Tea Party

by: AndreaDow
Total views: 512
Word Count: 481

Thursday, September 13th

I love drinking tea- regardless of the season or time of day. I knew tea was popular, but did not know that it is the 2nd most commonly consumed beverage in the world. According to IDEA Fitness Journal, over 50 billion servings of tea were consumed in 2006. While there are many colors of tea available, black tea is by far the most popular (78% of the world's total tea consumption is black tea).

In addition to it tasting great, tea has naturally occurring compounds called flavonoids which give it a healthy power punch. Author Victoria Shanta Retelny, RD, LD, reports that flavonoids help protect our immune systems and reduce the risk of various diseases including bone and oral diseases, diabetes, certain cancers and cardiovascular disease. FYI, a cup of tea contains about 150-200 mg of flavonoids. Tea has many health benefits, but unfortunately, herbal teas are not believed to have the same health benefits as black, green or oolong teas. Read below to see how tea can fight cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

Cancer Fighter: some studies have found a lower risk of cancer in individuals who drink green or black tea. Researchers believe that it is tea's high antioxidant polyphenol content that prevents the growth of cancer cells in addition to destroying cancer cells. Even 1 cup of tea per day has been linked with an 18% decreased in ovarian cancer risk.

Heart Health: tea flavonoids have several benefits in terms of heart health. Blood vessel function improves along with a decreased lipid oxidation that may reduce the risk of both heart attacks and strokes. Five or more cups of green tea per day for women in the Ohsaki National Health Insurance Cohort Study showed a16% decreased risk of CVD over an 11 year follow-up.

Diabetes: one large study in Japan comprised of 17,413 middle-aged older men and women found that those drinking six or more cups of green tea during the day could lower diabetes risk by 33%. It seemed that the more caffeine participants drank, the lower their diabetes risk. The amount of caffeine intake was about 416 mg. Interestingly, green-tea flavonoids have also been shown to have insulin-like activity.

Aim for one cup of tea per day to reap the above health benefits although more is probably better.

Tips for making a quality cup from IDEA Fitness Journal:
1. Use purified, filtered water.
2. To avoid a bitter taste, water should be just boiling for black tea and just below boiling for green tea.
3. Steep tea for at least 3 minutes for maximum antioxidant benefts.
4. Consider skipping milk as the proteins in milk may bind with the antioxidants and dilute the tea's benefits. Sugar is also not the best addition. Skip it if you can, otherwise, minimize the amount you add.

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