The #1 Ingredient to Add to Tea to Boost Antioxidants

Whether you are a regular tea drinker or you enjoy a cup to soothe a sore throat, odds are you’ve enjoyed tea recently.

From tea’s anti-inflammatory properties to its role in promoting digestion, gut health and cardiometabolic health, tea has a plethora of good-for-you properties thanks to the antioxidants in the brew. Antioxidants are compounds that help reduce oxidation and inflammation in the body by scavenging free radicals that can build up over time and promote disease.

On its own, tea contains antioxidants. But there’s one thing you can add that helps preserve these compounds in your cup—and it may even boost their health benefits, too. We spoke to leading nutrition experts to get the facts on this ingredient (it’s so easy to find) and why adding it to your tea is the way to go.

The #1 Ingredient to Add to Your Tea to Preserve Antioxidants 

It’s lemon juice! Adding the citrus superstar may preserve tea’s antioxidants. A recent study explored the effect lemon juice had on mate tea (a form of tea commonly known as yerba maté). Researchers found that adding lemon juice and refrigerating the tea increased its antioxidant activity. Drinkers also said they preferred the tea prepared this way compared to sipping it plain. Prior research has found that adding ascorbic acid (also known as vitamin C, which is one of the two acids in lemon juice) to green and black tea also helped boost the brew’s antioxidants.,

People have long squeezed lemon into their tea, so what’s going on that makes it such a smart move? Adding lemon to your tea can make antioxidants like catechins more stable and able to be absorbed by your body, says Patricia Bannan, M.S., RDN, author of From Burnout to Balance and founder of Wellness Intelligence. “Essentially, lemon acts as a natural preservative for tea’s antioxidants,” she explains.

This is helpful during the digestive process. “Catechins are relatively unstable in nonacidic environments, such as the small intestine,” says Taylor Wallace, Ph.D., a food scientist and professor at George Mason University. “Both vitamin C and citrus juices interact with catechins to prevent their degradation. Adding lemon juice to your tea can drastically preserve a large amount of these compounds while offering a little extra vitamin C in your diet,” he says. 

Tips to Maximize Antioxidant Absorption in Tea

To get the most out of this dynamic tea-lemon duo, consider these tips:

• Use fresh lemon juice. This contains the highest levels of vitamin C, says Bannan.
• Monitor tea temp. Keep your tea temperature to below 160°F (71°C) to preserve both the antioxidants and the vitamin C in the lemon. 
• Add lemon after tea has cooled. Adding lemon after the tea has steeped and cooled will better preserve antioxidants in the lemon juice so they can do their job.
• Avoid adding milk to your tea. Research shows the addition of milk to tea may alter the antioxidant capacity of the tea. To get the most you can out of your cup, switch out the milk for lemon.

Recommendations to Add More Tea with Lemon into Your Diet 

• Cool off with iced tea: “Try iced tea with a splash of lemon for a refreshing twist, or add a bit of honey for sweetness,” says Bannan. Make a batch of our Green Jasmine-Mint Iced Tea with Lemon for a refreshing sip. 
• Go hot: Build tea into your daily routine, such as having a cup with breakfast or during an afternoon break. Our Warm Honey Green Tea is made with lemon slices and lemon peel for a soothing sip that has some zing. 
• Sip for a midday perk: Combining yerba maté with double-strength green tea, plus lemon, creates an energy drink with health benefits.
• Experiment with dried tea in recipes. Incorporate dried tea in cake batter and serve it up with a lemon glaze, recommends registered dietitian and chef Abbie Gellman. You can also use dried tea leaves in a salad, like our Tea-Leaf Salad. (Add a squeeze of lemon on top!)
• Steep tea to use as the liquid in other recipes. Use the cooled tea as the liquid in oatmeal or overnight oats, smoothies or when cooking whole grains (like quinoa or rice).

The Bottom Line 

Tea is a good-for-you beverage choice that packs antioxidants, which are beneficial compounds that help lower inflammation and improve health. To get the most out of your cup of tea, nutrition experts recommend adding lemon juice. Lemon juice is packed with vitamin C, an important antioxidant, and lemon has also been found to help preserve antioxidants naturally present in tea. Consider steeping a cup of our reader-favorite Soothing Ginger-Lemon Tea the next time you’re craving tea.