Health Benefits of Iced Tea: Iced Tea vs Hot Tea

The summertime is upon us! That means that the majority of us will be soaking up the sun and attending events and barbecues with family or friends. While we all enjoy these activities, there's another summertime staple that goes great with all things related to summer…

The second most consumed beverage in the world is tea, and that is largely in part to its diversity to be enjoyed hot or iced, and also in part to the known health benefits of tea. Despite the pleasure that can arise from drinking a glass of iced tea, the iced variant has proven to be less popular than hot tea in recent years. While the popularity has waned in recent years, there are still a number of reasons to go for the glass of iced tea and bring its popularity back up to where it should be. 

A very prevalent rumor is that, once tea is iced, it does not offer the same health benefits as tea when it is hot. However, recent studies are showing that iced tea carries the same anti-oxidant count as hot tea, and the phyto-chemicals in tea are not depleted through icing. These findings suggest that iced tea can provide similar health benefits as hot tea. So, whether you prefer to enjoy a steaming cup of tea or a refreshing glass of iced tea, you can still reap the potential health benefits associated with tea.

When people think of summertime, they often think of barbecues, which frequently serves not only wonderful grilled foods, but often sweetened drinks. Whether you are talking about soda, diet soda, lemonade, adult beverages, or other canned and bottled drinks, iced tea is going to be healthier for your body. Most of these beverages listed are loaded with excess sugar, with some brands containing 33 (or even more!) grams of added sugar, which is very close to the 40-gram max that the Nutrition.gov (The USDA) recommends that adults consume. In addition, most of these canned beverages or soft drinks contain added chemicals, dyes, and chemically altered food-based ingredients as well, none of which are good for you or your family. Iced tea that you make yourself is an alternative that will avoid the pitfalls associated with these additives, and often times the taste is going to be better than artificial drinks.

All tea is good for the overall stabilization of the blood sugar due to the flavonoids and phyto-chemicals that are present. However, hot tea may not due quite as a good of a job as iced tea at accomplishing this. Those who suffer from diabetes or other blood sugar conditions may find that consuming too much hot food may cause insulin levels in the blood to break down, which could result in the body overcompensating by spiking blood sugar product, increasing blood sugar. While it is not certain as of yet, as more studies are needed, this does give an extra reason to enjoy iced tea during not only the summer months, but all year round. 

Now, one of the key points to think about with iced tea is that you are making a healthy decision by switching off of your favorite sweetened beverage. However, if you choose to pour as much or more sugar into the glass then you will find in soda, then you are not receiving the health benefits of the tea. There are people that think that iced tea is bitter due to the tannic acid build up that may result from icing, which explains why people may choose to add sugar or other sweeteners. However, there are ways to temper this effect to ensure that your healthy selection stays a healthy alternative. 

Making the tea and icing it immediately before serving it will allow the flavor of the tea to come out without allowing the tannic acids to make the tea bitter. Not only does this improve the taste, but it maintains the quality of the brewed tea.