Is Unsweetened Black Tea Good For You?

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It has been well documented that tea is a great superfood for anyone that wants a healthy calorie-free drink to go with their diet.

But most of the time the plaudits are hurled at mostly green tea.  Unfortunately, this means the other tea types are often rarely talked about for their great health benefits.

Black tea is the one most often left by the wayside when it comes to the talk of the health benefits of tea.  Why is that?  Is it bad for you? Or is unsweetened black tea good for you?  And you simply don’t hear much about it.

Is Unsweetened Tea Good For You? Unsweetened black tea is actually great for you.  It has loads of antioxidants and is calorie-free.  It has no sugar.  It has a decent amount of caffeine, which can be good in moderation.

If you are simply looking for a great black tea to try, without sugar, of course, then I recommend Buddha Teas Loose Leaf Earl Grey.

For everyone else let’s take a look at a few of the reasons why black tea is so good for you.

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Black Tea Is Virtually Calorie Free

Black tea, tea in general really, is often touted as a calorie-free drink.  But it does have a couple of calories in a regular-sized serving.  However, the calories are pretty negligible.  This makes black tea a great substitute for water if you want something with a little bit of flavor and punch to it.

In fact, the calories are so negligible that tea, including black tea, is often recommended for people who practice intermittent fasting, which requires you to go long periods without consuming calories. 

As long as you are not adding anything to your black tea you are going to have one of the best low-calorie health foods available to you.  Studies are beginning to show that it is not just green tea that offers these benefits.

We wrote an article on some great ideas for adding flavor to your black tea, many of these options are calorie-free.

The low calories really help with weight loss since you are typically replacing a drink with calories, like fruit juice to one with almost none.  But there is research that suggests black tea has other weight loss benefits in addition to the low calories.

According to this article in Medical News Today,  black tea may actually change how the bacteria in your gut works to help better facilitate weight loss.  Green tea may not be that far ahead of black in just how good it is for you after all.

Black Tea Has No Sugar

The biggest reason why black tea is essentially calorie-free is that there is no sugar in it.  It is great for anyone that needs to watch their sugar intake.  This lack of sugar is one of the reasons it is recommended for diabetics to drink.

Black tea’s lack of any sweetness can be negative for some people.  It has one of the highest tannin counts of all the teas. 

That makes it very bitter for some people to drink.  However, there are ways to combat bitterness without adding sugar or too many calories.

Adding a little lemon or lime juice is a common way to increase the drinkability of black tea. 

You can also add some mint leaves or ginger root to help with the taste.  Just never sugar if you are looking to get the most out of your black tea.

Sugar is one of the worst things you can add to any beverage.  The key to maintaining the great health benefits of black tea or indeed any naturally sugar-free drink is to keep it sugar-free.  It really is as simple as that.

Black Tea Is Loaded With Antioxidants

Antioxidants have a long list of health benefits, from cancer prevention to help protect your cells and DNA from free radicals.  But for years it was thought that black tea was not a great source of them because it was the most heavily oxidized tea.

This turns out not to be the case.  Black tea has a huge amount of anti-oxidants and they confer many of the same health benefits as any other type of tea.  The polyphenols in black tea are very similar to the ones found in green tea.

Antioxidants are often found to be some of the most important factors for healthy living.  Many studies have reinforced this.  This might be the most important factor as to why black tea is such great food for your body.

More Caffeine Than Other Teas

Caffeine sometimes gets a bad rap.  Yes, too much of it is terrible for you and can cause health issues of its own.  But it is also excellent and keeping you awake and alert in the short term.  It also helps with your long-term brain function and memory according to this article in the Journal of Nutrition.

In fact, it may even be good for your heart in recommended dosages.  It has moved to the point where caffeine is being looked at as a very beneficial part of a healthy diet and not something to be scared of.

In moderation of course.  Always in moderation.

Other tea has far less caffeine than black tea and it is black tea that comes closest to coffee in terms of caffeine content.  Making it a great tea to have first thing in the morning and throughout the day to get a quick boost of energy

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Don’t Forget About Unsweetened Black Tea

Green tea might have a better reputation as a healthy superfood.  And that reputation is well earned.  It is one of the best things you can drink, but black tea is not far behind.  There is so much good stuff going for black tea that it simply cannot be overlooked when choosing a healthy beverage to drink.

This calorie-free tea loaded with antioxidants is a great alternative to green tea whenever you choose.  The higher caffeine content even makes this healthy drink a great replacement for your morning coffee.

In short, unsweetened black tea is a health food juggernaut that you should not be overlooked.

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Thanks for stopping by and as always have a great day.