Hot tea or iced tea: Which is better for your health?
Unsweetened tea is a healthy beverage rich in antioxidants. While both hot and iced tea offer numerous health benefits, hot tea may be the healthier option compared to iced tea prepared through cold brewing.
Drinking a cup of hot tea daily is a healthy habit. Preparing tea with hot water is the traditional method and may increase its antioxidant content. These compounds help protect against cell damage and reduce inflammation in the body, according to a report published by Verywell Health.
Tea prepared with very hot water may also provide a higher amount of polyphenols compared to tea prepared with merely warm water.
These compounds help maintain vascular health, act as prebiotics, and moderately support the body’s natural antioxidant defenses.
Furthermore, hot tea offers a comforting sensation. Research indicates that drinking a cup of hot or warm tea may have mood-enhancing effects, improve digestion, and reduce the risk of constipation.
Because iced tea prepared through cold brewing does not use heat, the tea leaves do not release a large amount of antioxidants into the water.
However, drinking iced tea may be more refreshing than hot tea. Previous research has found that consuming a cold beverage after exercise has a cooling effect on the body.
If you are accustomed to drinking a cold carbonated beverage or an energy drink every afternoon, unsweetened iced tea is a healthier alternative.
Both hot and iced tea offer health benefits. People who regularly drink unsweetened tea may be less susceptible to several chronic health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, certain types of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, and dementia.
Regardless of your preferred temperature, tea offers numerous health benefits. Research has found that hot tea provides more antioxidants than iced tea prepared through cold brewing, as heat helps release and dissolve plant compounds from the tea leaves.
Nevertheless, iced tea still provides a considerable amount of these compounds. If your focus is on adding more antioxidants to your diet, choose hot tea.
The method of preparing tea and the ingredients added to it affect its health benefits:
• Use boiling water to prepare tea to encourage the leaves to release the maximum amount of antioxidants.
• Consider preparing iced tea as hot tea first. This provides more antioxidants, which can then be stored in the refrigerator until cooled.
• When preparing green tea, let the water cool slightly before steeping. This ensures a smoother, less bitter taste, though it may slightly reduce the polyphenol content.
• Avoid adding sugar or honey, as these are added sugars that should be limited in the diet. Choose unsweetened tea, and if desired, try adding milk or unsweetened plant-based milk.
• To add flavor, place fruit slices in iced tea, or squeeze a little fresh lemon juice into hot or iced tea.
