It's Tea Time

Did you know that after water, tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world? Here are some of the many benefits from drinking tea:

The Health Connection
Over the past two decades, studies have shown that both green and black teas contain an arsenal of naturally occurring disease-fighting compounds called flavonoids embedded in their leaves. “It is the flavonoids, specifically catechins, in tea that are so favorable to health,” according to Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, FACN, CNS, professor of nutrition at Tufts University in Massachusetts. 

Tea flavonoids have been credited with helping protect the human immune system and reducing the risk of various diseases, including cardiovascular disease (CVD), bone and oral diseases, diabetes and certain cancers. The antioxidant properties of tea flavonoids are believed to fend off free-radical damage to cells, which can lead to many chronic diseases in the body. An average cup of brewed green or black tea contains 150 – 200 milligrams (mg) of flavonoids (Merken & Beecher 2000). 

Tea as a Cancer Fighter
Although more conclusive evidence is needed, studies have found a lower risk of certain cancers in people who drink green or black tea. Specifically, study results suggest that it is tea’s high antioxidant polyphenol content that may serve as the mechanism of action. Research has shown that the antioxidant is believed to inhibit the growth and destroy cancer cells – while leaving healthy tissue alone.

Tea and Heart Health
In the arena of cardiovascular health, the studies on tea are perhaps the most robustly researched and conclusive. Evidence indicates that the antioxidant properties of tea flavonoids may help lower CVD risk by decreasing lipid oxidation (Weisburger 1999); may reduce the incidence of heart attacks and stroke (Hertog et al. 1993; Keli et al. 1996); and may beneficially impact blood vessel function (Duffy et al. 2001).

Tea’s Role in Diabetes Defense
With rates of type 2 diabetes increasing globally, nutrition researchers are examining how the caffeine in tea may affect the risk for getting diabetes. One large cohort study involved 17,413 middle-aged and older men and women in 25 communities across Japan. The researchers found that participants who consumed six or more cups of green tea per day actually lowered their risk of diabetes by 33% (compared with those who consumed none) (Iso et al. 2006). 

A Daily Prescription for Tea
So how much tea should we drink each day? “Health benefits of tea come from drinking as little as one cup per day, but more (health benefits) are likely to be associated with higher intakes,” says Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, tea expert and author of the cookbook The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment (Vegetarian Connection Press 2005).

The Beverage Guidance System proposed recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (www.beverageguidancepanal.org) recommended up to eight servings of unsweetened tea per day because tea is virtually calorie-free, delivers antioxidant phytonutrients and has less caffeine than coffee (about 40 mg per serving) (Popkin et al. 2006). 

Be Careful What You Add to Your Tea
Think twice before you go heaping teaspoons of sugar into your cup of tea. While sweetened tea is a staple of the American South, most people now realize that the addition of sugar to any beverage or food simply amounts to useless calories and potential dental problems. If unsweetened tea simply isn’t for you, consider adding a small amount of sweetener to the brew. 

Source: Exerted from “It’s Tea Time” by Victoria Shanta Retelny, RD, LD, IDEA Fitness Journal, September 2007