Drinking tea has indisputable benefits for human health, but it's important to know that not all times are suitable for drinking tea. Experts say that one hour after a meal is the best time to drink tea. If you can do this naturally, that's best. If not, you should also remember to try not to drink tea during the following eight time periods.
On an empty stomach and before or after meals
Drinking tea on an empty stomach can dilute stomach acid and inhibit gastric juice secretion, hindering digestion. It can even cause "tea intoxication" symptoms such as palpitations, headaches, stomach discomfort, dizziness, and irritability. It also affects the absorption of protein and can cause gastritis. If "tea intoxication" occurs, sucking on candy or drinking some sugar water can provide relief.
It is not advisable to drink tea about 20 minutes before or after a meal. Doing so will dilute gastric juice and affect food digestion. Moreover, because tea contains oxalic acid, it will react with the iron and protein in food, affecting the body's absorption of iron and protein.
Before bedtime and when you have a fever
It is best not to drink tea within 2 hours before bedtime, as tea can cause mental excitement, affecting sleep and even causing insomnia. This is especially true for fresh-picked green tea, which can easily overstimulate the nerves and lead to insomnia.
It is also not advisable to drink tea when you have a fever. The caffeine in tea not only can raise the body's temperature but can also reduce the effectiveness of medication.
During pregnancy and breastfeeding
Tea contains a large amount of tea polyphenols and caffeine, which have many adverse effects on the growth of the fetus in the womb. To ensure the normal intellectual development of the fetus and avoid excessive stimulation from caffeine, pregnant women should drink little to no tea.
During breastfeeding, drinking strong tea can lead to excessive caffeine entering the breast milk. When the infant consumes the milk, it can indirectly cause excitement, leading to less sleep and more crying.
When drunk and when taking medication
Tea has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system. Drinking strong tea after being drunk can加重 the burden on the heart.
Drinking tea also accelerates diuresis, causing toxic aldehydes in the alcohol to be excreted by the kidneys before they are broken down, which is highly irritating to the kidneys and harmful to health. Therefore, people with heart or kidney disease or poor function should not drink tea, especially not large amounts of strong tea. For healthy people, they can drink a small amount of strong tea. After sobering up, they can eat large amounts of fruit or drink small sips of vinegar to speed up the body's metabolism and relieve drunkenness.
The tannins and theophylline in tea can undergo chemical changes with certain medications. Therefore, when taking sedatives, hypnotics, and drugs containing iron, protein, or enzymes, it is not advisable to use tea water to take the medicine, as tea polyphenols can easily react with iron supplements to form a precipitate, affecting the drug's efficacy. Some Chinese herbal medicines, such as ephedra, uncaria, and coptis, are also not suitable to be taken with tea water. It is generally recommended that you should not drink tea within 2 hours of taking medication.