p. 7 | Is Tea a Temperance Drink? by M. Ellsworth Olsen

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 20, 1911

Is Tea a Temperance Drink?

By M. Ellsworth Olsen

M. ELLSWORTH OLSEN

THE answer to this question must depend upon our understanding of the reach and scope of temperance principles. According to a well-known physician, “the great sin of intemperance is not in the use of alcohol per se, but in the gratification of the desire for artificial stimulation.”

Grant the truth of this statement, and the field of intemperance is broad enough to include a great many harmful practices of the present day, not least among which we would name the habitual use of tea, for reasons which may be briefly set forth.

Why So Fascinating?

What is there in a cup of tea that has such a wonderful fascination for the nervous, energetic twentieth-century toiler? There are three chief ingredients,—about one grain of caffein (also called thein), two or three grains of tannic acid, and the merest trifle of volatile oil. The combination of these three principles, together with some subordinate elements which are of very little account, makes a medicinal drink which has come to be found on well-nigh every table in the land, and which has actually given its own name to the light afternoon meal which many people take between dinner and supper.

Why do we drink tea?—Chiefly because of its immediate pleasurable effects upon the nervous system. We feel tired, jaded, disagreeable; a cup of tea makes us, for the time being, bright, vivacious, cheerful. It seems to put new life into us; but does it actually do this?—No, for it has absolutely no food value, hence it can not possibly add to the real strength of the system; but it can do that which alcohol does in a different way—it can draw out the reserve force of nervous energy, make us feel fresh and full of vigor when we are really fagged out, give us an artificial felicity to be most certainly followed later on by a corresponding depression.

How Tea Affects the Nerves

Alcohol chiefly excites the heart; tea exerts its stimulating effects upon the central nervous system. These effects are not the same in all cases, being determined largely by the condition of the individual user. But the same general principle holds good in regard to its use as a beverage. Tea is not taken as a food, neither is it taken as an innocent relish to food, but for its fascinating effects upon the nervous system. Therefore it is not, strictly speaking, a temperance drink.

A truly temperate person should seek restoration by rest and sleep when weary, and strength from food when hungry. This is nature’s way, and it is always the best way in the long run.

Tannic Acid and Digestion

The injury of tea upon its devotees becomes the more apparent when one calls to mind that the tannic acid it contains is a very serious hindrance both to the digestion of starch by the saliva and to the digestion of proteids in the stomach. These facts are quite generally known, also the tendency of tea to produce flatulence and a disordered state of the digestive organs generally; and yet persons with weak digestion, and subject to innumerable headaches, will often continue to indulge in the baneful drink which is at the foundation of practically all their troubles.

If it be objected that one must have something warm to drink, we would suggest that there are plenty of innocent beverages to be had without taking a solution of such a powerful nerve poison as caffein. Tea is as truly a drug as any preparation on the pharmacist’s shelves, and as such has no proper place on our daily bill of fare.

We have known hundreds who have given up the use of tea, and we have yet to learn of a single case where the person did not reap great benefit from the change.

Takoma Park, D. C.