Tea or Coffee After a Meal: Good or Bad?
Drinking tea or coffee after eating can be very good for your health. We’re talking about two drinks that contain a large amount of phytochemicals with antioxidant capacity. These compounds help to neutralize the formation of free radicals. For this reason, they shouldn’t be missing from your diet.
Before starting, it should be mentioned that coffee consumption has created a lot of discussion in the scientific community for years. At first, it was considered harmful. There was speculation that it might increase blood pressure levels, which could also cause damage to the central nervous system. This theory is currently discarded.
The antioxidants in tea and coffee
Tea and coffee are two beverages that contain quality phytochemicals. These elements act as antioxidants and, therefore, protect against the formation of free radicals. This mechanism is associated with a lower incidence of chronic and complex pathologies, as shown by research published in the European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry.
In addition, controlling oxidation will slow down the aging process. This is expressed in a study published in BioMed Research International.
There’s even speculation about the possibility of supplementing with these products, with the aim of preventing the physiological changes experienced over the years. Many of them control the body’s efficiency at the time of executing its vital functions.
As if this weren’t enough, both tea and coffee can facilitate digestion after a big meal, which would reduce the number of digestive discomforts. You just have to be careful when it’s close to bedtime, unless you choose a caffeine-free variety.
Also, tea and coffee are able to stimulate the mobilization and oxidation of fats. They can help you to lose weight. This is produced by:
- The caffeine, which varies the utilization of energy substrates.
- The effect of the antioxidants themselves, which increase insulin sensitivity and improve the control of blood sugar levels.
Read more: Healthy Habits for Drinking Coffee
Risk of mortality
It’s important to point out that there’s evidence that tea and coffee consumption is inversely related to the risk of death from any cause. This would be caused by the antioxidants they provide, as it has been shown that the effect is independent of whether the beverage is consumed with or without caffeine.
In simple terms, we can say that coffee and tea reduce mortality.
It’s important to note that experts’ point of view has changed a lot in recent times. Caffeine is an alkaloid that acts as a stimulant within the organism. It improves concentration and also sports performance. However, it does cause a slight increase in blood pressure, but this is only temporary.
For many years it was suggested that regular intake of the substance was harmful to health, but nowadays this point of view has changed. There’s no evidence to show that this is so. In fact, consuming coffee or tea with caffeine is related to better blood pressure in the medium term.
In some cases, the presence of caffeine in the diet may be inadvisable. An example would be people suffering from migraines. It should also be noted that this element hinders sleep, which may affect the ability to rest.
At the same time, we’re talking about an alkaloid that has a toxic limit. More than 400 mg consumed in a single day is harmful to health.
Controlling how much caffeine you drink is important.
You may also be interested in: What Happens to Your Body if You Drink Green Tea Every Day?
Drinking coffee and tea after eating is good for your health
Including tea and coffee in your diet is good for your body. Consuming it after eating can be good for digestion, providing antioxidant elements that will maintain a state of internal balance in your body.
It’s important that you plan your diet well to maximize the effect. Plant-based food should appear frequently in it.
Finally, we need to emphasize that it isn’t enough just to take care of your diet to stay healthy. Other habits, such as regular physical exercise, should be promoted.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Neha, K., Haider, M. R., Pathak, A., & Yar, M. S. (2019). Medicinal prospects of antioxidants: A review. European journal of medicinal chemistry, 178, 687–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejmech.2019.06.010
- Sadowska-Bartosz, I., & Bartosz, G. (2014). Effect of antioxidants supplementation on aging and longevity. BioMed research international, 2014, 404680. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/404680
- O’Keefe, J. H., Bhatti, S. K., Patil, H. R., DiNicolantonio, J. J., Lucan, S. C., & Lavie, C. J. (2013). Effects of habitual coffee consumption on cardiometabolic disease, cardiovascular health, and all-cause mortality. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 62(12), 1043–1051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2013.06.035
