Tea Power
Have you noticed how two of the world's largest tea consumers (India and China) are also the most populous?? Ever wondered why??
Access to clean water is quite often believed to be the world's largest public health issue. In water treatment, I've learned that its the smallest things that have the biggest impact. So it shouldn't surprise people that when I'm working in the field, I often coax poor and illiterate families to drink more tea (or other culturally appropriate steaming beverage) when I notice a predominance of waterborne pathogens in an area. Allow me to explain:
Tea is a wonder drink, and in my opinion, has single-handedly contributed to the population and economic growth in Asia. It has also become a cultural mainstay. All important dealings and meetings for half the world, are made over a cuppa. But here is what makes tea such a powerful drink...
- tea requires boiled water, which is essentially clean and safe drinking water.
- tea is drunk while it is still steaming hot. The chance for recontamination of the water is VERY small.
- tea is a process of "cooking" and works well with the psychology of the uneducated/illiterate. Imagine for a second that you are uneducated and illiterate, and the only people you have trusted all your life are also uneducated and illiterate. You have NO concept of germs and it makes no sense to you, because you can't see it or feel it, and no one else in the village has spoken of it before. Then a stranger walks in and tells you that the water (that clearly looks clean to you) is in fact responsible for all your health problems, and demands that you buy or use some new contraption; or worse yet, makes you boil your water for no reason. Everytime you boil the water, you burn up more of your precious wood or other fuel. Finally, you don't drink plain hot water, because its just "not done." So you wait for it too cool, in which time it can get recontaminated (if its not covered or properly stored), and you get sick anyway! Because tea has a flavor and cultural relevance, and the method of preparation requires boiling, you are much more likely to follow that advice, rather than all this other nonsense that the stranger is telling you.
- the caffeine in tea is just about enough to revitalize someone, without being harmful. I know lots of children brought up on even black tea and they have turned out just fine. Coffee, on the other hand, particularly strong black coffee can have adverse effects.
- combined with milk and sugar, a cuppa is a good survival drink. Between the nutrients in the tea itself, and that of the milk and sugar there is enough to give a human being sustenance.
So to go back to my original point, it should be no surprise that Asia, continent of tea drinkers and consumers of steaming soups, stews and porridges, has sustained such high rates of population growth. As always, its the small things that have the biggest impact.
(Here is an excellent writeup on tea)
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Editor's note. This is the second installment of an ongoing series about small changes that have a big impact on health; you can find all the posts here. Pragnya is a water-sanitation engineer in lower income countries. She blogs regularly on http://tworque.blogspot.com
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