Tea for people who don t like tea

There’s about 28 milligrams (mg) of caffeine in 8 ounces of brewed green tea, according to the Mayo Clinic. For comparison, the same amount of brewed black tea has about 47 mg of caffeine.

One possible reason green tea is so salubrious is its high polyphenol content. “Green tea has a lot of polyphenols called catechins, specifically epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which has shown to be beneficial for fending off inflammation and chronic disease like certain cancers, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease,” says Retelny.

For instance, one review found that drinking six or more cups of green tea per day was associated with a 33 percent reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared with drinking less than a cup per week.

As for heart disease, a study published in August 2018 in the Journal of Biological Chemistry found that EGCG may break up and dissolve potentially dangerous protein plaques found in the blood vessels, and thus may lower the odds of someone developing atherosclerosis (the buildup of material in the arteries that can reduce blood flow to the heart and brain). Atherosclerosis is a risk factor for stroke, per the American Stroke Association. In fact, other research has found that people who drank two to three cups of green tea daily had a 14 percent lower risk of stroke, compared with those who barely drank it.

RELATED: 10 Potential Health Benefits of Green Tea

2. Black Tea May Promote Healthy Cognition and Reduce Inflammation

Green tea gets most of the hype for its potentially health-boosting properties, but black tea appears to offer plenty of health benefits, too.

Retelny notes that scientific evidence suggests black tea may play a role in preventing cognitive decline, inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, and potentially cancer.

One study published in January 2016 in The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging found that regularly drinking black tea (as well as oolong and green tea) was associated with a lower risk of developing a neurocognitive disorder, such as dementia, in the elderly, particularly for elderly women.

If you are looking to fend off type 2 diabetes and don’t care for green tea, the black variety could be an effective alternative, suggests one review.

Black tea also contains flavonoids (compounds found in green tea and other plant-based foods), which may help lower cancer risk. A study published in August 2019 in the journal Nature Communications shows that a diet rich in flavonoids may help protect against cancer and heart disease.

3. Oolong Tea May Contribute to Healthier Cholesterol Levels

Have you always opted for green tea? Consider giving its cousin oolong a try. “Oolong tea is a partially oxidized tea, in between black and green tea, and its concentration of polyphenols offers many health benefits,” says Rahaf Al Bochi, RDN, the Atlanta-based owner of Olive Tree Nutrition and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Take, for example, oolong’s potential heart health perks. One study found that drinking more than 2.5 cups of oolong tea daily was associated with lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, as well as a reduced risk of dyslipidemia (which is an abnormal amount of lipids, like triglycerides or cholesterol, in the blood). Other research supports oolong’s impact on the heart, suggesting that drinking oolong or green tea regularly was linked to a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Drinking oolong also shows promise in helping people maintain or achieve a healthy weight. Another small study suggested that oolong tea extract could help reduce body fat and may help prevent obesity. However, more studies on the connection between oolong tea and weight are needed.

The research in the journal Aging shows a link between oolong tea and brain health.

If green tea is a little too mild for you, consider giving oolong a try — because of the extra oxidization, it has a more robust flavor.

RELATED: Is Green Tea Good for People With Type 2 Diabetes?

Top 16 tea for people who don t like tea