Tea 'healthier' drink than water

Are you not a tea drinker? The tradition of tea drinking is almost as old as human history, from the Far East to Mid East to.. wait, there's no Short East is there? But you know what I mean.. it's everywhere. However tea drinking has been considered somewhat 'less classy' compare to its sibling coffee drinking. It's about to change? Look at the facts below:

Nearly half the U.S. population drinks tea in some form; iced tea accounts for 85 percent of consumption. Tea sales are booming -- from $1.8 billion in 1990 to more than $6 billion in 2005, according to the Tea Association of the USA. Even Starbucks offers tea-based frappuccinos.

The Daily News Online

Drinking three or more cups of tea a day is as good for you as drinking plenty of water and may even have extra health benefits, say researchers.The work in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition dispels the common belief that tea dehydrates.Tea not only rehydrates as well as water does, but it can also protect against heart disease and some cancers, UK nutritionists found.

Experts believe flavonoids are the key ingredient in tea that promote health.

BBC NEWS | Health | Tea 'healthier' drink than water

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