Men and women of all ages enjoy slowly brewing a pot of tea on weekends to relax and enjoy their leisure time. However, not everyone is suitable for drinking tea for health preservation. Let's take a look at the situations in which we need to avoid tea.
1. Avoid tea when you have a fever
The caffeine in tea not only raises body temperature but also reduces the effectiveness of medication.
2. Patients with liver disease should avoid drinking tea
Most substances in tea, such as caffeine, are metabolized by the liver. If the liver is diseased, drinking too much tea beyond its metabolic capacity can damage liver tissue.
3. Patients with neurasthenia should be cautious about drinking tea
The caffeine in tea has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system. Drinking strong tea, especially in the afternoon and evening, can cause insomnia and worsen the condition for those with neurasthenia. They can drink tea once in the morning and once in the afternoon. In the morning, scented tea is a good choice, while green tea is suitable for the afternoon. It is best not to drink tea at night. This way, the patient will feel energized during the day and calm at night, helping them fall asleep earlier.
4. Pregnant women should avoid drinking tea, especially strong tea
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.
5. Women who are breastfeeding should avoid strong tea
Drinking strong tea during breastfeeding can lead to excessive caffeine entering the breast milk. When the baby consumes the milk, it can indirectly cause stimulation, leading to less sleep and more crying.
6. Patients with ulcers should be cautious about drinking tea
Tea is a stimulant for gastric acid secretion. Drinking tea can increase gastric acid secretion, stimulating the ulcerated area. Regular consumption of strong tea can worsen the condition. However, for mild cases, some weak tea can be consumed two hours after taking medication. Sugar-added black tea or milk-added black tea can help reduce inflammation and protect the gastric mucosa, also having a certain effect on ulcers. Drinking tea can also block the synthesis of nitrosamines in the body, preventing precancerous mutations.
7. People with malnutrition should avoid drinking tea
Tea has the function of breaking down fat. For people who are malnourished, drinking tea to break down fat will further worsen their nutritional status.
8. Be cautious about drinking tea when drunk
Tea has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system. Drinking strong tea when drunk can加重 the burden on the heart. Furthermore, tea accelerates urination, causing toxic aldehydes in alcohol to be excreted by the kidneys before they are broken down, which is highly irritating and harmful to the kidneys. Therefore, people with heart or kidney problems should not drink tea, especially not large amounts of strong tea. For healthy individuals, a small amount of strong tea is acceptable. After sobering up, eating large amounts of fruit or sipping vinegar can speed up the body's metabolism and alleviate drunkenness.
9. Be cautious about taking medicine with tea water
There are many types of drugs with different properties, so whether they can be taken with tea water cannot be generalized.
The tannins and theophylline in tea can undergo chemical changes with certain drugs. Therefore, when taking sedatives, hypnotics, iron supplements, enzyme preparations, or protein-based drugs, it is not advisable to take them with tea water, as tea polyphenols can easily react with iron to form precipitates, affecting the drug's efficacy.
Some traditional Chinese medicines, such as ephedra, uncaria, and coptis, should not be mixed with tea water. It is generally recommended not to drink tea within two hours of taking medication.
However, when taking certain types of vitamins, tea water has no effect on the drug's efficacy. The tea polyphenols in tea can promote the accumulation and absorption of vitamin C in the human body. At the same time, tea itself contains various vitamins and has effects such as stimulation, diuresis, lowering blood lipids, and reducing blood sugar, which can be beneficial for enhancing drug efficacy and restoring health. Additionally, there is some truth to the folk belief that one should not drink tea when taking tonics like ginseng and deer antler.
10. Patients with anemia should avoid drinking tea
The tannic acid in tea can combine with iron to form insoluble complexes, preventing the body from absorbing sufficient iron. Therefore, patients with anemia should not drink tea.
11. Patients with urinary stones should avoid drinking tea
Urinary tract stones are usually calcium oxalate stones. Because tea contains oxalic acid, it can form stones with calcium excreted in the urine. If patients with urinary stones drink large amounts of tea, it can worsen their condition.
12. Avoid drinking tea on an empty stomach
Drinking tea on an empty stomach can dilute gastric acid and inhibit gastric secretion, impairing digestion. It can also cause symptoms like palpitations, headaches, stomach discomfort, dizziness, and irritability, known as "tea intoxication," and affect protein absorption, leading to gastritis. If "tea intoxication" occurs, sucking on candy or drinking sugar water can relieve the symptoms.
13. Avoid drinking large amounts of tea before or after meals
It is not advisable to drink tea about 20 minutes before or after a meal. Drinking tea then can dilute gastric acid, affecting food digestion. Moreover, because tea contains oxalic acid, it can react with the iron and protein in food, affecting the body's absorption of these nutrients.
14. Avoid drinking tea before bedtime
It is best not to drink tea within two hours before bedtime. Tea can be mentally stimulating, affecting sleep and even causing insomnia. This is especially true for new-picked green tea, which can easily overstimulate the nerves and lead to insomnia.
15. Avoid drinking overnight tea
Tea is best consumed fresh. When left for a long time, tea not only loses nutritional components like vitamins but can also spoil and become stale, making it easy to get sick after drinking.
16. Avoid drinking the first infusion of tea
Because modern tea can be contaminated with pesticides, fertilizers, and dust during planting, processing, and packaging, the first infusion is actually for washing the tea. It should be quickly discarded and then fresh boiling water should be added. This way, the brewed tea will be the most hygienic.
17. Avoid drinking low-quality or spoiled tea
Tea is not easy to store properly and can absorb moisture and become moldy. Some people, out of love for tea and frugality,舍不得 to discard moldy tea. Spoiled tea contains a large amount of harmful substances and bacteria and is absolutely undrinkable. Even high-quality tea can spoil if left for too long due to oxidation and microbial growth, and such tea should also not be consumed.
18. Children should not drink strong tea
When tea is too strong, it contains too much tea polyphenol, which can easily react with iron in food, hindering iron absorption and causing iron-deficiency anemia in children. Children can drink some weak tea (one-third the strength of an adult's tea). For preschool children, coarse tea is a good option as it has a lower content of tea polyphenols.
19. Patients with coronary heart disease should be cautious about drinking tea
For patients with coronary heart disease who have a rapid heart rate, premature beats, or atrial fibrillation, the caffeine and theophylline in tea are stimulants that can enhance heart function. Drinking large amounts of strong tea can speed up the heartbeat, often triggering an attack or worsening the condition. Therefore, such individuals can only drink weak tea. Conversely, patients with a heart rate generally below 60 beats per minute should drink more tea, which is not only harmless but can also increase the heart rate and complement drug therapy.
20. The elderly should not drink unroasted green tea
Unroasted green tea refers to baked green tea that is dried directly after fixation without being rolled. This tea has a natural green color, and its internal components are basically the same as those of fresh leaves, with low-boiling aldehyde and alcohol compounds not much transformed or volatilized, giving it a strong "raw" green aroma. When the elderly drink this type of green tea, it is highly irritating to the gastric mucosa and can easily cause stomach pain. Young people may also feel discomfort in the stomach after drinking it, commonly known as "scraping the stomach." If you accidentally buy this type of tea, it is best not to brew it directly. You can place it in a grease-free iron pan and slowly roast it over a low flame to remove the raw green aroma until a light chestnut-like fragrance develops before drinking.
21. Patients with high blood pressure should not drink strong tea
"Strong tea" is defined as tea using less than 50ml of boiling water per gram for the first infusion. Patients with high blood pressure should avoid drinking too much or too strong tea, as the stimulating effect of caffeine can cause blood pressure to rise, which is detrimental to health.