Scientists have discovered that tea contains high levels of compounds that help reduce the amount of fat but proteins found in cows’ milk neutralise this fat-fighting ability.

New research has shown that the compounds, called theaflavins and thearubigins, prevent obesity when given to rats that were also on a high-fat diet.

Researchers now believe this could explain why people in Britain appear not to benefit from the healthy affects of tea despite being among the world’s biggest consumers of the beverage, the Telegraph reports.

Devajit Borthakur, a scientist at the Tea Research Association at Jorhat in the Indian state of Assam, said: “When tea is taken with milk, theaflavins and thearubigins form complexes with the milk protein, which causes them to precipitate.”

“It means that we don’t get the health benefit from these compounds nor from milk protein. Therefore, it is always advised to take tea without milk.”

A study by scientists in Japan, reveals that extracts from tea leaves inhibit the absorption of fat in the guts of rats being fed high-fat diet. These rats also had less fat tissue on their bodies and lower fat content in their livers, reports the Journal of Nutrition.

Hiroaki Yajima, a scientist with the Kirin Beverage Company in Japan who carried out the Japanese research, said: “Black tea extracts may prevent diet-induced obesity by inhibiting intestinal lipid absorption.”

Not a big fan of coffee? Drinking green tea is another way for you to get your caffeine fix instead of reaching for an unhealthy can of Red Bull.

“Green tea is my new obsession. It tastes great, has caffeine, and is good for you. I have switched to drinking tea instead of coffee because I feel like coffee makes me too jittery and hyper,” says Lindsey Buck, a senior from St. Louis.

Professor Marty Glenn, a nutritionist from the Health Sport & Exercise Department at the University of Kansas says, “Green tea is probably the healthiest way to get your caffeine for the day. It contains about 25 percent less caffeine than coffee, so about 25 to 50 mg.” While this is less caffeine than coffee, it is still enough to give you a caffeine jolt. Not only does it keep you focused while studying, but it also has tremendous health benefits as well.

Studies show that green tea contains antioxidants, which help boost your immune system and fight off bad cells. The antioxidants in green tea are known as catechins, which help prevent several types of cancer, high cholesterol, weight gain, heart disease and strokes.

Cynthia Sass, a dietician from Shape magazine says, “Tea is tied to better bone density, slower bone loss, a stronger immune system and a reduction in belly fat. Regular tea drinkers also have a 20 to 30 percent lower risk of heart disease and 40 to 60 percent lower risk of stroke.”

Glenn also says, “People with heart disease have been known to drink about two to four cups a day in order to keep those rates down.”

So, start your day off with a cup of hot green tea— your body will thank you in the long run.

black tea heart health

Most of the major benefits of green tea come from its catechins, compounds that are present in large amounts in the fresh tea leaf. However when the same tea leaves are processed to produce black tea, the catechins are mostly oxidized into compounds called the aflavins and thea rubigens. Does that mean the health benefits are lost? Not by a long shot!

Studies have shown that black tea, like green tea, has the ability to preserve and promote good health in several ways, many of which have to do with the cardiovascular system. For example, drinking black tea has been associated with lower levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides,a decrease in LDL “bad” cholesterol,and a lower risk of developing severe aortic atherosclerosis,3 which is a strong indicator of cardiovascular disease. One study showed that those who drank more than six cups of black tea per day had a significantly lower risk of developing coronary heart disease, even when adjusting for risk factors like age and smoking.

Drinking black tea has also been found to improve blood vessel function in those with coronary artery disease,and decrease the risk of heart attacks and stroke,as well as death due to stroke.While some of these results were seen only in those who drank large amounts of black tea (4-6 cups daily), others required much less. For example, a 44 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack was seen in those who drank at least one cup of black tea daily, compared to non-tea drinkers.

What does this mean for you? Drinking tea, whether black or green, is a pleasant and easy way to help protect and preserve the health of your heart and a habit that you can feel good about cultivating!

green tea cancer fighting

Green tea fights cancer at nearly every stage of the cancer process. Lab and animals studies have found that some of its most important anti-cancer properties include the following:

Protection Against Alterations to the DNA
A team of American and Chinese researchers tested the effects of green tea catechins and a water extract of green tea on known cancer-causing substances.

They found that green tea and green tea extract were both capable of protecting against the gene-altering damage that is an initial step in the cancer process.

Among their findings were that both substances inhibited mutations induced by the powerful carcinogens benzo(a)pyrene (found in charbroiled meat) and aflatoxin B1 (a toxin produced by a kind of mold that can grow on grains, nuts and animal feed).

Inhibition of Tumor Activation
Many studies have shown that green tea catechins can inhibit tumor activation. One study that was done by researchers at the Laboratory for Cancer Research at Rutgers University found that giving green tea orally inhibited the formation of tumors in the forestomach and lung in mice already initiated with carcinogens.Any tumors that the mice did develop were markedly smaller.

Antioxidant Action
The best way to fight cancer is to stop it from occurring in the first place. And that’s what antioxidants do. They help the body defend itself against free radicals, the unstable molecules that damage cell membranes and DNA, causing cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

The catechins in green tea, particularly EGCg and EGC, have been found to be the most powerful of all antioxidants. They show stronger anti-free radical and anti-mutagenic abilities than such celebrated antioxidants as vitamins C and E, resveratrol, selenium, glutathione, quercetin, curcumin and even the food preservatives BHT and BHA.1

Cell Cycle Arrest
The cell cycle is a series of stages that a cell goes through in order to divide and reproduce itself. In cancer, the cell cycle can occur rapidly, with cancer cells reproducing by leaps and bounds. But green tea catechins have been shown to stop (arrest) this rapid division of cancer cells, thus slowing the growth of cancerous tumors. And the catechins do this without damaging normal cells.

Blocking the Blood Supply
A major way of fighting cancer is by blocking angiogenesis, or the establishment of a blood supply to feed the tumor. If the tumor can’t establish a blood supply, it dies. Many studies have documented green tea’s ability to inhibit the process of angiogenesis, which slows or stops the growth and spread of tumors.

Promoting Self-Destruction of Cancer Cells
Normal cells are programmed to self-destruct after a certain period (a process called “apoptosis”) in order to make way for new ones. But cancer cells don’t self-destruct — that’s part of the problem. They just keep growing and multiplying.

One way to treat cancer is to induce apoptosis, often through the use of powerful medications. However, in most cases these medications also kill healthy cells. Yet green tea has been shown to induce apoptosis in cancer cells without causing damage to healthy cells.6

Not a Cure, But It May Help…
While there is no cure for most kinds of cancer, scientifically sound studies conducted by scientists at major universities and health institutes around the world have shown that green tea and green tea extract pack a powerful punch against this deadly affliction.

This means that green tea may play an important part in helping us to live longer, healthier lives.

Green tea health benefits

New studies and other green tea information are constantly emerging from laboratories and research centers around the world. You can keep abreast of the latest news and learn some interesting green tea facts by checking out the entries on this page.

Legends of the health benefits of green tea go back thousands of years. We happily continue this tradition with our line of authentic green teas. Regain your balance, awaken your spirit or overcome the odds with our green tea blends, each with naturally occurring green tea antioxidants and packaged in boxes inspired by traditional Asian artistry and wisdom.

Today, medical research clearly highlights the special health benefits of a specific tea – green tea, a drink made from the leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis). The same plant produces green tea, black tea, and oolong tea, but because of the way it is processed, green tea is truly unique.

Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world besides water and has been used by man for millennia. Much of its benefits have been attributed to potent antioxidants found in the tea leaves called polyphenols. These substances are also found in smaller amounts in other plant foods like cocoa.

Recently, however, researchers have identified another substance that is found only in the tea plant. It is a special amino acid called theanine that accounts for the ability of tea to create relaxation while energising the drinker. Theanine is the predominant amino acid in green tea leaves and gives tea its characteristic taste while contributing to many of its other medicinal benefits.

Theanine combats stress

When someone suggests that you have a cup of tea and relax, they are really asking you to have a cup of theanine. Although green tea contains small quantities of natural caffeine, the calming effect of the theanine in it balances the stimulating effects of caffeine on the nervous system. Researchers have demonstrated that theanine creates this sense of relaxation about half an hour after ingestion by two separate actions:

First, it stimulates the electrical activity of the brain to produce a state of relaxation and mental alertness similar to that achieved through meditation. Second, theanine causes the brain to increase its levels of two neurotransmitters, dopamine and serotonin. These important brain chemicals produce feelings of well-being and relaxation.

Theanine is particularly useful for people under stress as it helps to alleviate its negative effects without producing sedation or drowsiness.

Theanine for weight loss

Green tea is well known to help with weight loss, and according to a 2004 Japanese study, theanine contributes to this fat-burning effect. In this research using animals, theanine lowered body weight, body fat, and triglycerides (blood fat) levels. Beside the fact that tea contains zero calories, green tea helps to curb food cravings. The social habit of “afternoon tea” was supposedly started by the 7th Duchess of Bedford in England to quiet her hunger pangs between lunch and dinner.

Theanine and cancer

A study published by Sadzuka et al in 2002, found that theanine might help cancer patients by improving the efficacy of cancer drugs, and through its relaxing effects. Theanine increased the concentration of anti-cancer drugs in tumours while lowering the levels of anti-cancer drugs in the healthy tissues where they are not needed. This improved the effectiveness of the therapy while decreasing its side effects. In addition theanine itself also inhibited the growth of cancerous tumours.

Theanine promotes learning

Theanine enhances your ability to learn, remember, and concentrate, a reason why monks and scholars have historically used drinking green tea as an aid to meditation and study. It is particularly useful when you are multitasking as it helps you to focus more effectively.

Researchers found that it even synergises with caffeine to boost the activity of brain cells. They found that 100 milligrams of theanine when consumed with 60 milligrams of caffeine enabled people to focus better on complicated tasks, a combination found in roughly four cups of green tea.

In Japan, where green tea is very popular, surveys showed that regular green-tea drinkers had a much lower incidence of breast, prostate, liver, pancreatic, lung, oesophageal, and stomach cancers.

Theanine for blood pressure and cholesterol

Individuals with high blood pressure can benefit from drinking green tea. Japanese researchers report that theanine lowers high blood pressure, but has no effect on normal blood pressure. Studies have shown that theanine is particularly useful in ‘spontaneous hypertension’ which is high blood pressure resulting from stress, excitement or shock. The soothing, calming effects of theanine appear to offset this dangerous condition.

Theanine was also found to reduce total cholesterol levels in humans, while preventing good cholesterol from being converted into bad cholesterol by oxidation.

Theanine improves immune function

Studies at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital demonstrated that theanine increased the body’s immunity against colds and flu and promotes a strong immune response to infections. Theanine also aids in preventing abnormal immune system reactions as occur in allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Side effects

Theanine is safe and non-toxic, and drinking green tea is associated with very few side effects. Staining of the teeth is probably the commonest problem, and using a toothpaste containing bicarbonate and hydrogen peroxide can prevent this. By the way, green tea prevents halitosis (bad breath). Researchers at the University of Illinois found that some of the polyphenols in tea inhibit the growth of bacteria in the mouth that can cause this unpleasant odour. Theanine reduces caffeine sensitivity. You can overcome this problem by starting with small amounts of green tea while supplementing with magnesium and the B vitamins.

Conclusion

Although many more studies need to be done, these preliminary studies have shown that there are many Green Tea health benefits and the evidence suggests that adding a few cups of Green Tea every day will positively affect people’s health.

green tea weight lose

Green tea (and its less refined cousin, white tea) has been a part of the ancient Chinese tradition for countless generations, in large part due to its rich endowment of bioactive catechins. Many studies over the past decade have shown that green tea is a powerful tool to improve metabolism in a way that is supportive of weight loss.

Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Scientists publishing in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry demonstrate that it activates genes associated with fat burning while also helping to reduce absorption of fat from the digestive tract. Further evidence on the gene-altering activity of green tea is reported in the International Journal of Cardiology, as polyphenols from the drink lower free radical damage to help maintain telomere length in heart cells. Drinking several cups of green tea each day may hold the key to effective weight management and cardiac health.

Researchers from the Departments of Chemical Biology and Pharmacology and Toxicology at Rutgers University in New Jersey examined the effect of green tea supplementation on obese mice, known to exhibit similar metabolic characteristics to humans. The animals were broken into two groups and both were fed a traditional high fat/Western style diet. One group received water supplemented with the green tea bioactive catechin EGCG, while the second group acted as a non-supplemented control.

Green Tea Supplementation Assists Weight Loss by Reducing Abdominal Fat Stores

The study determined that EGCG supplementation significantly reduced body weight gain, associated with increased fecal lipids and decreased blood glucose levels, compared to those of the control group. Scientists further found that fatty liver incidence, associated liver damage and liver triglyceride levels were also decreased by the EGCG treatment. Treated animals also experienced improved insulin response as well as lowered C-reactive protein (CRP) and interlukin-6 (IL-6) levels, both strong indicators of systemic inflammation and immune response.

The study authors concluded “Our results demonstrate that the high fat/Western diet produces more severe symptoms of metabolic syndrome and that the EGCG treatment can alleviate these symptoms and body fat accumulation. The beneficial effects of EGCG are associated with decreased lipid absorption and reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines.” Green tea helps our cellular engines (mitochondria) to better metabolize calories more efficiently, providing a significant weight management tool.

Additionally, supporting research documents the effect of green tea catechins on extending the lifespan of heart muscle cells. Scientists found that EGCG supplementation exerted a potent antioxidant effect that lowered free radical damage to preserve telomere length and reduce heart cell death. Nutrition experts recommend two to four cups of fresh brewed green tea daily or an organically compounded and standardized EGCG supplement (300 to 500 mg daily) to assist weight management goals and improve cardiovascular health.

green tea health

First appearing as early as 5,000 years ago, Green Tea is the oldest category of Chinese Tea. The original processing of the tea was quite simple. People either boiled the tea leaves straight from the tree, or sun-dried tea leaves for future use. While the processing methods have changed over the centuries it still resembles its ancient ancestor in that it is not fermented and only very slightly oxidized. This allows the tea to retain more of the original taste of the leaf. Green Tea health benefits have been studied since tea was first discovered. According to legend, Shennong, known as the father of medicine discovered tea by accident. He traveled the country testing plants for their medicinal effects.

Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

Green Tea and Weight Loss

Recent studies have shown that Green Tea health benefits include the ability to lower cholesterol and help in the battle for weight loss. Green tea and its extract have been shown to fight obesity and lower LDL “bad” cholesterol, two risk factors for heart disease and diabetes, but there have been very limited studies into this. One study in the Netherlands and a study in Japan showed that green tea did both.

In the Dutch study, the participants who drank caffeinated Green Tea lost weight. Researchers theorized that caffeine helps with fat oxidation.

The Japanese Study had 240 participants. Over a period of three months they were given varying amounts of Green Tea extract. The participants who had the highest amount lost weight and fat and had lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

Green Tea as a Cancer Fighter

In Japan, a study that involved almost 500 Japanese women diagnosed with Stage 1 and Stage 2 breast cancer found that increased Green Tea consumption before and after surgery resulted in a lower recurrence of the cancer.

Chinese studies have shown that the amount of tea that participants drank directly affected the risk of developing prostate, pancreatic, esophageal and stomach cancer. A recent analysis of 22 independent studies that looked into the correlation between high tea consumption, and the reduced risk of lung cancer concluded that by increasing the daily intake of Green Tea by at least two cups may reduce the risk of lung cancer by 18%.

Antioxidants in Green Tea

Because the processing of Green Tea leaves the tea close to its original state, Green Tea maintains a large amount of antioxidants. The antioxidants found in Green Tea are called catechins, in particular Epigallocatechin 3 Gallate (EGCG).

Green Tea and your heart

In a study in Japan that involved over 500 test subjects, researchers found that drinking at least four cups of Green Tea every day might reduce the severity of coronary heart disease in males.

A Dutch Study involving more than 3,000 men and women found that the more tea consumed, the less severe the clogging of the heart’s blood vessels were.

To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:

• cancer
• rheumatoid arthritis
• high cholesterol levels
• cariovascular disease
• infection
• impaired immune function

Other Benefits

New evidence is emerging that green tea can even help dieters. In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing green tea – from deodorants to creams – are starting to appear on the market.

Harmful Effects?

To date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six – eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.

black-tea

Lowering your blood pressure may a major factor behind the many health benefits of tea.

A new study shows that people who drank three cups of black tea a day lowered their blood pressure levels by an average of 2 to 3 points.

That may not sound like much. But researchers say even small reductions in blood pressure levels, like those found in this study, can have a major impact on the prevalence of high blood pressure (hypertension) and risk of heart disease.

“At a population level, the observed differences in BP [blood pressure] would be associated with a 10% reduction in the prevalence of hypertension and a 7% to 10% reduction in the risk of [heart disease and stroke],” write researcher Jonathan M. Hodgson, PhD, of the School of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Western Australia in Perth, Australia, and colleagues in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers say it’s the first time that long-term use of black tea has been shown to lower blood pressure in people with normal to high-normal blood pressure.

In the study, researchers looked at the effect of black tea on blood pressure levels among 95 men and women who were regular tea drinkers. Their average systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) was between 115 and 150 at the start of the study.

Half of the participants drank three cups of black tea per day for six months, and the other half drank a placebo drink with a similar flavor and caffeine content. Both groups were similar in terms of gender, age, and weight status.

By the end of the study, those who drank black tea experienced an average reduction of between 2 and 3 points in their 24-hour average systolic blood pressure level and about 2 points in their diastolic (the lower number in a blood pressure reading) level.

Researchers say there are a number of potential explanations for this health benefit.

Recent studies have shown that drinking black tea can improve the function of the endothelial cells, which line the interior of blood vessels. Endothelial dysfunction is an early indicator of blood pressure changes.

Other research has suggested that the flavonoids found in tea can improve the blood vessel’s tone and reduce body weight and abdominal fat.

Researchers say these findings have important public health implications in light of the high rates of high blood pressure worldwide and the importance of high blood pressure as a risk factor for heart disease and death.