Health
Benefits of Tea
Tea:
It Does the Body Good
Studies
that support the health benefits of tea drinking keep filling
the headlines. There’s simply no denying that a daily
spot of tea does the body good.
Even
though researchers can’t quite agree on every aspect,
I’m sold on the fact that a few cups a day will do
its best to protect me from heart disease, a stroke, cancer,
and more.
What
Makes Tea Good for the Body?
Tea contains high levels of antioxidants, some of which
are called polyphenols, flavonoids, and catechins, and all
of which take on the “free radicals” in the
body and prevent them from harming the healthy cells on
board.
In other words, sending in antioxidants is disease prevention
in its finest form. Antioxidants are ready and waiting not
only in teas but also in several fruits, vegetables, nuts,
meats, and even wines (see
my health benefits of wine article).
If
that were not enough, tea also contains flouride which benefits
your teeth and has bacteria killing properties which helps
control bad breath and the formation of plaque.
See:
Article
relating to tea and bad breath
Are
All Teas Equally Good for the Body?
This is a question researchers are still squabbling over.
Does green tea have more antioxidants than black tea? Should
I drink instant tea or loose leaf tea for better health
benefits? Is hot tea better than iced tea? And here’s
what it comes down to:
• Higher quality teas may have more catechin antioxidants
than lower quality teas.
• White tea has more antioxidants than any other tea.
• Green tea has more catechin antioxidants than black
tea since black tea goes through more processing.
• Unfermented rooibos tea has more polyphenol antioxidants
than fermented rooibos.
• Freshly brewed teas have more polyphenol antioxidants
than instant or bottled teas.
• More researchers seem to agree that brewed (cold
or hot) or caffeinated tea has more antioxidants than instant
teas.
Here’s
a short preview of the hundreds of recent studies that boast
the health benefits of tea and its antioxidants:
Heart
Benefits:
• Study finds tea drinkers have lower blood pressure
(Archives of Internal Medicine, 2004).
• Tea may lower cholesterol and protect against heart
disease (Journal of Nutrition, 2003).
• Black tea may lower “bad” cholesterol
(United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Beltsville
Human Nutrition Research Center, 2003).
• Tea consumption may help heart disease patients
(Circulation: The Journal of the American Heart Association,
2001).
Cancer
Prevention:
• Green tea could help stem esophageal cancer. (Harvard
Medical School, 2004).
• Green and black tea can slow down the spread of
prostate cancer (Center for Human Nutrition at UCLA's David
Geffen School of Medicine, 2004).
• Tea may protect against cancer caused by smoking.
(Journal of Nutrition, 2003).
• Green tea and white tea fight colon cancer (Linus
Pauling Institute at Oregon State University study, Carcinogenesis,
2003).
• Hot tea may lower risk of some skin cancers (University
of Arizona study, Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention
(Vol. 9, No. 7), 2001).
• Green tea consumption may lower stomach cancer risk
(University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) School of
Public Health study, International Journal of Cancer (Vol.
92: 600-604), 2001).
Hypertension-Reducing
Benefits:
• Green and oolong teas reduce risk of hypertension
(National Cheng Kung University study, Archives of Internal
Medicine, 2004).
Immunity-Boosting
Benefits
• Tea believed to boost the body’s defenses
(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2003)
Leukemia-Fighting
Benefits:
• A green tea component helps kill leukemia cells
(Mayo Clinic, 2004).
Alzheimer’s-Fighting
Benefits:
• Drinking tea might delay Alzheimer's Disease (Newcastle
University's Medicinal Plant Research Centre study, Phytotherapy
Research, 2004).
AIDS-Fighting
Benefits:
• Tea may play a role as an AIDS fighter (University
of Tokyo, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2003).
In
Conclusion:
So
how do you get started in doing your body some good with
tea?
To
get the most health benefits out of your teas, choose high-quality
loose leaf teas from your local or online tea shop. Brew
it up and enjoy. And of course, don’t throw out the
idea of enjoying instant or bottled teas when you’re
on the go. You just might have to drink a little more.
Don’t
wait any longer. Sip, savor, and fight disease today. It's
never too late to enjoy the many health benefits of tea!
Resources:
cancer.org
cancer.org
drlam.com
healthandage.com
heartcenteronline.com
herbalgram.org
honesttea.com
kmc.org
mayoclinic.com
nutraingredients-usa.com
nlm.nih.gov
philly.com
prevention.com
republicoftea.com
stashtea.com
yenra.com
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