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Sometimes sugar can make a drink healthier
Tea is one of the most popular beverages in almost every country in the world, rivalled only by coffee or plain water. Everyone has their own ideas about how to drink tea properly: very hot or medium, with or without lemon, with or without milk, bagged or loose leaf. No less debated is whether or not to add sugar to the drink. Let's figure it out.
Adding sugar to tea makes no sense at first glance: a zero-calorie tonic is ideal for maintaining health. Moreover, there is more than enough so-called hidden sugar in everyday foods. But according to tea tester (professional tea taster) and Russian tea mixology champion Natalya Larionova, tea with sugar has several invisible advantages.
For example, sweet tea helps to cheer up, which is understandable: the blood glucose level rises - although not for long. For the same reason, it is recommended to drink tea with sugar if you feel weak or dizzy - this will help to return your health to normal. Tea without sugar won't help much in such situations.
In terms of taste, sugar can enhance the flavour of weakly infused tea and, in the case of more acidic varieties that release a lot of tannins, it can smooth out the bitterness. According to the expert, this will work for some black teas - Indian Assam, English Breakfast - and flavoured varieties - Earl Grey, milk oolong and fruit blends.
When tea without sugar can be harmful
In rare cases, there is an individual intolerance to the drink, and too strong an infusion of black tea should be drunk with caution by those who have been diagnosed with high eye pressure. Also, excessive consumption of tea can lead to dehydration due to the diuretic effect (increased by adding milk to the tea). Therefore, it is recommended to supplement fluid loss by drinking a glass of water, especially in hot weather.
Black and green teas contain caffeine and tannins, which are responsible for alertness. Therefore, Olga Arisheva, candidate of medical sciences, gastroenterologist-hepatologist at the hospital named after. Also, due to the coloring agents, tea can affect the color of tooth enamel, and very strong tea can even wash fluoride out of teeth.
If you don't want to add extra sugar to your diet, you can always replace it with alternative sweeteners: honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar or stevia.
Previously, endocrinologist, nutritionist, candidate of medical sciences Elena Syurakshina said that a healthy adult can consume no more than 25 g of sugar per day, which is about five to six teaspoons. We're talking about added sugar, which can hide in the most unexpected foods, such as instant cereals, bread with seeds and mayonnaise.
(Jana Cerna)
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