Tea, the second-most consumed beverage after water is undergoing a renaissance of sorts. A strange comment perhaps, given that tea consumption has been second only to water for centuries or more. However, the renaissance referred to does not relate to its consumption levels or popularity, but rather, its renaissance as a health giving beverage.

The ancient history of tea very much revolves around its benefits in medicinal terms and tea was used to cure and heal anything from colic to depression. In its modern history, however, particularly since its introduction to the west, tea has largely been consumed as a pick-me-up beverage.

Modern science, or more accurately, modern western science and traditional medicines that largely stem from the east and which are also sometimes referred to as alternative medicine, have not often seen eye to eye. Western science has tended to spurn or play down the claims of many an eastern treatment on the basis of

1) a lack of scientific research

2) claims being scientifically researched and found to be unproven. Tea is not one of them.

Quite simply, the revelations on the therapeutic qualities of tea have been overwhelming. According to research, there are not many of mankind’s ailments that are untouched by its therapeutic qualities. No other natural or synthetic substance comes even close to tea in terms of benefits across such a multitude of fronts. A panacea it may not be, but there is no denying that in this health conscious era, science is excited by what tea has to offer and has placed it under their microscopes like none other before.

Underscoring the prominence given to tea by the scientific fraternity, is the formulation of the International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health. In September 2007, the fourth such symposium was held in Washington D.C., USA, where scientists gathered to share the latest research findings on tea. Ongoing research strongly suggests that tea will positively affect overall health and mental condition and studies presented at the Symposium in Washington showed that tea can have a vast range of benefits.

The magical constituent in tea is its high content of polyphenols, a powerful antioxidant, Although they are also present in a variety of fruits and vegetables, polyphenols occur in particularly large concentrations in the terminal shoots of Camellia sinensis, which is a part of the tea bush that is picked to produce tea. As stated, the research into the effects of tea has been extensive and continues to grow rapidly. The following is recent research information in relation to tea and its effects against a variety of major ailments that afflict humans.