests that drinking green and black tea may help protect against cardiovascular disease, although, for black tea, the protective effect appears to be lost if you consume more than four cups a day.
Diabetes: Drinking four or more cups of tea a day is associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes. In people with type 2 diabetes, drinking herbal tea may help improve blood sugar control and blood lipid values such as LDL (bad) cholesterol.
Bone health: Tea drinkers tend to have better bone mineral density and a lower risk of osteoporosis and fractures compared to non-tea drinkers.
Cognition: Drinking tea is associated with a lower risk of cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s and dementia in observational studies.
Parkinson’s disease: People who drink two cups of tea or more per day appear to have lower risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Here’s a look at some of the healthiest tea options:
Green tea: The all-rounder
Green tea varieties include sencha, matcha, gyokuro, longjing (dragon well) and gunpowder tea. Like black tea, green tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, but green tea leaves are quickly steamed or fried to retain their green color.
Health benefits: Green tea has been studied extensively for its health-promoting effects. Compared to non-tea drinkers, people who drink green tea have lower rates of endometrial, lung, oral and ovarian cancers, and non-Hodgkins lymphoma, along with cardiovascular disease, frailty and cognitive disorders such as dementia.
Black tea: The cholesterol helper
Black tea also comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, but unlike green tea, the leaves are fully oxidized, giving them their hallmark black color. Black tea has more caffeine than green tea but fewer health-promoting catechins. Black tea varieties include Earl Grey, Darjeeling, English Breakfast and Ceylon.
Health benefits: Studies indicate that drinking black tea may help reduce LDL (bad) cholesterol among people at high risk for cardiovascular disease, promote bone health, and improve mental alertness. Drinking black tea is also correlated with a lower risk of heart attack, Parkinson’s disease, gastrointestinal cancers and rheumatoid arthritis, although the effect may only be modest.
Peppermint tea: The stomach calmer
Peppermint tea is made by steeping fresh or dried mint leaves in hot water. It’s been used as a natural anti-emetic for centuries, meaning it helps reduce nausea and vomiting. Similar to other herbal teas, it’s caffeine-free.
Health benefits: While studies on peppermint tea are lacking, peppermint oil, which is found in peppermint leaves, has been shown to help relieve IBS symptoms, so it’s plausible that it might be helpful for IBS sufferers.
Chamomile tea: The relaxer with multiple benefits
Chamomile is a caffeine-free tea made by steeping dried chamomile flowers in water. It’s often used for relaxation and sometimes combined with other herbal ingredients like mint, hibiscus and lemongrass.
Health benefits: Drinking chamomile tea may help improve sleep, especially if you tend to wake up in the middle of the night. Some evidence suggests that chamomile tea might be useful for improving blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes. And various chamomile preparations, including tea, have been shown to have a positive impact on oral mucositis (inflammation of the mucous membranes that line the mouth and gastrointestinal tract), skin issues, depression and vomiting in people undergoing cancer treatment.
Ginger tea: The nausea reliever
Ginger tea has long been used as a natural way to relieve nausea. Made by steeping fresh or dried ginger in hot water, ginger tea is caffeine-free like other herbal teas.
Health benefits: Few studies have examined the effects of ginger tea specifically, but various ginger preparations have been shown to help alleviate pregnancy-related nausea. Ginger has also been shown to help with nausea and vomiting during cancer treatment. A powerful anti-inflammatory agent, ginger may help lower triglycerides, improve blood pressure and alleviate osteoarthritis symptoms.
Oolong tea: The underdog
Like green and black tea, oolong tea is made with the Camellia sinensis plant. In terms of oxidation, it falls somewhere between green and black tea and offers more caffeine than green tea but less than black.
Health benefits: Oolong tea hasn’t been as widely investigated as green or black tea. However, drinking more than one cup of oolong a day may help protect against cardiovascular disease in men.
So which tea is the healthiest?
With its impressive health profile, it’s hard to beat green tea, which many say is the healthiest beverage you can drink. If green tea isn’t your cup of tea, however, there are plenty of other options, including peppermint and chamomile, that come with health benefits and make good caffeine-free choices.
Edwina Clark is a registered dietitian.
