5 types of tea with natural healing powers

A cup of hot tea is more than just a simple comfort. It's also a way to naturally boost your health with little effort at all.

The next time you're wondering how you can add some healing powers to boost your health, look in your cupboard for some tea. It's one of the oldest healthy beverages in history, with its healing powers having been used for thousands of years. Here's how you can use it to your benefit.

1. Green Tea

• Green tea is chock full of antioxidants, which can work by slowing the growth of lung, colorectal, breast, bladder and pancreatic cancerous cells. It can also help reduce artery clogging by burning fat, along with lowering your bad cholesterol levels and potentially reducing the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Green tea contains flavan derivatives called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), and you can get its benefits from either steeping a bag of tea or steaming green tea leaves.

2. Black Tea

• Oxidization is the process by which fresh tea leaves are dried so they can be brewed, and black tea has one of the highest oxidization rates and caffeine amounts of all the healthy teas available. Its healing powers lay in potentially reducing the damage to lungs caused by cigarette smoke, warding off dangers like stroke and heart disease. Because of its neutral taste background, black tea can be easily flavoured to make delicious brews like chai.

3. White Tea

• Depending on who you talk to or where in the world you are, white tea is defined in more than one way. But no matter how people think white tea is made, there's generally widespread agreement that its high polyphenol content can contain many anticancer properties, especially when compared to a lot of processed teas.

4. Oolong Tea

• This traditional Chinese tea undergoes a very strict withering and oxidizing process before it can be properly prepared and served. Once that's done, its natural healing powers come out in full force: oolong tea can lower bad cholesterol levels, potentially help with weight loss, remove harmful free radicals, clear up your skin, manage diabetes and strengthen your bones. Plus, with such a wide variety of ways to steep and flavour it, you'll never run out of ways to enjoy it.

5. Pu'er Tea

• Also tracing its roots to China, Pu'er tea (also spelled "Pu-erh") is a type of aged dark tea that gets microbially fermented and oxidized after the leaves are dried and rolled. It can be compressed into cakes in a variety of ways, with its healing powers thought to be responsible for better weight control and bad cholesterol reduction.

The next time you're thirsty or looking for a drink to help out with your health, look no further than a cup of hot tea. It takes very little time to prepare but its healing powers can be felt long after you've taken the last sip.