Did you know?

Green, black and oolong teas are generally harvested from the same plant (Camellia sinensis). The differences between the teas is not generally the leaf, but in fact, the way the leaf is processed or readied   for use in making a cup of tea. Black teas are oxidised longest, leaving a deep red or black colouration, oolong teas are oxidised for about half as long as black teas, and green teas are not oxidised at all. Simply harvested, and lightly steamed before drying. So, all three varieties of tea offer comparable health benefits.

Tea, when consumed without milk, sugar or other additives, has no calories!

Tea is a source of the minerals manganese, essential for bone growth and body development, and potassium, vital for maintaining body fluid levels as well as fluoride, zinc and folic acid. Four cups of tea a day, is great for your teeth!!!

Recent epidemiological studies have shown a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease associated with the consumption of 2 or more cups of tea a day,*as well as a significant reduction of Parkinson’s disease risk in tea drinkers in a Chinese population.

***H. Checkoway, K. Powers, T. Smith-Weller, G.M. Franklin, W.T. Longstreth, Jr and P.D. Swanson (2002) Parkinson's disease risks associated with cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and caffeine intake. Am J Epidemiol 155; 732–738.
**E.K. Tan, C. Tan, S.M. Fook-Chong, S.Y. Lum, A. Chai, H. Chung, H. Shen, Y. Zhao, M.L. Teoh, Y. Yih, R.Pavanni, V.R. Chandran and M.C. Wong (2003) Dose-dependent protective effect of coffee, tea, and smoking in Parkinson's disease: a study in ethnic Chinese. J Neurol Sci 216; 163–167

There is growing research indicating that the polyphenols (anti-oxidants) found in tea are potentially beneficial in the protection against certain conditions such as heart disease, stroke and cancers.

How do the antioxidants in tea help protect against Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancers?

Some research suggests that the above afflictions are caused by free radicals within cells. Free radicals occur naturally in the body and are a bi-product of chemical reactions during normal cell activities. It is these free radicals that have potentially been linked with diseases such as cancer, heart disease and stroke. Antioxidants, like those found in tea, inhibit the reactions caused by these free radicals thus possibly delaying or preventing damage to the cells and tissues.

Tea is a rich source of dietary flavonoids, which have been shown to have a protective effect against heart disease. A Dutch study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that tea drinkers had a substantially lower risk of heart attacks than nondrinkers.Researchers studied nearly 5,000 Dutch adults, gathering information on their diets, smoking status, education level, and intakes of alcohol and caffeine. Participants who were heavy tea drinkers had roughly half the risk of heart attack of non-tea drinkers, and less than one-third the risk of a fatal attack.

Tea drinkers in a study conducted in Shanghai, China, were about half as likely to develop cancer of the stomach or esophagus as non-tea drinkers, found researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California, along with scientists from Rutgers University and the Shanghai Cancer Institute.

The study's results were presented at the 93rd annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

In a study beginning in 1986, researchers followed 18,244 men ages 45 to 64 in the eastern Chinese coastal city. They measured levels in each participant of certain chemicals, called polyphenols, that are present in tea.

Daily tea cuts heart attack risk, research says

The Associated Press - July 9, 1999
LONDON - Drinking at least one cup of tea a day could cut the risk of heart attack by 44 percent, according to new research presented Thursday.

The beneficial results probably result from the powerful amounts of natural substances in tea known as flavonoids, vitamin like nutrients that make blood cells less prone to clotting, researchers say.

Flavonoid also are one of the most powerful antioxidants, or substances that offset the damaging effects of oxygen in the body. Scientists recently have become excited about the potential benefits of flavonoid, which also are found in fruits and vegetables and are famously connected to the heart-healthy effect of red wine.

While earlier studies have suggested the tea-drinking could be good for the heart, the latest findings are the most comprehensive and indicate the most dramatic effect.

"This is, in my view, quite an astonishing outcome," said Dr. Catherine Rice-Evans, an antioxidant researcher at King's College, London, who was not connected with the study. "These are very exciting results."

The study by Dr. Michael Gaziano, a heart specialist at the Harvard Medical School-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, was presented  at a Royal Society of Medicine conference in London.

It examined 340 men and women who had suffered heart attacks and matched them by age, sex and neighborhood with people, who had never had heart attacks. It then investigated their coffee and tea-drinking habits during the course of a year.

The study involved regular tea from black tea leaves, as opposed to green or herbal teas. Black tea contains more powerful flavonoid than green tea, while herbal teas are not known to contain any flavonoid, scientist say.

Other studies have shown that adding milk, sugar or lemon to the tea does not diminish the effect of the flavonoid. There also is no difference between drinking it hot or cold, or preparing with loose tea leaves, tea bags or granulated crystals, said Dr. Paul Quinlan, a biochemist who heads the Brook Bond tea company's health research unit.

The study was adjusted for factors that could have skewed the results, such as smoking, exercise, alcohol intake and family history of heart trouble.

Total calories consumed, intake of fatty foods and body mass index - which compares the girth of people of different heights to determine obesity - was about the same across the board.

Few of the study subjects drank one beverage exclusively, so they were categorized by their strong preferences.

Gaziano found that those who drank one or more cups of tea a day slashed their risk of heart attack by 44 percent, compared with those who did not drink tea. The study did not compare the benefits of one cup versus two, three or four.

However, the question of how much tea to drink, and how strong it needs to be brewed to get the greatest heart benefits, is still open to debate.

HOW TO STEEP A GOOD pot OF TEA

Green Teas:

Step 1: Bring cold water to a boil. Let boiling water settle to just below boiling point (no rapid bubbling action).
Step 2: Add one teaspoon of tea/cup to hot water in tea pot.
Step 3: Allow your tea to steep for 2 – 2 1/2 minutes.
Step 4: Remove leaves from pot.HINT: Green tea can be re-used or re-steeped. Simply follow the steps above adding approx one minute to each additional steeping session.

Oolongs and White Teas:

Step 1: Bring cold water to a boil. Add slowly rolling boiling water to your pot. This water should be a little hotter than for green tea.
Step 2: Add one teaspoon of tea/cup to hot water in tea pot.
Step 3: Allow your tea to steep for no longer than 5 ½ minutes. The longer a tea steeps, the more bitter it may become.
Step 4: Remove leaves from pot.HINT: Oolong teas can be re-used or re-steeped. Simply follow the steps above adding approx one minute to each additional steeping session.

Black Tea:

Step 1: Bring cold water to a boil. Add full rolling boiling water to your pot. This water  should be a little hotter than for oolong tea.
Step 2: Add one teaspoon of tea/cup to hot water in tea pot.
Step 3: Allow your tea to steep for no longer than 5 minutes. The longer a tea steeps, the more bitter it may become.
Step 4: Remove leaves from pot.HINT: Black teas should not be re-used or re-steeped. For iced tea, add a little bit more tea per cup.

Fruit Infusions:

Step 1: Bring cold water to a boil. Add full rolling boiling water to your pot. This water should be a little hotter than for oolong tea.
Step 2: Add one large teaspoon of fruit infusion/cup to hot water in tea pot.
Step 3: Allow your tea to steep for no longer than 6 1/2 minutes.
Step 4: Remove leaves from pot.

Rooibos:

Step 1: Bring cold water to a boil. Add slowly rolling boiling water to your pot. This water should be a little hotter than for green tea.
Step 2: Add one teaspoon of rooibos/cup to hot water in tea pot.
Step 3: Allow your tea to steep for 2-4 minutes.
Step 4: Remove leaves from pot.HINT: Rooibos leaves can be re-used or re-steeped. Simply follow the steps above adding approx one minute to each additional steeping session.

For all tea steeping, maximum times should be closely adhered to. The time used to steep teas will be generally determined by personal taste preference.

***H. Checkoway, K. Powers, T. Smith-Weller, G.M. Franklin, W.T. Longstreth, Jr and P.D. Swanson (2002) Parkinson's disease risks associated with cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and caffeine intake. Am J Epidemiol 155; 732–738.
**E.K. Tan, C. Tan, S.M. Fook-Chong, S.Y. Lum, A. Chai, H. Chung, H. Shen, Y. Zhao, M.L. Teoh, Y. Yih, R.Pavanni, V.R. Chandran and M.C. Wong (2003) Dose-dependent protective effect of coffee, tea, and smoking in Parkinson's disease: a study in ethnic Chinese. J Neurol Sci 216; 163–167