Healthy Tea Influences
Types of Teas and Their Impact on Health
There are different types of tea and all they contain flavonoids and other nutrients that are good for health. Whether you prefer green tea or hibiscus, white tea or mint, each of the tea type has specific health benefits.
People on the East have always believed that tea is a source of health, god mood, and wisdom. So researchers in the West studies different types of teas with the objective of discovering all of their health benefits. They have found out that some teas may prevent such serious deceases as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. In addition, tea may facilitate weight loss and help decrease the level of cholesterol. Also tea possesses antimicrobial properties.
Many scientists consider tea an excellent alternative to coffee as tea contains less caffeine and is rich in flavonoids that are good for the heart and can even reduce cancer.
Even though there are still a lot of disputes concerning the best methods of brewing tea that would retain most of its benefits all nutritionists agree that any tea is good, except bottled tea that contains too many calories.
Health Benefits of Green, Black, and White Tea
These days many brews are called teas, but only green tea, black tea, white tea, oolong tea, and pu-erh tea are actually teas. They all originate from the Camellia sinensis plant native to China and India. Tea contains unique antioxidants called flavonoids. Among flavonoids found in tea is ECGC that helps eliminate free radicals that trigger cancer, heart disease, and clogged arteries.
The teas mentioned above also contain caffeine and theanine, which stimulate the brain and enhance mental alertness.
The highest concentration of polyphenols that include flavonoids is in unprocessed tea. Green tea has higher concentration of polyphenols than oolong and black teas since they are oxidized or fermented, but their antioxidizing properties are still high.
Now let's focus on health benefits of each type of tea backed by scientific research:
• Green tea. It is made from steamed tea leaves that have the highest content of EGCG. Numerous research has proved that antioxidants found in green tea can slow down the growth of many cancers. Green tea can also help burn fat, prevent clogging of the arteries, lessen oxidative stress on the brain, lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, reduce the risk of stroke, and improve cholesterol.
• Black tea. This type of tea is made from fermented tea leaves and is known for having the highest content of caffeine in it. It typically serves as the basis for a variety of flavored teas as well as some instant teas. Scientist found out that black tea is good for lungs, especially it is good for heavy smokers, and decreases the risk of stroke.
• White tea. Since it is uncured and unfermented white tea has the most powerful anticancer properties of all tea types.
• Oolong tea. It can decrease cholesterol and is supposed to help lose weight, but scientists haven’t found reliable evidence that proves that.
• Pu-erh tea. It is made from fermented and aged black tea leaves pressed into cakes. It helps make weight loss programs more effective and decreases the level of bad cholesterol.
Health Benefits Herbal Teas
Teas made from herbs, fruits, seeds, or roots are quite popular among people as well. It should be noted that herbal teas have less antioxidants compared to green, white, black, and oolong teas. Their health benefits vary depending on the plant used. The most commonly consumed herbal teas include ginger, ginkgo biloba, Echinacea, hibiscus, mint, jasmine, rosehip, rooibos (red tea), chamomile and other. These teas are believed to help lose weight, cure colds and ensure a good sleep though extensive research hasn’t been conducted yet. These are some of the facts about most popular herbal teas:
• Antioxidants found in chamomile tea help prevent serious complications from diabetes and slow down the growth of cancer cells.
• Echinacea is believed to help fight the cold.
• Hibiscus proved to lower blood pressure.
• Rooibos (red tea) is a herb from South Africa. It has flavonoids that fight cancer.
Health Benefits of Instant teas
As a rule the content of natural tea in instant teas is very low, but such drinks contain lots of sugar and other sweeteners. So make sure you carefully read the ingredients on the label.
Can Tea Cause Harm to Your Health?
Most teas are harmless, but the FDA warns consumers about drinking teas that contain senna, aloe, buckthorn, and other plant-derived ingredients, as well as herb-containing supplements that are supposed to ease the pain and fight cancer. There have been cases when some of the herbs caused serious health problems, liver and kidney damage, and even death. Supplements that the FDA recommends avoiding include: Comfrey, Ephedra, Willowbark, Germander, Lobelia, Chaparral.