The Benefits of Tea

Happy Wellness Wednesday Everyone! Today I am volunteering, so my mom, Dr. Elizabeth Trattner has sent in an article about all types of tea. She will be talking about white tea, green tea, oolong, black tea and matcha. Each section will talk about a type of tea, it’s benefits and then list a type of the tea and how to brew it.

tea kettle

Can you tell me specifically what the overall benefits of drinking tea are? Some benefits about green tea specifically regarding the elderly are:

Tea drinking is associated with preservation of hip structure in elderly women. This finding provides further evidence of the beneficial effects of tea consumption on the skeleton(American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2007) another study, Another study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at the effects of drinking green tea on 1,058 elderly people with depression symptoms. To their surprise they found a forty-four percent reduction in major depressive symptoms in older people who drank more than four cups of green tea each day compared to those who drank less than one. They saw this effect even after adjusting for variables that could alter the results such as lifestyle and diet. Green tea helps lower prostate cancer and other types of cancer, reduced the amount of tooth decay, reduces heart disease, keeps bones and teeth healthy, and helps ward off arthritis.

Are Americans drinking more tea?

Americans are drinking more green tea because of the magnitude of studies on green tea. The contrast between the health benefits between green tea and coffee are huge. The health benefits of coffee do not come remotely close to the benefits of green tea.

Any statistics you have on that maybe helpful.

In 1990, the tea industry brought about $1.84 billion in annual sales, but that number has swelled up to $6.85 billion in 2007. Over the past 5 years, American importers have increased their purchases of green tea by 39.6% from US$58 million in 2005 to $81 million during 2009. As statistics show, that upward trend has continued during the first 6 months of 2010.

Now on to benefits:

Green tea: Green tea (camellia sinensis) and it’s active chemical ECEG has been one of the most studied botanical. From orally ingested to topical administration the benefits from this plant are astounding. Green tea has been demonstrated to be an excellent antioxidant, but has also shown to accelerate wound healing as well. It helps protect against cancer and even has shown to protect again sun damage and photo aging. The active compound, ECEG has been proven to help people lose weight as well. There are many different mechanisms of action how green tea and its active compounds protect the skin, so it is no wonder why so many cosmetic companies are using green tea and ECEG it their preparations.

(How much caffeine does it have? Chinese versus Japanese? 20-40 mg of caffeine. Bags usually have more caffeine as small pieces are cut up vs loose leaf which the leaves are bigger, thus less caffeine. Green tea is not fermented.

White Tea:15-20mg of caffeine. These leaves are harvested before the plant fully opens and has tiny white hairs on the leaves, thus the name, white tea. Some studies have demonstrated that white tea has even more antioxidants than green tea.

Oolong Tea: Oolong tea has more polyphenols than green tea that aid in triglyceride reduction. Oolong has the same if a little more caffeine than green tea.

Black tea: This contains from 40-60mg of caffeine. It is fully fermented. Researchers concluded that the flavonoids in black tea helped reduce the production of LDL – the “bad” cholesterol that can lead to stroke and heart attacks. If you are concerned about the effects of caffeine, you can always steep your tea for 30 seconds, throw the liquid away and re steep the same tea bag. You will have removed most of the caffeine from the tea yet will still have the flavor of your tea.

Herbal teas: Herbal teas can be made from flowers, bark and other plants. They are not related the green tea at all. The most popular herbal teas are chamomile, which helps relaxation and peppermint which aids in digestion.

matcha and green tea

In your opinion, what are some other teas, that I have not asked about there, that have health benefits. I know you talk about matcha. Can you tell me a little bit more? Any other teas?

I prefer patients drinking matcha due to the quality in general to green tea. Although it is pricier, the benefits are much better than regular green tea. Matcha has much more antioxidants than green tea and with all the oxidative stress on our bodies it makes more sense to consume a drink that helps the body recover quicker. In my practice I recommend that patients try matcha instead of green tea. Match has 10 times more antioxidant power than regular green tea. Matcha is the whole tea leaf versus the tea which is less potent and steeped in water. Matcha is a green vegetal drink that is high in antioxidants, chlorophyll, and contains high amounts of L-theanine, which help induce a state of calmness. L theaine is an amino acid that relaxes the mind. L theanine combined with the caffeine it creates a sense of calmed alertness. Antioxidants help protect the body against aging and disease. The active compound, ECEG has been proven to help people lose weight as well. Matcha is a simple drink that you can incorporate into your daily routine that will have you looking and feeling healthy and calm from the inside out!