Can you imagine sipping hot tea with your burgers and french fries? No, right? If you are not into aerated drinks like Coke, then iced tea is what you would prefer. Read this story to find out whether this is a good choice or whether you'd rather give this icy beverage a miss...
Iced tea comes in many flavors and regional variations. Various recipes have evolved over the decades to make it a healthier drink, and although it is not as healthy as freshly brewed hot tea, it is a safer bet than aerated soft drinks.
It will give almost all the benefits as normal tea although in lesser quantities. So, is iced tea good for you? Let's find out the reasons for drinking and not drinking iced tea, and then form a conclusion.
Reasons Why You Should Drink Iced Tea
Unsweetened iced tea is more beneficial than sweetened iced tea. Iced green tea will give you all the benefits of normal green tea, apart from being a refreshing and icy beverage.
It is refreshing. Specially in summers and after working out, opting for iced tea is better than consuming soft drinks.
It contains some antioxidants which are good for our body. Antioxidants help reduce risk of strokes and heart attacks, and also reduce the chances of inflammatory conditions.
Just like hot tea, it helps in combating bad breath and plaque.
It has been shown to have been helpful for people with high blood pressure, since it acts as an antibiotic.
If you are opting for iced green tea, or iced oolong tea, then there are more benefits associated with these teas, than with normal black iced tea. Such iced teas are better for weight loss programs, and for preventing cavities, than normal iced tea.
It contains a lot of oxalate, which increases the risk of kidney stones when it piles up in the body. So, in short, too much intake can increase the risk of kidney stones, if the body is unable to break down the excess oxalate.
Reasons Why You Should Not Drink Iced Tea
If you are in favor of bottled iced tea, then you may want to give it a miss, because it contains lesser nutrients than freshly brewed iced tea. The active ingredients too are less in bottled than in fresh iced tea.
Iced tea, specially bottled, contains more calories than freshly brewed hot tea. While hot tea contains almost zero calories, bottled iced tea contains anywhere between 82 - 88 calories.
Although it contains most of the benefits that you would get from normal hot tea, the percentage of these ingredients and benefits is significantly lesser in iced tea as compared to hot tea.
There is not really a very big difference between the two. So then, can we say that iced tea good for you? I think we can safely conclude that it is. You can enjoy your iced tea during the summer months, and your hot tea on cold mornings. As long as you keep your iced tea intake limited and in control, there are no harmful effects of consuming iced tea.
Try to opt for unsweetened iced tea as much as possible. And if you are going to make it at home, then here are a few tips to help you make it healthier.
Try sticking to green, oolong and white iced teas, instead of opting for the normal black tea. Green/ white iced teas are much healthier than black.
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Instead of using normal tea bags to brew it, use decaf tea bags. There are many flavors available in decaf these days, so you can take your pick. Normal tea bags have higher amounts of caffeine than the decaf ones.
Soak the tea bags in hot water for 4 - 5 minutes to get the maximum benefits out of the tea. Boiling for 4 - 5 minutes will release all the useful polyphenols in the tea, and they are good for your health.
Iced tea contains lesser nutrients than normal hot tea, so instead of adding lots of sugar, try unsweetened iced tea, or try Sugar-free or Splenda.
So, the verdict is that it is indeed good, as long as you do not drink too much. Enjoy it in limited quantity, and if you have to choose between a soft drink and iced tea, then I'd say, go for the latter.