Tea is Healthy!
Health Benefits of Tea
For thousand of years, people have associated tea with improved health. Today, researchers are studying the effects of tea consumption in a variety of areas, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and oral health. The results of many of these studies suggest drinking tea, either itself or in conjunction with a modified diet, can lead to a marked improvement in biomarkers of disease progression.
At the molecular level, scientists are beginning to identify key components in tea which may be responsible for its beneficial effects. The results of any scientific experiment are highly dependent upon how the study was conducted, the definition of the subject population, and how the effects were measured. Because these variables are not consistently applied across all experimental studies, scientists often apply statistical tools to draw conclusions between tea consumption and measurable health benefits.
Research on the health benefits of tea is expanding very rapidly, with several hundred new research publications on tea appearing each year. Much excitement has focused on a powerful antioxidant in tea known as epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG. While tea contains a variety of compounds with demonstrated antioxidant properties, EGCG, the most abundant antioxidant in tea, in its purified form has been shown to physically bind to and positively impact a number of key signaling molecules in cancer initiation, proliferation (growth) and apoptosis (self-induced cell death). These findings have led to the initiation of a number of clinical trials in humans, using a purified form of EGCG as the active compound.
Please see our reference page (under construction) for links to important published studies on tea and health and wellness. Each article contains the detailed protocols and methods, data, results and discussions. Selected review articles are also cited.
At Infusions of Tea, we field a wide range of questions regarding the natural health benefits of tea. Please consult our FAQ - frequently asked questions - for our response (page under development). We recently attended an International Symposium on Tea and Health. Please follow this link to open a summary of this meeting. It contains a very helpful summary of recent published experimental evidence of tea and its potential health benefits. See pages 31-37.
Infusions of Tea - Health Benefits
Related Articles Enhancement of Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) Aqueous Extract and Antioxidant Yield with Fungal Enzymes. J Agric Food Chem. 2008 May 14; Authors: Pengilly M, Joubert E, van Zyl WH, Botha A, Bloom M The leaves and stems of the Rooibos plant ( Aspalathus linearis) are used for the production of an herbal tea known for its health promoting properties, which have been linked to its flavonoid content but which is substantially reduced by the traditional processing method employed. Selected…
Related Articles Tea polyphenols, their biological effects and potential molecular targets. Histol Histopathol. 2008 Apr;23(4):487-96 Authors: Chen D, Milacic V, Chen MS, Wan SB, Lam WH, Huo C, Landis-Piwowar KR, Cui QC, Wali A, Chan TH, Dou QP Tea is the most popular beverage in the world, second only to water. Tea contains an infusion of the leaves from the Camellia sinensis plant rich in polyphenolic compounds known as catechins, the most abundant of which is (-)-EGCG. Although tea has been consumed…
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