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THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF TEA
DID YOU KNOW?
For over five thousand years a cup of tea has had its own special magic. The earliest stories of the health benefits of tea come from ancient
China, where the legendary Emperor and herbalist Shen Nung is
supposed to have brewed the first cup of tea using a leaf that
fell from a wild tea plant. The resulting drink was both healthy
and refreshing.
In the 17th century the East India Company traders brought
goods from the East to Europe. Among the items were packs of
tea leaves, and stories of the benefits of tea spread. People
flocked to Thomas Garraway's coffee shop in London's Exchange
Alley to try it. Yesterday's legends are fast becoming today's
facts. All over the world there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that
Camellia sinensis, the
tea plant, does indeed have health benefits.
Scientists have known for some time that antioxidants may be good for us.
Indeed one of the reasons that the World Health Organisation has advised
an intake of 400mg (five portions) of fruit and vegetables every day is to
make sure our diet is rich in antioxidants.
Antioxidants may counteract the effects of free radicals. Free radicals are
compounds that can occur naturally in our bodies and also as a result of
pollution radiation and sunlight.
There are compounds found in tea called flavonoids and these are
very
effective antioxidants. One study looking at the relative power of antioxidants
found that tea was considerably stronger than the twenty vegetables they
examined. |
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Taken on its own, tea does not have any calories.
When milk is added to tea, as enjoyed by 98% of the population, tea can
provide a number of vitamins and minerals.
Tea provides 70% of our daily Fluoride intake. Fluoride is essential to support
bone mineralization and protection of teeth against decay.
Tea, like fruits and vegetables, is a rich source of antioxidants. Recent
research studies have shown that antioxidants present in tea may inhibit
growth of cancer cells and support cardiovascular health.
Tea also helps prevent tooth decay in several ways. It contains a solid dose
of fluoride and works well than the antibiotic tetracycline. According to
researchers at the Tokyo Dental College, it fights the kinds of bacteria in the
mouth that cause gum disease and the eventual loss of the teeth. It also
kills the greatest cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth, Streptococcus mutans
Researchers in Australia announced that a cup of tea could be the next
weapon in the fight against skin cancer. A study by the Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organization revealed that mice made to
sip black tea suffered 54 percent fewer cancers than those that drank water.
Both sets of test animals were exposed to levels of ultraviolet rays that an
average Australian receives.
So say cheers to a cup of tea!
SOURCES
http://www.teahealth.co.uk/th/facts/10.htm,
http://www.teausa.com/general/201g.cfm,
www.holymtn.com/tea/tea&health.htm |
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