Striving4Zen

All teas need to be freshly steeped to receive the most benefits. Also, the steeping process itself is very important, and different steeping methods have been compared in research studies investigating the health benefits of green tea.

Much of the research on green tea has focused on its polyphenol content. Many different kinds of polyphenols are found in green tea, and these polyphenols will become increasingly present in the tea water the longer a tea is steeped. (This principle holds true for green tea, white tea, black tea, and oolong tea.) Catechins, theaflavins, and thearubigins are among the best studied of the green tea polyphenols that are known to increase in the tea water as steeping times increase.

Given an equal amount of steeping time, loose leaf teas do a better job of passing on their polyphenol content than bagged teas because loose leaf teas expose their whole leaves to the steeping water during the entire steeping time. Bagged teas, by contrast, may float on top of the steeping water and expose less of the tea leaves directly to the water. (You can improve this situation by allowing the tea bag to bob down into the water from time to time during the steeping process.)

When you brew tea yourself, you can control this steeping process in a way that will maximize the polyphenol content of your tea. When you buy a bottled tea, however, you may or may not get a tea that has been carefully brewed. In addition, you are likely to get a tea that includes other ingredients and is not simply 100% brewed tea.

In 2005, the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University issued a report showing that many bottled teas contained polyphenol content 10 to 100 times lower than freshly and carefully brewed teas. Differences between bottled tea and freshly brewed tea were attributed to steeping process, amount of actual tea found in the bottled products, and presence of non-tea ingredients in the bottled teas, including sugar. In addition, bottled tea companies were sometimes found to use powdered rather than brewed tea in their products.

If you do choose to make bottled tea a regular part of your diet, be sure to find a manufacturer who produces a high-quality bottled beverage. You can find unsweetened, organic green teas in bottled form in some natural foods stores and on the Internet; these teas will provide you with health benefits closer to those offered by freshly and carefully steeped tea.

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Labels: bagged tea, bottled tea, catechins, drinks, green tea, healthy beverage, loose leaf tea, polyphenols, steeping tea, tea

White, green and black tea all come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis), but white tea is made from the unopened leaf buds of the plant, whereas green tea is made from the more mature, opened leaves. (Black tea is also made from mature, opened leaves, but undergoes a controlled fermentation process that results in its darker color.)

Both white and green tea contain a phytonutrient that has been high up on the radar screen in health research. This phytonutrient is a polyphenol called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). EGCG is the primary polyphenol in both white and green tea, and it's a key reason why researchers have been interested in the properties of white tea with respect to prevention of cancer development (tumorigenesis). At this point we only have preliminary animal studies and in vivo laboratory studies in this area. These studies not only fail to look at everyday intake of white tea as part of a daily diet but also often involve specialized extracts made from white tea.

White tea is not necessarily "better" or "worse" for you than green tea. Both teas have health benefits as they are different in their composition.

As always, quality is important when you are purchasing white or green tea, consider organic teas as they are produced by companies that have a reputation for high standards.

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Labels: cancer, EGCG, green tea, healthy diet, polyphenols, tea, white tea

Both green and black teas contain a concentrated dose of catechins, substances that help blood vessels relax and protect your heart.

In a study of more than 40,500 Japanese men and women, those who drank 5 or more cups of green tea every day had the lowest risk of dying from heart disease and stroke. Other studies involving black tea showed similar results.

You really need only 1 or 2 cups of tea daily to start doing your heart some good—just make sure it’s a fresh brew. Ready-to-drink teas (the kind you find in the supermarket beverage section) don’t offer the same health benefits.

"Once water is added to tea leaves, their catechins degrade within a few days," says Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, a professor of nutrition science and policy at Tufts University. Also, some studies show that adding milk may eliminate tea’s protective effects on the cardiovascular system, so stick to just lemon or honey.

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Labels: beverages, catechins, green tea, healthy living, hot tea, tea

Labels: health trend, healthy dining, Holistic Health, innovative, restaurants, tea

They list from A to Z:

i.e.,:

DANDELION TEA
A natural diuretic, great for banishing water retention. Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna are said to be fans.

M IS FOR MATCHA GREEN TEA
This is a concentrated form of tea in which one cup is the equivalent of eight to ten cups of green tea. It boosts your metabolism and also cuts sweet cravings.

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Labels: celebrities, dandelion, diet, green tea, tea

Rooibos is a naturally-decaffeinated and full-bodied tea that comes from a bright-green needled shrub in South Africa. When the needles are processed they turn red, and in Afrikaans, rooibos actually means red bush.
Not only is rooibos low in tannins, but it has a strong aroma and is one of the most popular drinks in South Africa. In addition to tasting delicious and being an excellent source of antioxidants (it contains higher concentrations than other teas), it can also be used as a toner on your skin to reduce puffiness and redness, especially around your eyes.

Labels: Anti-oxidant, rooibos, tea

Known tea antioxidant powers aside, recent studies as reported on in Newsday, suggest that an amino acid known as theanine, found in green, black and red (oolong) teas, has dramatic physiologic effects and green tea compounds may prevent the development of lung cancer.

About seven years ago, tea took the number two slot behind carbonated soft drinks on the most consumed beverages in the country list. Times have changed … last year bottled water officially surpassed beer on this list after blowing past coffee and milk and took the number two position.
Still in the number one position? Soda.

So where this does leave tea? It’s hard to tell but maybe with the latest health benefits announced it’ll be elevated back to a win, place or show position on the list where it belongs.

Other health benefits of tea according to research:
1. Helps you focus
2. Some teas synergistically work with caffeine to produce a calming effect
3. Protects against heart disease
4. Lowers blood pressure
5. Lowers blood sugar levels
6. May help prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
7. Lowers cholesterol levels
8. Possible allergy fighter
9. Reduces arthritis inflammation

Labels: green tea, healthy living, panacea, tea