8. Traditionally, Chinese families use tea as a chaser, which is now seen as a bad idea. A racing heart and even cardiac arrhythmia sometimes follow a mix of tea and alcohol. As a stimulant to the nerve centres it becomes a heavy burden to the heart during a hangover. For this reason, heart disease patients should say no to tea. People with weak kidneys should follow suit, as tea, especially strong tea, is a very effective diuretic that causes the unresolved aldehyde contained in the accompanying alcohol to be expelled via the kidney, doing much harm to the organ.
9. Don't wash your medicine down with tea. The tannin and theophylline loads are known to reduce their efficacy. Postpone your tea time until a safe interval has passed; at least 2 hours since your last intake is the recommendation.
10. "Stone-formers" should rule out tea from their diet since it's rich in oxalic acid, which actually becomes the stones that block the kidney and urinary tracts.
11. Drinking tea on an empty stomach is more harmful than we knew. It not only inhibits gastric secretions, but compromises all of digestion. Some may experience headaches, heart palpitations, stomach upset or blurred vision, which are now diagnosed as 'tea intoxication.'
12. For the same reason as above, wait for at least 20 minutes after a meal before drinking tea. The oxalic acid it contains stirs up chemical reactions in the proteins and iron elements of the meal, thus interfering with the absorption of such elements.
13. Don't finish up that tea you made the day before, as all the vitamins ever contained in it have by this time evaporated.
14. Don't drink the first round of tea made from a tea bag because by and large you can't expect these bags to be that sanitary; dip in scalding water first, then proceed as usual.
15. Tea is contraindicated for both children and elderly people simply because it is a stimulant with side effects, after all.
16. Patients of high blood pressure are not suitable for tea as the caffeine in tea tends to raise the blood pressure and put an even greater burden on the heart.
