Many people often pour themselves a cup of tea during work and leisure time. However, what many people know is that tea can only be consumed on the day it's brewed; overnight tea should not be drunk. So, what else should you pay attention to when drinking tea? Should overnight tea just be thrown away? Let's take a look at the effects and uses of overnight tea with the editor.
Can you drink overnight tea?
1. Tea contains polyphenols, which are substances that easily oxidize in the air and water into a brown, gelatinous substance—tea scale. Tea scale contains various substances such as cadmium, lead, iron, arsenic, and mercury. For leftover tea water that hasn't been finished or has been left in a teacup for a long time, such as overnight tea, the longer it is exposed to the air, the more polyphenols oxidize into tea scale. When tea scale enters the human body, it combines with and precipitates proteins, fats, and vitamins from food, hindering the absorption and digestion of nutrients.
2. Once these oxidized substances enter the human body, they can also cause inflammation, ulcers, necrosis, and other lesions in organs such as the kidneys, liver, and stomach. Therefore, overnight tea should not be drunk, and teaware should also be cleaned regularly.
3. In summer, high temperatures can easily cause tea to sour and change its flavor. If it has been left for more than 24 hours, it's best not to drink it, as it may cause diarrhea.
4. In overnight tea, most vitamins have been lost, and the proteins and sugars in the tea water become nutrients for the breeding of bacteria and molds, so it is not suitable for drinking.
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5. Overnight tea, which is the remaining tea water after brewing tea leaves with boiling water and leaving it overnight, has tiny particles that coagulate and precipitate after sitting for a night, causing some changes. The mixed structure of tea leaves and water also becomes more stable. If you drink strong overnight tea for a long time, it increases the chance of developing stones in the body.
6. Overnight tea is more turbid than freshly brewed tea, especially for green tea leaves, which become very枯黄 after being left overnight. This yellow pigment can enter the body and worsen problems like dull and sallow skin tone.
7. The tea scale in overnight tea can stain teeth yellow, create mottled dental plaque, and also cause bad breath and other related issues.
8. Overnight tea is not well absorbed or excreted by the body. If you drink it before bed, your face may become swollen the next day, affecting your appearance.
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The Wonderful Uses of Overnight Tea
Cancer Prevention and Antioxidation:
When tea water is left for a long time, it turns reddish-brown because the tea polyphenols have oxidized into reddish-brown tea pigments. Research shows that both tea polyphenols and tea pigments have strong anti-cancer and antioxidant effects. Although the vitamin C content in overnight tea is greatly reduced, it still has disease-fighting properties.
Stop Bleeding:
Overnight tea is rich in tannic acid, which can stop capillary bleeding. If you suffer from stomatitis, tongue sores, eczema, or gum bleeding, you can use overnight tea as a mouthwash for treatment. It can also be used to wash wounds with pus or skin bleeding.
Improve Eyesight:
The tea polyphenols in overnight tea have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. If your eyes have red lines, you can wash them with overnight tea several times a day.
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Relieve Itching:
Washing your hair or body with warm overnight tea can quickly relieve itching due to the fluorine in the tea, and it can also prevent and treat eczema.
Promote Hair Growth:
Washing your hair with overnight tea can also promote hair growth and eliminate dandruff. If you find your eyebrows sparse, you can use a brush to apply overnight tea to them every day. Over time, your eyebrows will naturally become thicker and shinier.
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Strengthen and Clean Teeth:
After fluorine in the tea water calcifies with the enamel of the teeth, it enhances resistance to acidic substances and reduces the occurrence of cavities. Fluorine can also eliminate dental plaque. It is best to gargle with tea water two to three minutes after a meal.
Remove Bad Breath:
Tea contains aromatic essential oil components. Gargling with a few mouthfuls of overnight tea before and after brushing your teeth in the morning or after a meal can freshen your breath. Regularly gargling with tea can eliminate bad breath.
Sun Protection:
If your skin is sunburned, you can gently wipe it with a towel dipped in overnight tea. This is because tannic acid has an astringent effect on the skin, and the flavonoid compounds in tea have anti-radiation effects.
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Remove Fishiness and Grease:
Overnight tea has a special strong effect of removing fishy smells and grease. Using it to wash your hands after eating shrimp and crab feels very refreshing.
Things to Note When Drinking Tea
1. Don't drink tea on an empty stomach.
Drinking tea on an empty stomach allows the tea's nature to enter the lungs and stomach, chilling the spleen and stomach, which is like "letting the wolf into the house." China has an old saying, "Don't drink hollow tea."
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2. Don't drink very hot tea.
Tea that is too hot is a strong irritant to the throat, esophagus, and stomach. Drinking very hot tea for a long time may cause lesions in these organs. The ideal temperature for drinking tea should be below 56°C.
3. Don't drink strong tea.
Strong tea contains a lot of caffeine and theophylline, which is highly stimulating and can easily cause headaches and insomnia.
4. Don't steep for too long.
If the steeping time is too long, substances in the tea such as polyphenols, lipids, and aromatic compounds can oxidize automatically. This not only makes the tea soup color dark, taste poor, and aroma low, losing its tasting value, but also reduces the nutritional value of the tea soup as vitamins C and P, and amino acids are oxidized and diminished.
5. It is not advisable to steep too many times.
Generally, after 3-4 infusions, tea leaves basically have no more tea extract left. According to relevant tests, the first infusion contains 50% of the total water-soluble substances, the second infusion contains 30%, the third contains 10%, and the fourth contains only 1-3%. Steeping more times will cause some harmful components in the tea leaves to be leached out, as trace harmful elements in tea are often released in the last infusions.
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