Drink Tea for Your Health
Water—which, in its pure form, is odorless and colorless—is the perfect fluid replacement. It’s a calorie-free and sugar-free substance that regulates body temperature, carries nutrients and oxygen to the cells, cushions joints, protects organs and tissues, removes toxins, and maintains strength and endurance. Water makes up 92 percent of your blood plasma and 50 percent of everything else in the body.
Although many health experts disagree whether consuming caffeinated beverages such as coffee and tea is healthy, history tells a different story. Coffee and tea have been consumed for thousands of years by some of the world’s healthiest people. While I’m not a huge fan of coffee or a coffee drinker myself, I will say that fresh ground organic coffee flavored with organic cream and honey is fine when consumed in moderation (one cup per day).
Teas and herbal infusions (beverages made from herbs and spices other than the actual tea plant, which are often mistakenly called teas) are another story all together. Infusions of herbs and spices such as teas have been a part of nearly every culture at every time of history. In fact, consuming organic teas and herbal infusions several times per day can be one of the best things we can do for our health. Green and white tea, for example, provide the body with antioxidants such as polyphenols, which help reduce cellular damage and oxidative stress.
Tea has been used as a health-promoting beverage for over 5,000 years. Modern research is now confirming tea’s extensive range of health benefits such as increased metabolism and energy levels, antioxidant protection, and cardiovascular and cellular health.* The source of these benefits is the phytonutrient-rich leaves, which naturally contain many health positive characteristics, including polyphenols, catechins (especially EGCG – an antioxidant that is about 25-100 times more potent than vitamins C and E), L-theanine and caffeine.
Three of the most health-beneficial tea extracts come from Organic White Tea, Organic Green Tea from minimally-processed Camellia leaves, and Organic Black Tea derived from a delicate fermentation process. Here’s the scoop on these three teas and where you can find them.
White tea is made from new growth buds of the Camellia sinensis plant that are covered with little silver hairs giving the young leaves a white appearance. These young leaves are then steamed or fried to preserve the powerful antioxidants from oxidation and maintain high concentrations of catechins. White tea involves the least amount of processing.
Sophisticated processing techniques of the Camellia sinensis plant, which teas are made from, led to green tea, which are steamed and/or dried, and black teas, which are fermented.
Green tea is made from more mature Camellia sinensis leaves than white tea. Quality green tea contains high amounts polyphenols and powerful antioxidant catechins. Of all the antioxidants known to mankind, some scientists believe the components of green tea are the most potent.
The key fraction of the tea leaf (Camellia sinensis) that provides all these health benefits is a group of phytochemicals known as Polyphenols. Long known as tea tannin because of their pungent taste, Polyphenols constitute 15 to 30% of unfermented dried green tea and most of the soluble portion of tea. Thus, when you drink a cup of green tea, you’re basically drinking a solution of tea Polyphenols. In fresh, unfermented tea leaves, Polyphenols exist as a series of chemicals called catechins, which include gallocatechin (GC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), and epicatechin gallate (ECg).
Black Tea
Black tea is generally stronger in flavor and retains its flavor for several years. Black tea leaves undergo a crushing and fermenting process. Because of its durability, black tea has long been an article of trade. It also contains more caffeine than white and green teas. In China, black tea is known as red tea, which is a more accurate description of the color of the liquid.
Black tea Extract has the same level of Polyphenols as green tea due to the enhanced Polyphenol concentration process. After Assam tea leaves are picked, they are inspected and sorted by hand. Withering takes place as water evaporates and the natural process of fermentation takes place. Fermentation, also known as oxidation, does not produce alcohol. Enzymes oxidize the tea leaf and turn it brown just like a tree leaf in the fall changes colors from green to brown. This process is accelerated by increased heat and high humidity. As a result of these conditions it takes only a few hours to turn green tea into what is known as the black tea – The world’s number one beverage hot, cold, flavored or scented.
Liquid or Capsule?
GGreen and White Tea by New Chapter is a unique synergistic combination of three of the world’s most healthbeneficial organic tea extracts, all included in convenient UltraZorbe capsules. Tea has been used as a health-promoting beverage for over 5,000 years. Modern research is now confirming tea’s extensive range of health benefits such as increased metabolism and energy levels, antioxidant protection, and cardiovascular and cellular health. The source of these benefits is the phytonutrient-rich leaves, which naturally contain many health positive characteristics, including polyphenols, catechins (especially EGCG), L-theanine and caffeine.
In 2004, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition looked at whether body’s absorption of polyphenols is affected by drinking tea or taking tea extract supplements. The study by researcher Susanne M. Henning, with the Center for Human Nutrition at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles examined absorption of liquid green or black tea, and green tea extract supplements in a group of 30 healthy men and women under the age of 40. For a week at a time, each person was assigned to either drinking green tea, drinking black tea, or taking green tea extract supplements. Even though liquid black and green teas had more polyphenols to start than the supplements and overall antioxidant activity over eight hours was low, her study found that green tea supplements produced the highest levels of antioxidants in the blood compared with liquid black or green tea.