Posted on 11/12/2007 10:29:36 AM PST by Dysart
Start sipping your way to better health.
Tea has been used as a folk remedy for 5,000 years -- to aid liver function, destroy typhoid germs, purify the body and preserve mental equilibrium -- and now scientists are discovering it may have all those benefits and a whole lot more.
Studies presented at the Fourth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health, hosted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this fall showed that tea can be key to a healthful diet.
"As a nutrition scientist, I consider tea as a healthy choice for three reasons: It meets hydration needs, it has no calories and it's really rich in phytonutrients [plant-based substances] that we know provide some human health benefits," said Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston, Mass., in a telephone visit. "Tea has more of the catechins [a group of phytochemicals that act as antioxidants] than any food I am aware of. It is far and away the biggest, richest best source of those phytonutrients, and it's a pleasant, aromatic and flavorful beverage."
We asked Blumberg, co-chairman of the symposium, some questions about tea and health:
Are green, black and Oolong teas equally healthy?
I don't know of any controlled trials comparing the different colors of tea, but all of them come from the same plant, the Camellia sinensis bush, and there is a huge overlap in what we are finding in different studies using different kinds of tea. Most of the observational studies use green tea in Japan and China and black tea in the U.S., India and Great Britain, but they all show the same results. One study looked at models of digestion and found that in the gut, bacteria and enzymes break down different kinds of tea so that when it gets to human tissue, they are all pretty much the same.
Do you get the same health benefits from taking tea supplements?
There are not very many studies on tea supplements, yet the few that we have suggest they are mimicking some of the cardio and cancer benefits established in tea studies. You are going to get some of the same benefits from tea extracts, but they are not the same thing. I have a slight bias as a nutrition scientist. Mother Nature put a lot of different beneficial chemicals and compounds in tea so why not take advantage of all of them? By definition, supplements are 80 to 90 percent concentrated polyphenol extracts, primarily EGCG, a powerful antioxidant, but as far as I know, theanine amino acid is not in extracts, and theanine is what helps you to focus your attention [on a task] or relax.
How much do you need to drink to get the health benefits of tea?
From lots and lots of observational studies, it looks like four to five cups a day will put you in the highest 20 percent for protection against heart disease and stroke. Those who drink four cups or more consistently have the lowest risk of heart disease. There is definitely a dose/response relationship, but most people don't drink eight or 10 or 20 cups a day, so I have no data on that.
Can you drink too much tea?
In animals, you can give absolutely mammoth amounts without harm, and in 5,000 years of human history there is no evidence of harm in healthy human beings, within a tremendous range (of doses). Tea is caffeinated -- it has about half as much caffeine as coffee -- so if you are caffeine-sensitive, you might want to drink decaf, but there is no evidence to suggest any adverse consequence from tea consumption, in an otherwise healthful diet. (However, one recent report showed that a woman who drank 2 gallons of strong tea every day for two years developed calcium deposits in her bones, Blumberg noted.)
For more information, go to www.teausa.org
Benefits of tea
Various studies presented at the Fourth International Scientific Symposium on Tea and Human Health showed that tea can:
Reduce risk of heart disease and stroke.
Lower your cholesterol.
Repair smoking-related DNA damage.
Prevent colon, rectal, pancreatic, stomach, prostate and oral cancers.
Lower risk of developing kidney stones.
Speed up metabolism.
Decrease body weight and fat.
Control blood sugar.
Lower the risk of osteoporosis.
Other studies, conducted only on animals, showed that tea may be able to:
Prevent and repair damage to brain cells.
Delay cognitive decline seen in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
Create a calmer, yet more alert state of mind.
“”As a nutrition scientist, I consider tea as a healthy choice for three reasons: It meets hydration needs, it has no calories and it’s really rich in phytonutrients [plant-based substances] that we know provide some human health benefits,” said Dr. Jeffrey Blumberg, director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston, Mass., in a telephone visit.”
That no calorie part ought to keep you going for a long time.
Be very careful. Did you not hear about that Indian Chief that died from drinking to much tea? He drowned in his tea pee.
Be very careful. Did you not hear about that Indian Chief that died from drinking to much tea? He drowned in his tea pee.
Be very careful. Did you not hear about that Indian Chief that died from drinking to much tea? He drowned in his tea pee.
While tea has it's attributes, Americans tend to over reach every trend. The way some of the press treats these "good or bad for you" findings it makes me laugh. It's right up there with hot stones and colonic flushes.
One might find that really good food, drink, clothing, bedding, and fuel to feed the mind makes anyone healthier and happier. It's not rocket science.
Note: According to the gurus, adding milk to the tea wipes out the benefits. I drank my morning Assam without it.
ahhh, brew your own.
I've taken up a third shift job doing machine motion programming maint and repair in order to direct deposit my paychecks into my college daughter's tuition account. Copious amounts of coffee give me a sour stomach late at night, so I took to keeping a pot of tea and bricks of green tea at my work bench. Since doing so I've been drug tested five times in three months. Bags and bricks of green tea can be misunderstood.
Give me a pee for...oh, never mind. Enjoying my Twinnings English Breakfast Tea right now. :)PaMom
Joy recently gave me some fancy Jasmine Green Tea. It’s a hard little compressed ball, that when you add hot water, it opens up to reveal a complete Jasmine flower on the inside! Not my favorite tea, but pretty cool nonetheless!
Yum - so am I. I drink about a gallon of the carb-free version every week.
If you make monetary “research” grants to the appropriate scientists, you can get any result you want. Not saying there are no tea benefits, but a lot of these “studies” are biased.
I am a huge fan of Japanese organically grown green tea. I drink a lot of it and I know that I am less prone to illness since I started on it. It seems to really make a difference in any cold or sinus issue. I drink a lot of it and just don’t feel the same without it.
I stopped drinking coffee about 6 years ago. And my tummy problems went away. Previously, if I drank 3 or 4 cups in the morning, my tummy hurt. No problems w/ tea. To get enough caffeine, I use 2 bags per cup.
Ever try Celestial Seasons “Morning Thunder”? More caffeine than coffe without the coffee agita.
Bless you!
I’m drinking Twinnings Lady Grey iced right now.
Yum!!!
In addition to the Earl and Lady, I love their Darjeeling (though sometimes it is hard to find). My husband just shakes his head at the little boxes of tea. :)PaMom
health ping
The proteins in milk bind the tannins in tea which aren’t particulary good for you in large quantities. I don’t know about its effects on the other properties of tea.
I know....I have a pantry full.
I receive it for birthdays, Christmas and everything in between! ;-)
I drank Irish Breakfast for a while, then went to English Breakfast. Then Earl and settled on the Lady for the time being.
I should be one healthy lady because I’ve been drinking tea all my life!
I drink a pot with cream in the morning. And after lunch go to the iced.
I haven’t seen their Dejarling though.
I need to find them online I suppose. ;-)
SweetBaby loves tea too.
He had rather have that than coffee.
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