Health Benefits of Tea

Tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world after water. Among all varieties of tea - black, green, white, oolong, red, herbal - which one offers the most health benefits?

Benefits of Tea
Numerous studies have demonstrated the anti-cancer properties of antioxidant polyphenols. Some studies have suggested that tea's polyphenols may reduce the risk of gastric, esophageal and skin cancers, if one consumes 4 to 6 cups daily. Other studies have found that polyphenols help prevent blood clotting and lower cholesterol levels. One Japanese study found that green tea lowers death rates from heart disease.

Tea: Black, Green, White or Oolong?
Black, green, white, and oolong teas derive their leaves from a warm-weather evergreen tree known as Camellia sinensis. The leaves from this tree contain polyphenols. The more processing tea leaves undergo, the darker they will turn. Green tea and white tea are the least processed tea. According to Dr. Doug Balentine, Director of Nutrition Health with Lipton, white tea is derived from the young new leaves from the Camellia plant in early spring. Black and oolong teas are partially dried, crushed and fermented. As we have mentioned before, regardless of the processing method, black, green, white and oolong teas all contain polyphenols. In fact, tea ranks as high as or higher than many fruits and vegetables in the ORAC score, a score that measures antioxidant potential of plant-based foods.

What about Herbal Tea and Red Rooibos Tea?
The recently popular South African red Rooibos tea also falls within the herbal tea or tisane category. "Red Rooibos tea is not really tea as it is not derived from the Camellia plant," Dr. Balentine said.

Black Tea and Green Tea - Anticancer

Black tea -- green tea that has been oxidized through fermentation -- contains somewhere between 3 and 10 percent of polyphenols, and semi-fermented oolong tea's polyphenol content stands somewhere between green and black. Tealeaves contain four primary polyphenols: Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, and epicatechin.

Friendman joined with researchers from the South Korean universities of Keimyung, Uiduk and Yeungnam to study the effects of nine green tea catechins, three black tea theaflavins, and theanine -- extracted using either water or a water/ethanol mix -- on human cancer cells and normal cells. The majority of the compounds, and all general tea extracts, reduced human breast, colon, liver and prostate cancer cells. The water/ethanol extracts were found to contain higher levels of flavonoids and kill more cancer cells, but the flavonoid levels of the teas did not correspond with the anticancer activities, the researchers said.

"Because it may be too risky to translate results from cell assays to in vivo effects, the observed destruction of a broad range of cancer cells suggests the need for animal and human studies designed to ascertain whether the observed wide variation in potencies of tea compounds and teas can predict corresponding effects in vivo," they wrote.

Tea - Powerful Antioxidant

Tea has been treasured through the ages for its mellow taste, delicate aroma and amazing health benefits. Around the world tea has become an integral part of many cultures, from English Breakfast and Darjeeling in the English speaking countries to Sencha and Matcha in East Asia. Now tea has become fashionable all over again, attracting health conscious consumers seeking a more natural and healthy lifestyle. And for good reason: Tea is loaded with powerful phenolic antioxidants that can, as part of a well-balanced diet, help promote wellness. Exciting research indicates that tea even has the potential to speed metabolism and promote weight loss.

There are dozens of varieties of tea, all made from leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Most teas fall into one of three general classifications:

Green tea is made from relatively young leaves that are dried without fermentation.

Black tea is made from mature leaves that are moistened and aged, to promote fermentation.

Oolong tea is only partially fermented. Chinese oolong is aged longer than Formosan oolong.

We usually like to brew tea leaves for at least 3 minutes, in order to transfer the maximum level of beneficial phytonutrients from the leaf to the beverage.

To reduce the caffeine found in tea, either use naturally decaffeinated tea leaves or make your own decaf.

First brew the tea for 30 seconds and discard the water. Then add more hot water and brew the tea for 3 to 5 minutes to extract the polyphenols.

Brew your tea in a small amount of boiling hot water. Add spices such as cinnamon to sweeten the flavor and enhance the aroma.

When the weather turns warm, making homemade iced tea is a snap. When the tea is chilled you will have a delightful all-natural iced tea to enjoy with zero calories.