ITS ALL ABOUT ANTIOXIDANTS

Not a week goes by that the media doesn’t report another seminal study on tea and health and how it relates to blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease, strong bones and good teeth. The main reason? Powerful antioxidants, those disease-fighting elements, are in abundance in all true tea from the camellia sinensis tree.

Of course, we think the reason to drink tea is that it is delicious! However, it is comforting to know that the world’s most popular beverage (after water itself) is healthful, even if much of the results of these studies are still considered “preliminary.” Ironically, this is hardly news to legendary drinkers of the leaves of the tea bush. The ancient sages of green tea in both China and Japan , some 5,000 years ago, promoted tea as a beverage for health. In no small part, learning to boil water was an enormous step forward in healthy living back then, but it became apparent to these sages that tea was instrumental in warding off disease, keeping the body and mind in harmony by sharpening the mind while relaxing the body, something the ancient monks were particularly grateful for during their many long hours of sitting meditation.

ALL ABOUT ANTIOXIDANTS & FREE RADICALS
In most of the studies reported today, the focus is on the powerful antioxidants that are so plentiful in tea. Antioxidants are the “good guys” who battle free radicals, the “bad guys” that break down cells and tissues and make the body vulnerable to serious diseases. Our bodies are composed of many cells that are composed of many molecules. Chemical bonds hold the molecules together and even though the bonds don’t usually break apart, sometimes weak bonds “split.” When that happens, free radicals form and they can attack the stable molecules in order to get back needed electrons to make them “whole” again. Free radicals do occur naturally in the body in this passive/aggressive mode among cells and free radicals can also occur as a reaction to negative elements outside our bodies, namely exposure to carcinogens like cigarette smoke, to excess UV sunlight, and to a variety of pollution activity in the air around us. in general, are managed by antioxidants we consume in tea, fruits, and vegetables.

As busy as free radicals might be trying to break us down, antioxidants we consume through tea, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, are ready to help by delaying damage to cells and tissues everywhere in the body. Antioxidants fight, or at least limit, the damage free radicals cause when they attack cell DNA, cause LDL cholesterol, inflammation, impair  immune function and or when free radicals help platelets adhere to arteries. These types of free radical damage can lead to heart disease and stroke, or similar debilitating diseases.

ALL ABOUT FLAVONOIDS & POLYPHENOLS
Polyphenols prevent uncontrolled cell growth thus slowing the development of cancerous cells that form tumors; they prevent damage to cell DNA, and somehow manage to do this without harming the good healthy cells. Antioxidants theoretically help our heart health by prevent the bad cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) from building up plaque in arteries that prevent free flow of the blood.

Tea, like so many other plants, has about 12 different types of flavonoids and polyphenols, a broad class of antioxidants that include flavonoids and catechins. In black teas, the major polyphenols are theaflavin and thearubigin. Catechins, the flavonoid most often found in tea, especially green tea, are even more powerful than vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene at combating harmful free radicals and protecting our vulnerable DNA. About 140mg of flavonoids will remain when the leaves are brewed lightly although the longer the tea is brewed, the higher the concentration of flavonoids. (This does not mean one should brew too long as astringency will result.) Also found in abundance in green tea is EGCG (epigallocatctechin gallate) about 200 mg per brewed cup. EGCG can block the enzyme urokinase (u-plasminogen activator), one of the most common enzymes in human cancers. EGCG  works by interfering with urokinase’s ability to damage good cells.

WHAT ELSE IS HEALTHFUL ABOUT TEA?
Many other powerful elements found in tea can keep us healthy such as magnesia, selenium, carotene, saponin, amino acids, VitaminsB-2 (riboflavin),  C and E, and zinc in modest amounts. Tea is a diuretic, thus helping to rid the body of toxins, and it helps to hydrate the body. It is, as one Chinese poet wrote, something that improves and sustains health with “One cup does all disorders cure; with two your troubles will be fewer; three to the bones more vigour give; with four forever you will live as young as your day of birth, a true immemorial on the earth.”

Surely this is actually a testament to the powerful antioxidants in tea which are well known to give one health; antioxidants are also found in abundance in fruits and vegetables. The antioxidants in foods help keep free radicals in check while the food we eat is broken down in our systems. As powerful as antioxidants in tea are, tea is not a substitute for fruits and vegetables, but a good adjunct to a balanced, healthful diet.

While the jury is still out whether tea is directly related to improved bone and teeth health, can fight cancer and heart disease, there is no doubt that it helps us focus better, has the enviable ability to relax the body as it clears the mind, making it the beverage of choice for those who meditate for long hours or need to do work that requires careful attention. It’s also a drink that cements friendships and connects families while it helps the solo tea drinker “connect” with the inner core in all of us. Tea and health are intertwined in many ways but certainly the main reasons to drink it are its powerful thirst-quenching qualities; the many varieties of flavours and types; the ability to drink it hot or iced and, oh yes, it is, delectable, and oh so satisfying!

Copyright © 2007 TeaCenter Alliance, LLC.