Is sweet tea good for you?

No doubt Sweet tea is much tastier than normal tea without sugar. But is sweet tea good for you? Well, sweet tea just like regular tea is high in nutrients but excessive sugar can be harmful to you. Though you can have it in moderate amounts drinking sweetened tea daily is not at all a healthy choice. Sugar is anyway not good for your health. A gallon of sweet tea almost has one cup of refined sugar in it. This means twenty-five grams of sugar in every sixteen-ounce cup or glass.

What is sweet tea?

Sweet tea is nothing but your regular black tea which has sugar in it. The sugar is mixed with the tea when the tea is hot and then cooled later and served. Mostly sweet tea is served with some ice, mints and other garnishes. The actual flavour of the tea remains the same, only the difference is this is a sweetened version. Regular sweet tea without any flavor has become quite popular in America and is relished during summer. This particular beverage has become extremely common and is also enjoyed by kids as well. Well frankly speaking, though sweet tea is a more nutritious drink than regular sweetened sodas, an extra amount of sugar in it adds extra calories to the beverage. Taking it once in a while is fine, but making it a habit to drink sweet tea on a regular basis is not good for your health.

Is sweet tea healthy? Nutritional facts to consider

Same as regular tea, sweet tea has similar nutrients like vitamins, antioxidants and flavonoids but due to the presence of a good amount of sugar, it is also high in carbs. It also contains a high percentage of caffeine, catechins and polyphenolic compounds. A cup of sugar iced tea typically has seventy-five calories in it, the more sugar you add the more will be the calories per cup.

What are the pros and cons of sweet tea?

Sweet iced tea is not that bad for you either. Like every other food item, it has some benefits as well. Because the base ingredient of this beverage is tea (which has numerous benefits), sweet tea can be good for several health issues. Only people with diabetes or weight gain related issues should strictly avoid sweet tea due to the presence of the high amount of sugar in it. Also during the summers we often look for a cold beverage that can keep us hydrated and give us some relief from the hot weather. Most cold beverages that are available in the market are soda based and have a good amount of sugar in them. Compared to those, sweet tea is far healthier.

Pros

Here are the pros of drinking a glass of cold sweet tea:

• Keeps the body hydrated- During summers you often crave a glass of some cold beverage that can provide you with some relief. A glass of sweet tea will keep you hydrated throughout the entire day.
• Fights cancer- black tea is associated with fighting cancer cells. The EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) compound that is found in tea helps to fight cancer cells. So a glass of sweetened iced tea might be helpful for you in that sense.
• Rich in Magnesium- Black tea is rich in magnesium. As the base ingredient of sweet tea is regular black tea, it is too rich in magnesium. Magnesium helps to strengthen your bones, increase your metabolism rate and promote wound healing.
• Contains antioxidants- Sweet tea, just like regular tea is also rich in antioxidants. Therefore it lo helps to damage free radicals in the human body.
• Prevent further tooth decay- Most sweet soda-based beverages available on the market tend to decay your tooth but iced sweet tea actually protects your tooth from any cavity.
• It does no harm to your tooth enamel.
• Soothes nerve- Drinking sweetened ice tea regularly can help you to regularize your stress hormones. Therefore if you take a glass of iced tea after a stressful day it will help you to de-stress yourself.
• Reduce the risk of heart attack- The flavonoid compound found in any form of tea can help fight heart diseases and chronic diseases. In that sense, sweet tea can also help prevent heart and chronic related issues.

Cons

Here are the cons of drinking sweet tea:

• Kidney failure- drinking too much sweet tea can lead to kidney failure due to the excessive accumulation of oxalic acid. Sweet tea can also result in kidney stones if consumed in huge quantities daily.
• Diabetes- Diabetic people should strictly avoid taking sweet tea even in moderate quantities. Sweet tea contains a huge amount of sugar in it. It will reduce insulin sensitivity in diabetic patients and increase the risk of diabetes.
• Stroke- Drinking too much sweet tea can increase triglyceride in the body leading to stroke.
• Obesity- Obesity or weight gain is one of the major reasons why you should not drink sweet tea regularly. People who are on a diet or under a weight loss regime should strictly avoid sweet tea.
• Anxiety- People who are sensitive to caffeine should strictly avoid taking this beverage.
• High blood pressure- Sweet tea is also associated with irregular blood pressure levels.
• Sleep disorder- Taking sweet tea daily will affect your sleeping schedule, Due to the presence of the high amount of caffeine, it can impact your sleep leading to a lack of proper amount of sleep.
• Bleeding disorder- Also people with the bleeding disorder are not recommended to drink sweet tea regularly.

Sweet tea nutritional facts

Let’s be honest, there is nothing better than an iced sweet tea made at home in a sunny day, but, as you supose, many company make their own to make your job easy. Homemade drinks will be always healthier in the majority of times, but on this section, we are going to find out the nutritional facts of a few branded sweet teas on the market

Summary

Sweet tea like normal tea does have certain nutritional benefits but the high amount of sugar content in it is a major drawback. One can have sweet ice tea instead of unhealthy soda-based drinks as a cold beverage to hydrate the body. But individuals with some existing medical conditions like diabetes, obesity etc should strictly avoid drinking sweet tea. To get the benefits of tea its better if you consume unsweetened tea.

So the answer to the question ‘Is sweet tea good for you?’ is not really!