Best Teas for Digestion:
- Puer
- Oolong
Do you have any problems in digestion or defecation? If so, insufficient water intake can be the major reason. One way to get more water into your body is to enjoy it with a tasty drink that also has a lot of health benefits. Tea in fact contains tea polyphenols that not only act as an antioxidant, but also can fight against cancer, stimulate gastrointestinal motility and thus improve digestion and defecation.
Oolong tea is proved to be a catalytic for digestion and weight losing. Research has found that the major ingredient of oolong tea—tannin, is closely related to the process of fat metabolism. And oolong tea helps to lower the cholesterol level in the blood. It is great for eating greasy food. Please keep in mind that drinking tea that is too strong, or drinking strong tea before meals is not good for digestion and absorption and should be taken after meals instead in light amounts for best results.
And it is also important to learn the right ways of making these teas. In terms of oolong tea, firstly, you need to pour some hot water into the teapot. And pour it out when the teapot is thoroughly warm. Secondly, put 10g oolong tea leaves in the teapot, pour 200ml boiled tea in and put the teapot cover on quickly. Let the tea leaves stay in the teapot for 3 minutes. When they are totally soaked, your tea is ready.
And what is the proper way to make puer tea? Let’s take a covered tea bowl of 100cc capacity for example. Put 6-7g puer tea leaves into the bowl. Pour water into the bowl with a temperature between 85 to 95 degrees Celsius (Put it aside for 1 minute after the water boils so that the water can cool down a bit). Pour out the water promptly in 3 second. This is the first step called “tea wash”. The purpose is to rinse the tea and kills the bacteria. Secondly, you pour water in the tea bowl and wait for 10 seconds. Pour the water out and wait for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Then it is when you actually start brewing tea.
For the new or middle aged puer tea, it is suggested to steep 20 second for the first brew. And the steeping time is 30 seconds for the second and third brew, 40, 50 and 60 seconds relatively for the fourth, fifth and sixth brew, and 80, 100, and 120 seconds for the seventh, eighth and ninth brew. And for the coming brews, there will be an additional 30 seconds for the next brew. Puer tea can be resteeped about 12 to 16 times. The more aged it is, the more times it can be resteeped.
And there is a way of making puer tea for people who doesn’t have enough time or tea vessels. You can use a vacuum flask as a teapot. Put puer tea leaves in it, and wash the tea leaves once or twice. Then fill the vacuum flask with hot water and brew it for 30 minutes or longer. It is a fast way to make tea.
In addition, there are still many other teas that can boost your metabolism and improve the health of your bowels. Physicians recommend Jue Ming Zi tea, a herb that not only treats eye infections, but also relaxes bowels and treats constipation. Take a spoonful of Jue Ming Zi. Brew it with 350cc boiled water. And brew it repeatedly until it is tasteless. Tea made of raw Jue Ming Zi is better with regard to the effect of improving the bowel movement. While tea made of stir-fried ones tastes better, and is more suitable for elderly people who have vulnerable digestive system.
Yu Xing Cao Tea
Yu Xing Cao has been proved by researches to be effective on treating disease of digestive tract. Flavonoid and tannins, two of its ingredients, can promote healthy bowel movement and treat constipation. Besides, flavonoid inhibits the activity of carcinogens and active oxygen in the meanwhile. You can brew 15g of Yu Xing Cao with 600ml hot water, and repeat brewing it for three times. Drink before or during your meals. You’ll notice the difference soon.
Kumquat Tea
It is a perfect tea for people who eat too much meat and greasy fried food, and who have a stomach upset or nausea. You just need 5 kumquats and 1 preserved plum. Put them all in a pot. Cook them with 500cc water under high heat and wait until it boils. Turn off the heat after waiting for another 3 minutes. Kumquat helps to regulate your digestive system, remove fats from your body. Together with preserved plum, it treats the problems of flatulence and nausea.
On the other hand, Wenhui Chen, the Nutrition Team Leader from Lukang Christian Hospital points out that there are other reasons that may cause constipation. In most cases, it is because one’s body has a lack of dietary fiber. Therefore, on top of drinking more tea and water, it is as significant to eat fruits and vegetables, which are rich in dietary fiber. And don’t forget that tea leave is one of the good sources of dietary fiber. You can eat it with the tea. Or grind it into litter pieces with a mortar and pestle, and then add them to the rice along with sesame and litter dried fishes. Or fried it with vegetables. It will be very helpful for your digestion and bowel movement.