Tea: 10 Surprising Health Benefits

Tea is well-known for the broad spectrum of medicinal benefits it provides to its daily drinkers. However, this hot cup of delicacy can become a part of your first aid kit owing to its many other benefits. In unusual places and circumstances, tea leaves can be your solution to a number of beauty and health problems. So, take a look at a few unconventional benefits of tea leaves that will definitely surprise you!

Widen your sleepy eyes
Tea leaves can be a perfect solution for your tired and puffy eyes. Just take two tea bags and soak them in some warm water. Place them over your closed eyes for 15 minutes. Tea leaves have a natural astringent known as tannins, which can help to reduce puffiness in your eyes. Tea bags also help you to get rid of dark circles under your eyes.

Takes care of sunburns
Did you forget to apply your sunscreen or cover your face when you stepped out in the harsh sun? Well, tea leaves can provide relief to your sunburned skin. Just put some tea leaves in your bath water and just let your body soak in its goodness. This bath will relieve your itchy and inflamed skin.

Key to healthy relationship: steamy cup of tea, not sex!

Women believe that the secret to a healthy relationship is receiving a hot cup of tea or coffee made by their partners, rather than engaging in hot sex, a new research has found. Report author Dr Jacqui Gabb said that actions speak louder than words and many people consider a loving gesture to be as valuable as hearing 'I love you'.

Shed those excess kilos
Green tea drinkers lose weight faster than those who don’t. Catechins in green tea significantly decrease your body fat. Studies have also revealed that green tea helps to stabilise body weight after a period of weight loss. Not only this, green tea also boosts your metabolism and cures digestion problems.

bAcne treatment
Based on its anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; green tea is a powerful solution for your acne. Simply rub moist green tea leaves on your face before going to bed and this will take care of your acne. Even drinking green tea every morning, is known to provide your face a beautiful and natural glow.

Skin protector
Green tea is known for its skin-tightening and anti-ageing properties. The antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds present in green tea make it a perfect skin protector. Just add water and white sugar to some green tea to prepare a scrub. This mix will help to moisturise your skin, improve the hydration levels and exfoliate your facial skin to a smooth silky finish.

Tea goodness for hair
Tea makes a good conditioner for your dry hair as it gives them a natural shine. Just take some freshly brewed tea (unsweetened) and rub it on your hair and allow it to dry before rinsing it off. Tea also works as a natural dye that can take care of your grey hair. Add some rosemary and sage (medicinal herb) in some black tea and let the mixture stay overnight. After that strain it and use it on your hair. 

Deodorant for your smelly feet
Water extracted from green tea leaves is a powerful deodorant. It becomes a great way to get rid of odour from your smelly feet. Just soak your feet in some strongly brewed tea for at least 20 minutes. Tea will close those pores in your feet that emit sweat.

Tea can Speed Up Your Metabolism

Not all teas are created equal - besides the distinct flavors, the levels of caffeine and antioxidants vary. Keep watching to see which teas pack in the most nutritional punch and which will keep you up the longest! 

Controls gum bleeding
Press some moistened tea bags on your bleeding gums and apply pressure for about 20 minutes. This will bring the bleeding and pain under control. The reason why tea bags are used is because of their anti-inflammatory and astringent properties. Tea leaves are known to be a refreshing mouthwash as well.  

De-stress with tea leaves
Tea leaves are known to be therapeutic for your mind. They help to relieve you of your stress. To get best calming benefits of tea leaves, you can put them inside your pillow. Take some sun dried tea leaves then take them and put them inside your pillow and sew it off. The relaxing fragrance of tea leaves will help you not only to relax but also get rid of your body odour.

For the newlyweds
Well, here is a chance for all newly weds to add some charm in their marriage, along with impressing your belove. Green tea contains caffeine, ginseng and L-thiamine which are known to have positive effect on sexual drive, especially of women. So, if you feel like bringing your partner in mood for some lovemaking, just pour some tea for them.

Perk Up Your Afternoon With a Glass of Thai Iced Tea

Whether you need an afternoon pick-me-up or are looking for a beverage to pair with pad thai and other Southeast Asian dishes, the answer is simple: a frosty glass of Thai iced tea. Sweet and aromatic - Thai tea blends black tea leaves with warm spices like vanilla bean - it's nearly impossible not to love. Watch the video to see how chef Jet Tila makes this comforting beverage, and then print out the recipe.

Nokia X series of Android smartphones unveiled

Nokia has unveiled its first three Android smartphones after several turbulent years that saw the Finnish manufacturer lose its top spot in the mobile market as Google's free OS became the biggest mobile software in the world.

All three Android phones by Nokia - X, X+ and XL - run on a 'customized' version of Android operating system and will not have access to Play Store.

This means that those looking for a number of popular Android apps will still not have access to those. The company has also not innovated much by way of design for the new range and carried over the monobody design of its Lumia series in the new Android smartphones.

Nokia XL, the biggest of the three new smartphones, has a 5-inch screen, 5MP auto-focus camera with LED flash on the back, 2MP front camera and 1,500mAh battery.

On the other hand, Nokia X and X+ have 4-inch screens and 3MP fixed-focus cameras, said former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop while unveiling the devices.

All three devices will run on a 1GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor with just 512MB RAM, have access to 3G networks and have display resolution of 800x480p. Nokia will offer a 4GB microSD card free with X+ and XL smartphones, but not with the entry-level Nokia X.

As expected, Nokia has preloaded the X, X+ and XL smartphones with Microsoft's cloud services like SkyDrive and One Drive, instead of Google's software, which may prove a dampener for some. The company is offering 10GB of One Drive storage for free.

Some of the apps pre-installed on the devices are Here Maps, Nokia Mix Radio, Facebook, Skype, BBM etc. Users can download apps from the Nokia store, or choose to sideload apps directly from the web.

Interestingly, the home screen of Nokia's three Android smartphones is heavily influence by that of Windows Phone operating system and features Live Tiles. The company has also included FastLane multitasking solution, which it debuted with the revamped Asha series, and Glance Screen in the new smartphones.

Nokia announced that Nokia X will be available immediately in Europe for 89 euros, whereas X+ and XL will hit the stores in early Q2 2014 for 99 and 109 euros respectively. However, it added that the three models will hit markets like India, Africa, Middle East, Asia Pacific and Europe first, without indicating the price range for these markets.

Elop said that Nokia, set to be acquired by Microsoft soon, will encourage app ecosystem for the Nokia X platform.