How about a SuperFood that’s cheap, has no calories, is associated with relaxation and pleasure, tastes good, and is available everywhere, from the finest restaurants to the local diner?
And how about if that food lowered blood pressure, helped prevent cancer and osteoporosis, lowered your risk for stroke, promoted heart health, played a probable role in preventing sunlight damage to the skin (such as wrinkles and skin cancer), and contributed to your daily fluid needs?
Tea is all that. If you’re not sipping orange pekoe at the office, gulping refreshing brewed iced green tea on the tennis court, or enjoying some Earl Grey after dinner, you’re missing an opportunity to improve your health and longevity with tea, the world’s most popular SuperFood.
According to legend, the discovery of tea occurred quite by accident in 2700 B.C. in the reign of the Chinese emperor Shen Nung.
As the emperor rested beneath a shade tree, a servant boiled some drinking water nearby. A breeze came up and blew some leaves from a nearby wild tea tree into the pot. The emperor, impatient to drink, sipped the water and was delighted with the taste.
Thus was born a drink that is, after water, the most popular drink in the world. There are more than 3,000 varieties of tea available around the world, and it’s a beverage that, because of its complexity and variety, attracts both connoisseurs and ceremony.
From the British institution of tea time to formal Japanese tea ceremonies, no other beverage, save perhaps wine, inspires such ritual and debate.
While the savoring of tea’s culinary attractions is an ancient pastime, the health-promoting properties of the beverage have recently drawn wide attention. Interest in the medicinal properties of tea has ebbed and flowed over the centuries, but it hasn’t been until recently that research has confirmed ancient suspicions: tea—the simple, common beverage—is a healthy drink.
There is solid evidence that tea consumption is associated with a lowered risk of heart disease and stroke. The connection was noticed when the arteries of Chinese-American tea drinkers were compared with the arteries of Caucasian coffee drinkers. The tea drinkers had only two-thirds as much coronary artery damage and only one-third as much cerebral artery damage upon autopsy compared with the coffee drinkers.
Another study found that in males, deaths from coronary artery disease were reduced by 40 percent among those who drank one or more cups of tea daily, and another study from Harvard showed that there was a 44 percent lower risk of heart attack in people who drank at least one cup of tea daily.
While some studies on tea and coronary artery disease have been inconclusive, in animal studies we know for sure that the catechins lower cholesterol levels, especially the damaging LUL cholesterol. There’s also a definite inverse relationship between tea consumption and homocysteine levels, which are of course associated with an elevated risk for heart disease. Tea also seems to play a role in keeping the lining of the blood vessels plaque free, which in turn lessens the risk of coronary artery disease. It seems that these positive benefits can be enjoyed if you drink between one and three cups daily, with greater protection conferred as the total consumption increases.
Interestingly, one study showed that tea consumption in the year before a heart attack is associated with a lower mortality following the heart attack. In this study, moderate tea drinkers drank less than fourteen cups weekly, compared to those who drank none and those heavy tea drinkers who drank fourteen or more cups weekly. Both the moderate and the heavy tea drinkers had a lower death rate than those who abstained entirely. The heartening implication of multiple studies is that one does not need to consume tremendous amounts of tea to enjoy health benefits. As little as a cup a day can play a positive role in your health.
Preliminary data also suggests that tea may actually help you lose weight by increasing energy expenditure.
Tea seems to have a positive effect on your dental health. Drinking tea lowers your risk of developing cavities as well as gum disease. One study found that tea may reduce cavity formation by up to 75 percent. This happens for a number of reasons. The fluoride content of the tea inhibits cavities from developing. Tea also seems to inhibit bacteria from adhering to tooth surfaces, while it also inhibits the rate of acid production of oral bacteria.
Both men and women can improve bone health by drinking tea. Studies that focused on the risk of hip fracture found that habitual tea consumption. especially when maintained for more than ten years, has been shown to have a significant benefit to bone-mineral density. This seems to be due to the fact that some of the flavonoids in tea have phytoestrogen activity, which benefits bone health. Moreover, some tea extracts seem to inhibit bone resorption.
One recent study found that oolong tea is successful in treating atopic dermatitis; this is no doubt due in part to the anti-allergic properties of tea. This benefit was noticed after one or two weeks of drinking tea. In this study, a ‘/s-ounce tea bag that steeped for five minutes in just over four cups of boiling water was consumed in three parts, one with each meal.
Brewed tea confers more health benefits than instant tea.
• Tea bags are as potent as loose tea in their health benefits.
• Brew tea for at least three minutes.
• Squeeze the brewed tea bag to almost double the polyphenol content.
• Add a wedge of lemon or lime with the rind for a polyphenol boost.
• If you’re caffeine sensitive, reduce brewing time to one minute or so.
• Avoid drinking extremely hot tea.
• The flavonoids degrade with time, so it’s best to drink freshly brewed tea that’s hot or quickly iced.
Copyright © 2007-2008 SuperFoods Partners LLC. / Broadspring Inc
.jpg)
