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Tea-tox: Why You Should Ditch Coffee and Drink More Tea

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at NYU chapter.

 

What’s a zero calorie magical drink that cures colds, gives you glowing skin, and is the perfect pick me up to any day? Tea. The beautiful wonderful elixir that comes in nice little decorative cups and makes us feel classy as we watch Netflix or binge eat French pastries. I mean, hey, we American’s love tea so much we started a war over it. If that’s not dedication, then I don’t know what is.

If you’re anything like me (aka an average college student), you probably live off of coffee and refuse to drink anything else. Before you freak out over the fact that I’m about to tell you ditch your caffeine habit, you best take a look at all the ways these varieties of tea can pay off in the long run. You’ll be surprised at the miraculous benefits that switching out your cup o’ joe for this natural remedy can bring.

If you want to…..

Speed up your metabolism, drink green tea. Finding yourself sitting a lot during the day in class or at work can really put a hinder on your activity. By drinking three cups of green tea a day, you’ll increase your body’s thermogenesis – i.e the production of heat in order to burn calories. Added bonus: green tea is also famous for clearing your completion.

Lower your anxiety, drink chamomile tea. This soft and sweet tea has been shown to relax muscles and help calm nerves.

Improve your digestion, drink chai tea. And no, chai lattes from Starbucks don’t count (they’re made with a flavored sugar supplement, in case you didn’t know). However, drinking this spicy herb straight from the tea bag speeds up the time it takes for your body to break down heavy fats (a benefit of black tea, one of its ingredients) and ease nausea (a benefit of ginger, its second major component).

Get a well-rested night’s sleep, drink lavender tea. The aroma of lavender puts your body at ease by slowing down your nervous system, and it’s often employed to cure the effects of insomnia.

Up your antioxidants, drink Earl Grey tea.  This lightly spiced drink is naturally flavored with bergamot, an Asian citrus fruit that contains essential vitamins for fighting off flus and boosting immunity. Early Grey is also used as a breakfast tea due to its caffeine content, so if you’re looking for a healthy substitute for coffee, this is it.

Madison is a current Gallatin junior pursuing a concentration in Magazine Journalism and a minor in Nutrition. Besides obsessing over french bulldogs, peanut butter, and books, she aspires to be an editor someday. The city serves as her limitless inspiration, and you can most likely spot her in the park either writing away or leafing through magazines. She is currently the campus correspondent for Her Campus NYU and has previously interned and written for Bustle.com, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and NYLON. She believes in freshly baked cookies and never taking herself too seriously. Except when it comes to her career, of course.  "Creativity is intelligence having fun." - Albert Einstein 
Stephanie is in the class of 2014 at New York University studying Journalism and Dramatic Writing. She is currently a production intern at NBC News, after previously interning at ABC News. In addition to being the Campus Correspondent for Her Campus NYU, she is also an entertainment and lifestyle blogger for Seventeen Magazine and a contributing writer for USA TODAY and The Huffington Post, as well as a member of the MTV Insights team. Stephanie loves Broadway and performing in musical theatre, as well as shopping, singing, and playing the piano. Follow her NYC adventures on Twitter at @StephanieJBeach.