Brrr! How Do You Warm Up?

By Levena Lindahl

There is no doubt about it!  It’s been chilly, and it’s likely going to get colder before it gets warmer.  People all over campus are bundled up against the cold in heavy sweatshirts, layers and a wide array of hats, gloves, jackets, and scarves.  All of these are great at keeping out the cold, but what do you do when it feels like the chill is in your bones?  If you are like most college students, you have a cup of coffee.  But should you order tea instead?  Both drinks will keep you warm, but here are some interesting tea vs. coffee facts that might have you saying ‘tea please’ the next time you order.

You Need a Boost Your body begins to feel the effects of caffeine in about 10 minutes.  Did you know that caffeine makes your body release hormones that keep you active, boosting your heart rate and blood pressure? But where do coffee and tea differ? One 8 oz. cup of tea can average anywhere from 14 to 61 mg of caffeine, while one 8 oz. cup of coffee can have at least 95 mg.

For Health Surprisingly, it has been found that people who drank four cups of coffee daily were 30 percent less at risk of developing type 2 diabetes than non-drinkers. It's also been shown that men who drank at least three cups of coffee daily were 9 percent less likely to have skin cancer than those who drank less than one cup monthly.
However, the health benefits of tea—especially green tea—are well documented, too. It’s well known that antioxidants in green tea can aid in repairing a weak immune system because it has EGCG, an antioxidant that recharges the white blood cells that prevent viruses from reactivating. Green tea is also loaded with catechins, powerful antioxidants that research has shown could help prevent some types of cancer, like prostate cancer.

Losing Weight Caffeine has been shown to slightly reduce appetite; however, drinking green tea daily could lead to about an inch off your waistline in 12 weeks, according to some recent studies. That’s because EGCG and caffeine in green tea can help shrink fat cells and makes muscle cells more active.

Gaining Muscle While tea might be better for burning fat, coffee is the winner when you want to build more muscle. Guys who drank 2 1/2 cups of coffee a few hours before working out could sprint 9 percent longer in distance than when they didn’t.  This is because caffeine can stimulate your muscles, which can help you power through with more reps. Who knew?

Mood Boosters When British researchers tricked daily coffee drinkers into drinking decaf—they scored the same on puzzle tests as caffeinated coffee drinkers. This is because people have associated coffee with energy and as a result expect to have a caffeine kick, resulting in a sort of placebo effect.  But tea has been linked to calming your nerves, which is a great thing for stressed out people. Jasmine and lavender tea drinkers, for example, experienced a decreased heart rate simply by smelling their tea.
(Many thanks to Men’s Health and The Face-Off: Coffee Vs. Tea)

If you found this interesting, check out this really informative chart here, its got a lot of really interesting facts about both tea and coffee!