There is an art to drinking tea, which can both protect the kidneys and promote health. From ancient times, the Chinese have loved drinking tea and it has become an indispensable part of many people's lives. There are many benefits to drinking tea, including refreshing the mind, facilitating urination and detoxification, aiding digestion and preventing heatstroke, and enhancing immunity.
With spring bringing new life to the earth, people often say that spring is a time to nourish the liver, so many people tend to neglect the care of their kidneys during this season. In fact, caring for and protecting the kidneys in spring is the right thing to do. Learning to drink tea properly can protect the kidneys and promote health.
Drinking tea to promote health should be appropriate to the season and the variety of tea. Chinese tea culture is profound and can be divided into several types according to the processing method: green tea (unfermented and cool in nature), yellow tea (slightly fermented and cool in nature), white tea (lightly fermented and mild in nature), oolong tea (semi-fermented and moderate in nature), black tea (fully fermented and warm in nature), and dark tea (post-fermented and warm in nature).
Generally speaking, as tea undergoes the transformation from unfermented to fermented, the color of the tea soup deepens, the fragrance changes from light to fruity, the taste becomes thicker, and the nature of the tea changes from cool to mild. After fermentation, the content of tea polyphenols in tea decreases, and the nutritional substances oxidize, which is less irritating to the spleen and stomach.
In traditional Chinese medicine, to maintain the balance of yin and yang, people with dry and hot constitutions are recommended to drink cool tea, while those with weak stomachs are recommended to drink neutral or warm tea.
Chinese culture also emphasizes following nature and respecting the season. For example, in the culture of the Jiangnan region, there is a tradition of paying attention to seasonal food, with a saying of "eating pond loach in spring, three shrimp noodles in summer, chicken head rice in autumn, and lamb soup in winter." In tea culture, there is also a saying that drinking flower tea in spring can regulate qi, drinking green tea in summer can dispel summer heat and dampness, drinking oolong tea in autumn can relieve dryness and heat, and drinking black tea in winter can warm the spleen and stomach.
From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, drinking tea is not limited to green, yellow, white, oolong, black, and dark teas. Using dried tangerine peel and Poria cocos to brew tea can promote ventilation, strengthen the spleen, and dissolve phlegm and dampness. Using cassia seed, chrysanthemum, and honeysuckle to brew tea can clear heat and detoxify, relieve summer heat and thirst, and clear the liver and brighten the eyes. Using wolfberry, jujube, and astragalus to brew tea can nourish blood and Qi, moisten the lungs and nourish Yin, and tonify the kidneys and invigorate the essence. Using Lysimachia christinae, Plantago asiatica, and gardenia to brew tea can clear heat and dampness, promote urination and stone discharge, and relieve uric acid.
Of course, tea drinking for kidney protection also varies from person to person, depending on individual constitution, underlying diseases, age, sex, and other factors. Generally speaking, healthy people can choose tea with moderate or warm nature. If a patient has urinary system stones, it is recommended to seek medical attention and receive standardized treatment, and then drink tea that clears heat, detoxifies, promotes urination, and eliminates stones. This can also help shorten the duration of the illness.
Healthy Tea Drinking - Light Tea is Preferred Over Strong Tea
Tea is an elegant art, brewing, appreciating, and drinking tea in a quiet and peaceful place has become a popular way to cultivate one's mind and relax in busy life. Some people prefer to drink strong tea with its rich aroma, bitterness, and astringency, but from a medical perspective, this is an unhealthy way of drinking tea.
Strong tea contains higher levels of tannic acid, caffeine, fluoride, and oxalic acid. Many studies in China have shown that drinking strong tea is an independent risk factor for gastrointestinal diseases, anemia, insomnia, and urolithiasis.
Therefore, patients with urolithiasis, gastrointestinal ulcers, anemia, and other related diseases are not recommended to drink strong tea, especially unfermented green tea.
On the other hand, drinking light tea at a moderate temperature is the most beneficial to health. The moderate temperature of the tea water is not irritating to the stomach and intestines. Drinking warm or hot light tea has many health benefits. The beneficial substances, such as tea polyphenols, flavonoids, polysaccharides, and vitamins, in light tea have diuretic and detoxifying effects, regulate immune function, and have anti-oxidant properties, which can prevent and alleviate urolithiasis, high cholesterol, hypertension, fatigue, and bad breath. Therefore, only by drinking light tea can we achieve the goal of preventing diseases and maintaining health.
Moderate tea drinking - following the rhythm of life activities
In daily life, many people prefer to drink tea instead of water. In clinical practice, patients often ask, "Doctor, I can't drink plain water, can I drink tea instead?" Clinically, it is advocated to drink water properly and drink tea in moderation. In addition, it should be noted that moderate tea drinking means paying attention to the amount and rhythm of tea drinking, the strength and nature of the tea, etc., which can indeed have a protective effect on the kidneys, such as promoting diuresis and clearing heat and toxins. However, unreasonable tea drinking may have the opposite effect.
In traditional Chinese medicine, the kidney stores essence, governs bones, and produces marrow, serving as the foundation of innate constitution and growth and development. At the same time, the kidney governs water and receives qi.
In "Ling Shu • Ben Shu", the kidney is described as the bladder, the residence of the body's fluids. Urinary tract infections in traditional Chinese medicine are called "hot lin", a common urological disease in daily life, mainly manifested as urinary urgency, pain, frequency, and hematuria, which can affect people of all ages, especially middle-aged and elderly women. There are many causes of urinary tract infections, including insufficient water intake, overwork, staying up late, high work and study pressure, and holding urine, all of which can lead to a decrease in the body's immunity and trigger urinary tract infections.
Urinary tract stones mainly include kidney stones, bladder stones, and ureteral stones, collectively referred to as "stone lin" in traditional Chinese medicine, which is also a common urological disease. The main symptoms are lower back pain and hematuria, which can lead to septic shock in severe cases.
Those with "stone lin" excrete stones through urination. The kidney governs water, and water can turn into stones if it accumulates. Drinking too little water, hyperparathyroidism, high blood calcium, gout, oxalate, and cystine metabolic disorders are currently considered the main causes of urinary tract stones.
The common cause of urinary tract infections and urinary tract stones is insufficient water intake, which involves specific amounts. The average adult needs to consume 2000-2500 milliliters of water per day, including the water content in food. In addition, specific situations need to be taken into consideration, such as seasonal changes, underlying diseases (such as heart failure, hypertension, etc.), gender, weight, and work nature, which can increase or decrease water intake.
Urologists generally recommend that adults supplement 1000-1500 milliliters of water per day, with water intake evenly distributed in the morning, noon, and afternoon. If you drink a large amount of tea or water at once or for a short period of time, the kidneys will quickly secrete diuretic hormones to accelerate the excretion of excess water from the body. Therefore, drinking a large amount of tea or water in a short period of time not only has no benefits, but may also cause gastrointestinal discomfort and increase the burden on the kidneys.
In addition, it is recommended to drink a few sips of water before going to bed to relieve thirst symptoms, but it is not recommended to drink a large amount of tea or water before going to bed. Drinking a large amount of tea or water before going to bed can increase the burden on the heart and kidneys at night, leading to nocturia and frequent urination, and the caffeine in tea may also affect sleep quality.
Remember, tea drinking should be properly distributed according to the daily needs and follow the rhythm of life activities in order to have a positive preventive and health-promoting effect. For tea lovers who have health needs, they can drink tea according to nature and season, and maintain a calm mindset, which is also a good way to promote health and longevity.
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