Black tea with milk has incredible calming properties that make it an ideal drink during periods of stress. Being ill with a microbiological infection is a significant stress on a human body and tea is a drink that is often associated with being drunk during recovery from illness for its energising and calming properties. However, tea may also have significant antimicrobial effects on account of the polyphenols it contains, and these effects are not limited to black tea, but may also be present in other forms of tea including white tea and green tea. The main polyphenols in green and white tea are the catechins, but these are converted to other polyphenols including thearubigins and theaflavins in black tea. Therefore as tea is not a single drink but in reality a large range of overlapping drinks, the antimicrobial effects may vary. Drinking tea may therefore protect from certain infections, most likely those of the gut where the concentrations of the polyphenols would be at their greatest prior to absorption and metabolism.
Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Protect Yourself
RdB
