Hi

Has anyone tried black tea as a natural anti-inflammatory agent? Recently I read some article in a local news paper about the same and I thought - I should give it a try. For last 15days , I am taking about 5 cups of black darjeeling tea everyday and owao!! it has really cool effect, I can feel the difference now my neck is much more mobile now so is my abdomen. I will test my blood for CRP and ESR after 4th week of my experiment , but has anybody done this already?

Arindam

Sounds cool, please let us know the results, if it works then i can start thinking about tea, is black tea or green tea better....

I am a HUGE black tea drinker. Let me change that. I drink a HUGE amount of black tea. If it helps me, I hate to think how I would be without it. I dont drink coffee or soft drinks so tea and water are my drinks. I know it is supposed to be good for you but honestly I haven't seen that it helps my inflammation.

I am so happy it is helping you. We are all so different in how we react to different things. It certainly isn't going to hurt you, so go for it!!

Best wishes.
Possi

ditto

i could have written this.

i've always been a "tea" drinker. when my gastritis started, the caffeine in black tea really bothered my stomach, so i switched to herbal teas. since my gastritis is much more manageable now, i can drink tea a bit more, i still have to watch the caffeine regarding the gastritis, so just be aware of this potential issue.

i've read quite often how the chemicals in green tea are supposed to be good for inflammatory / autoimmune conditions; they recommend three cups a day. i've also read some, but less about black.

every day i drink a little green / oolong / black (decaf black usually), maybe a cup or two.

like possi, between the green tea, ginger, and other "anti-inflammatory" foods, drinks, supplements, and such that i eat, drink, or take, i often wonder, how much worse might i be if these things are really supposed to help. but between it all, i am flaring less, and maybe a bit better in between flares (though the summer is challenging that thought).

so, who knows?

but if it seems to be helping you, bottoms up! enjoy!

if you like it and it helps and doesn't hurt, maybe branch out and have fun with it. buy good quality loose whole leaf teas, so much better than the "cheap" grocery store brands of tea dustings. try green (my favorite is jasmine dragon pearls; brand matters here as well.), oolong (a cross between green and black, probably my favorite choice (formosa is probably my favorite), and i like flavored black teas as well (tea forte is my new favorite brand; they have herbals, greens, white, oolong, black, flavored).

or if you're happy with what you are drinking, that's fine too. i just like the variety, but that's just me.

Thanks all for your inputs. @Sue - I stay near to Darjeeling (I am in kolkata,India), I buy tea directly from the garden and they are better and cheaper than the packaged ones, if you are found of good Darjeeling tea PM me, I will send you the contacts you Mail Order duty free packs from them!

Arindam

ah yes, can imagine that fresh local tea is so much better than anything i've ever had.

like eating fresh tomatoes or strawberries from one's own garden.

i'll PM you

Actually yes, I have had similar experiences a long time ago with ginkgo & ginseng tea, as well as more recently with jasmine tea. In both cases I would make a big pot and drink a mouthful of it regularly over a period of an hour or so when eating / chatting with friends (and renewing the hot water occasionally of course). After a while I would feel much better both in terms of inflammation and energy levels.