June is National Iced Tea Month

For the past few days the temperatures on the east coast have been over 95 degrees. On days like these, what's better than a refreshing glass of iced tea, one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world? Although iced tea has only been around for 100 years, we've been consuming tea since ancient times. Tea has been so popular throughout the world that time is set aside in the afternoons specifically to drink some. 

Whatever your taste, green, oolong, white or black, teas are loaded with phytochemicals called flavenoids (catechins) as well as caffeine and flouride. It is these compounds that have been studied and show the protective effects of drinking tea when it comes to cardiovascular health, cavity prevention, and osteoporosis. Tea is virtually calorie free and a great choice if you are trying to watch your weight. However, further studies are needed to show the correlation between tea and weight loss, so be wary of those magical teas advertised. It if sounds too good too be true, it usually is! There have also been optimistic results from animal studies in which black and green tea may have a suppressive effect on some types of cancer. Unfortunately, the results have not been conclusive in human studies...yet! 

Of course, the rule is everything in moderation. Excessive amounts of tea can bind to iron derived in plant foods (spinach, legumes) and decrease absorption. Therefore it's recommended that you don't consume these foods at the same time as drinking tea. In addition, because of the dilating effects of tea, check with your doctor if you are on any type of blood thinning medication, especially if you are a regular green tea drinker. I know many people opt for herbal teas because of the caffeine content in tea. All the teas I mentioned come from the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis; it's how they are processed that makes them different. Unfortunately herbal tea doesn't come from the same plant but infusions of herbs, other plant parts and spices, and as a result do not have the health protecting properties that regular tea has. But if you're watching your caffeine intake or are caffeine sensitive, in general one cup of tea contains about half (or less) then the amount of caffeine in brewed coffee. 

Hot or cold, personally I prefer freshly brewed tea. Not the sweetened teas you find in the supermarket, which are loaded with sugar or the alcoholic Long Island Iced Tea. I'm talking about the old fashioned do-it-yourself-easy-to-make seeped right from the tea bag and water kind. If you opt for bottled teas, read the labels carefully and make sure the first ingredient is real tea. Look for delicious iced tea recipes on foodnetwork.com. But be aware: many of the recipes contain sugar. Be creative and invent your own recipe and substitute the sugar by adding your favorite fruit instead. Stay cool!