TEA AND EMOTIONAL WELLBEING

When I read the daily information about food and health in my morning papers, it is always about the benefits towards physical health. One week the British blackcurrant was hailed as the wonder fruit. Its benefits to health are its being antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-cholesterol. It protects cells and blood vessels and encourages collagen growth for younger looking skin. Another week in could be tomatoes or grapes. Most of these qualities also apply to black and green tea but tea has the added advantage of being a natural disinfectant of the mouth preventing gum disease and tooth decay.



In my opinion the most important advantage tea has over all of the other super foods is that tea is the only one that has proven psychological benefits. So much so that during the second world war a minister for tea was appointed because it was thought that the British
would not be able to survive the emotional trauma of the blitz and keep a brave heart without the nations life stay a ‘nice cup of tea’.


Tea is known to give contentment to the mind and is always associated with relaxing and time out. I don’t think blackcurrants for instance would work in the same way if it became part of the vernacular to say ‘why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you a nice cup of blackcurrant juice.’ Tea refreshes and revives the mind before the physical effects of the brew are felt as just the thought of a ‘nice cup of tea’ and all of the ritual that goes with it creates an instant sense of well being on the imbiber. Tea is associated with childhood and family and is present in many of our favorite children’s stories, depicting the symbolic ‘safe space’, the nursery tea times where adventures could start from and where weary travellers could return to.






When I was a child growing up, just after the Second World War, most children drank milky tea at least once a day at tea time. My bothers and I also drank milky tea with our breakfast. Fizzy drinks were rare, my grandmother did make ginger beer and elderflower cordial but we drank these on hot days and not very often. In turn I gave my own children tea as they were growing up and rarely bought them fizzy drinks. I truly believe in the calming influence of tea. When I was in the girl guides we were taught to give hot tea to somebody in shock. And I remember vividly, the marvelous taste and comfort of that first cup of tea that arrives after all the hard work and drama of giving birth.



The definition in the dictionary for ‘nice’ is “pleasing to the mind and senses.” For me a ‘nice cup of tea’ and one minute in ‘the now’ puts me firmly back in ‘the rhythm of life’ So for me tea is more than a super food it is a way for my mind to help my body stay well.

FAIRY TEATIME TALES is published by http://www.bookguild.co.uk/