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Ulcer and 5 more reasons why you can’t drink yesterday’s tea
The Chinese are completely sure that such a tea leaves will bring to the grave.
Tea appeared in Russia only in the XNUMXth century, but rather quickly became one of the favorite drinks. In terms of the amount of tea they drink, the inhabitants of Russia give a hundred points of head start to the British with their legendary five o’clock and are just slightly inferior to the Chinese. But it was in China, in the fifth millennium BC, that the leaves of Camellia sinensis began to be brewed – tea camellia, as the tea bush is scientifically called.
But unlike the Chinese, our people are not used to breeding tea ceremonies. Threw in the tea leaves in the morning, poured boiling water over and that’s enough. Well, if they sprinkled tea leaves from the heart, it doesn’t matter – in the evening we will fill the infused tea leaves with boiling water or boil on the stove.
However, Chinese scientists warn: it is absolutely impossible to do this! After 15 minutes, harmful substances appear in the brewed tea. A day later, the drink could have been appreciated by Catherine de Medici herself, she is also “Catherine the Poisoner”.
Many have noticed that when the tea begins to cool, a thin film with iridescent stains appears on its surface. Scientists have not yet come to a common denominator about its origin. So, the British are sure that such a film is the result of a chemical reaction, in which organic compounds contained in the tea leaf enter with calcium carbonate. It, in turn, forms in hard water when calcium ions combine with bicarbonate ions. Scientists from the United States, on the other hand, blame the essential oils of tea.
Whatever it was, but the protein molecules that make up the film, magnesium, iron and calcium, as well as nitrogenous bases (caffeine, theophylline and guanine) have a destructive effect on the digestive tract. They envelop the intestinal wall and prevent the absorption of nutrients. A serious blow in this case falls on the liver.
The path to gastritis
The organic compounds and tannins contained in the same film oxidize upon contact with air and turn into an ideal environment for pathogenic microflora. And after a day, mold fungi begin to develop there. Moreover, they will not be destroyed even by the steep boiling water, which many pour over yesterday’s brew. In China, however, such tea is called “snake venom” and is not served even to the enemy.
Of course, after one cup of yesterday’s tea, no one immediately falls dead. But the body will not ignore the pathogenic microflora, it begins to spend energy and resources to fight it. As a result – allergic reactions and irritable bowel in history. And in the worst case, you can drink to the stomach ulcer.
Another reason not to overdo it when brewing tea is the caffeine it contains. When the tea is brewed, the leaves give essential oils, vitamins and nutrients to the water. If you leave the brew for a long time, the processes will continue anyway. But over time, essential oils and tea polyphenols oxidize and amino acids and vitamins break down. At the same time, the more the tea is infused, the more caffeine you get. If the tea lasts longer than expected, then instead of a tonic effect on the body, caffeine will cause excessive excitability, heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
Heavy metals
Several years ago, 30 types of tea came to the attention of American scientists. As a result of a large-scale study, it turned out that all samples contain a large amount of lead. Another three-quarters of the sample was also rich in aluminum. At the same time, the amount of metal in the drink directly depended on the brewing time: the longer the brewing was infused, the more heavy metals it contained. Scientists have suggested choosing tea from the least ecologically polluted regions to avoid serious consequences. Or, alternatively, brew the tea for no longer than 3 minutes.
Esophageal carcinoma
Chinese tea ceremony, Japanese, Indian … Each has its own nuances. But none of them use boiling water. The temperature of the water depends on the fermentation of the tea (the more it is, the higher the degree of water) and the type of brewing (large leaves should be brewed with hotter water). It is believed that the ideal temperature for black tea is 90-95 degrees, for green – 70-80, white – 65-75. In the case of oolong, it all depends on the degree of fermentation, usually between 80 and 100 degrees. And this is not a whim that has developed over the centuries.
The fact is that at high temperatures in the tea leaf, not only all useful substances are destroyed, but also essential oils. There are not so many of them – only 0,02%. But they are responsible for the very unique taste of the drink. If you go too far with the temperature, you can spoil even an elite variety of tea. For the same reason, you should not boil already brewed tea.
The rule works even with tea bags! Moreover, since they use the smallest leaf and even tea dust, the temperature for brewing such tea should be lower than for leaf tea. Oncologists also forbid drinking very hot tea: boiling water over and over again destroys the cells lining the esophagus from the inside, which can result in esophageal cancer.
Kidney stones
At one time, scientists at one of the medical universities in Chicago undertook a thorough study of iced tea, which is so pleasant to drink in hot weather. It turned out that a large amount of oxalate is formed in the cooled drink – this is a combination of salts and esters of oxalic acid. They are also present in a hot drink, but in a cooled one their concentration simply goes off scale. These oxalates are thought to lead to the formation of kidney stones.