Which is Better for You: Tea of Coffee?

Both Tea and Coffee Possess Healthy Benefits

America has primarily been a coffee drinking nation. In the beginning, it was just plain coffee, black or with milk and sugar. But now, we've graduated from the traditional coffee flavor to a multitude of gourmet blends and fanciful sweeteners. We've made coffee a major industry, partly because of our desire for a rich, satisfying cup of steaming coffee, but also because our bodies rely on that caffeine-laden pick-me-up in the morning and often throughout the day.

But it has been argued that too much coffee can ultimately be bad for you. Much of this assumption is based in part on myth and conjecture. Recent studies have revealed that coffee actually possesses a surprising amount of health benefits.

However, many consumers have already made the switch to drinking tea in favor of coffee, as we've grown more conscious of our health and the healthful qualities inherent in tea, particularly green tea and black tea, as well as many herbal teas.

So which is actually better for you, tea or coffee? They both possess particular benefits, and I can only assume that the recent findings about coffee's health benefits are in part a reaction to the large push towards drinking tea, as coffee manufacturers attempt to keep and regain control of an indecisive market.

By now, we all know that most types of tea are rich in antioxidants, helping to strengthen the immune system and serving to lower the risk of contracting harmful diseases like cancer. Tea also aids heavily in healthy digestion.

Research is still being conducted, but it is speculated that coffee can help protect the body against liver disease and many types of cancer as well. It also appears to lower the risk of getting type 2 diabetes, and serves to lower blood sugar levels.

These health benefits in coffee and tea are both impressive, but there are more. Tea also serves to reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the body and helps prevent fatty buildups in your arteries, lowering the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Some types of tea also aid in weight loss, particularly green tea.