Dialogue of the well being advantages and well being results of tea has flooded the web in addition to print publications in recent times. Generally talked about well being advantages embrace antioxidant exercise, most cancers prevention, reducing of ldl cholesterol, reducing of blood stress, discount of stress, antibacterial and antimicrobial exercise, and enhancing common well being and selling general well-being. Tea, constituted of the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, has an extended historical past of use for well being functions. Tea originated hundreds of years in the past in historical China as medication used to deal with numerous sicknesses; over tons of of years, tea steadily shifted first in direction of being considered as a common tonic for good well being, after which developed into being considered a beverage as it’s at the moment.
Sorts of Tea:
Tea is available in many types, starting from the least-processed white tea, to unoxidized however usually steamed or pan-fired inexperienced teas, by way of intermediate oolongs, fully-oxidized black teas, and aged pu-erhs. Every of those broad sorts is available in dozens if not tons of of sorts, and inside every selection, particular person teas differ tremendously from one property, farm, or manufacturing facility to a different, and even from one yr to the following (as they’re influenced by variable components resembling climate). Totally different teas can have remarkably totally different flavors, aromas, and different traits. Not surprisingly, they’ve broadly variable well being advantages as nicely.
Are some kinds of tea more healthy than others?
Inexperienced tea is broadly touted as having a myriad of well being advantages. Oolong tea (usually spelled wu-long on this context) is usually pushed as a weight-reduction plan or weight-loss drink. Pu-erh tea is promoted as reducing ldl cholesterol. White tea is usually introduced as having extra antioxidants than different teas. Many of the sources making these claims are firms selling their very own merchandise; they don’t cite scientific research backing their claims. Whereas a few of these claims about well being results are true, others will be deceptive and even outright incorrect.
Which of those claims are true?
Among the most widespread and most deceptive statements about tea are generalizations about one broad class (resembling inexperienced, black, or white) being universally higher than others are deceptive. In actuality, the well being advantages differ far more amongst particular person teas than they do amongst broad classes. Science firmly backs this angle.
A 2005 article within the Journal of Meals Science introduced a research of the distribution of Catechins and different chemical compounds in 77 totally different teas. Catechins are essentially the most well-known antioxidants in tea, and are well-established to have optimistic results on well being. Many of the teas studied had been ones broadly out there in supermarkets within the U.S. The printed research will be discovered right here:
http://ddr.nal.usda.gov/handle/10113/1807
The outcomes are astounding: amongst black teas, the tea with essentially the most Catechins had over 12 instances as a lot because the one with the least. Amongst inexperienced teas and others (together with white and oolong) the issue was even bigger. Whereas inexperienced teas tended to have extra Catechins than black teas, plenty of black teas ranked increased than most of the inexperienced teas. Additionally, black tea comprises theaflavins, antioxidants not present in inexperienced tea besides in tiny traces. If we settle for these measures as a very good indicator of well being worth, this research firmly establishes that the well being results of tea should be addressed on the extent of particular person teas, not broad classes.
So how will we maximize our well being advantages when ingesting tea?
This appears to current an issue. If we’re looking for well being advantages resembling antioxidants, and these advantages differ broadly from one tea to the following, how are we to decide on what to drink? An apparent long-term answer is for scientists to review and publish the antioxidant content material of extra teas, and likewise to proceed researching and questioning the validity of varied claims of well being advantages. However till that is completed, the very best we will do is to discover ingesting all kinds of various teas…and maybe extra importantly, to be skeptical of daring claims and sweeping generalizations which can be made irrespective of rigorous scientific analysis.
