by Lady Z

Created on: August 27, 2008   Last Updated: November 26, 2010

Much as I love coffee, I would have to agree that tea is absolutely the better choice where health benefits are concerned. I believe the choice is very hard to make for those who are neutral drinkers of the two well-reputed beverages. There is no way to rule out one of them as being unhealthy as both have their own merits.

What makes tea a better choice is due to its polyphenols content called Quercetin. Quercetin is a type of flavanoid that has cancer-fighting properties which can ward off free radicals from damaging our body cells by neutralizing them. There are findings to support evidence that the polyphenols found in tea could even stabilize and shrink cancer cells that are forming in the body. Besides, the polyphenols combined with other compounds in the body has the ability to speed up fat oxidation through thermogenesis. This will definitely improves our insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance.

Also, drinking tea on a regular basis is proven to lower the chance of getting heart disease. This is particularly so as tea could hamper the oxidation of bad cholesterol in our body, coupled with relaxing the blood vessels and inhibiting blood clots; factors which make up the heart disease.

Coffee, on the other hand, is believed to be a contributor of heart disease, largely due to its caffeine content. Apparently, the caffeine content in coffee is at least two times higher than in tea and it has been suggested that it has the propensity to raise the blood pressure as we consume more cups of coffee in a day. Not only that, a high amount of coffee consumption could raise the level of homocysteine as well. Homocysteine is an amino acid which could harm the arteries. Doctors even suggest that an average person should limit their coffee intake to a maximum two cups of coffee per day but encourage an unlimited regular intake of green tea especially.

I believe the goodness of coffee is only in its contribution towards a country's economy since the olden times. It is ranked among the top ten as an agricultural export commodity in the world market today and still plays an important role in boosting the economy especially in African and Middle American countries. In fact coffee plays an integral part to third world countries as a vital cash crop.

Where health benefits are concerned, studies have tried to establish as association between the regular consumption of coffee to type 2 diabetes. It is suggested that coffee contains certain kind of antioxidants that may assist

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