IS TEA PALEO?

We’ve covered flavored tea, but what about the standard stuff? Is it healthy? Does it matter if you drink green or black or oolong? Is tea Paleo?

What is Tea?

All tea comes from one plant, Camellia sinensis. The different teas as we know them, white, green, yellow, oolong, and black, are categorized by how they’re processed, not by different species. Processingincludes wilting, drying, bruising, curing, and more to reach the desire shade and flavor profile. When it comes to soaking leaves in water, it doesn’t get more natural than that, but the different processing methods do have an impact on caffeine levels, which is something that should be monitored.

Is Tea Paleo?

Well, Dr. Cordain, author of The Paleo Diet, recommends avoiding caffeine, which means caffeinated black teas are not Paleo if you follow his strict guidelines. (Although chemically decaffeinated teas are even worse.) Natural herbal tea infusions are Paleo, and most of these are made from caffeine-free flowers, buds, and leaves from different plants, not Camellia sinensis. Most people consider the antioxidants in green tea to balance out the caffeine, and consume green tea on the Paleo diet, white many people consider all natural teas to be Paleo as long as you don’t have any adverse side effects to caffeine. We’ll give the go-ahead for herbal teas, but you’ll have to decide for yourself when it comes to the rest. Just be sure to consume in moderation!