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tea, How healthy is it?


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#1 VictorBjoerk

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 12:54 AM


So what are your thoughts about tea consumption?. Tea, especially green and white are said to have a lot of benefits. On the other hand there are some sources that thinks the benefits of tea are overrated. So do you drink tea for getting health benefits? Have you experienced any health benefit through drinking it or taking supplements containing it like eg green tea extract?

#2 tunt01

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 01:19 AM

ive been drinking green tea for about 10+ years.
ive been through a few actual tea bag manufacturing plants like Hain Celestial's facility in Colorado.


- White tea is basically baby green tea leaves that have not fully matured. White tea has higher antioxidants and is generally slightly healthier than green, though they are both good.
- If you really get into teas, I would encourage you to try more niche teas like Jasmine Green and Oolong.
- I mentioned in a prior thread that citrus fruit (ie. lemon) synergies with EGCG for uptake into your body. It increases the effect of the green tea.
- The Japanese (companies like Takeda Pharma and Japanese Universities) have done a lot of studies on green, given that the culture there drinks a lot of it. You can search around for them online.
- Tea is really healthy. You can go to www.pubmed.com or www.sciencedaily.com and pull tons of studies on it.

Edited by prophets, 22 March 2009 - 01:21 AM.


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#3 kismet

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 01:24 AM

I don't think they are overrated, from my own research it seems like a pretty solid supplement. I can't say there are many solid supplements to begin with.
Have you read JLL's magnificent blog? He has some great articles about green tea (he also wrote about an interesting study, which associated tea drinking with a longer life span). 
http://inhumanexperi...earch/label/tea

#4 Forever21

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 01:48 AM

We know that the catechins from a few cups of green tea increase plasma antioxidant activity in vivo and that this increase seems to happen even when milk is added (though I know at least one study that contradicts this); however, milk certainly doesn't improve the antioxidant status and in fact decreases it slightly compared to tea consumed without milk. Ascorbic acid protects catechins from degrading in vitro, so that part of the conclusion doesn't seem too surprising; on the other hand, the increase in antioxidant status from drinking tea is not completely linear, which means that drinking one extra cup won't necessarily increase antioxidant activity any further.

So, to me this suggests that either there's something not right with the simulation, or that catechin absorption is not directly related to plasma antioxidant activity.



Does this mean 1 cup is more than enough then?

#5 Matt

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 01:51 AM

Theres some good information on green tea here that you should read through.
http://www.whfoods.c...f...ce&dbid=146

#6 kai73

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 08:50 AM

I drink 6 cups of green tea/day. However, the main problem of tea is the low duration they have in blood.

If you see the tests in the link, you see that it increases antioxidant plasma concentration by 12% but just for 2 hours. Since the compounds in tea doesn't accumulate on tissues (unlike betacarotene, licopene, lutein and so on) the effect is very limited. Even if you drink tea (or eat the supplement) twice a day, we are talking about 12% increase in antioxidant plasma just for 4-5 hours out of 24...

In addition, in all studies i have read, this increased plasma concentration of antioxidant did NOT result in lowering oxidation in vivo (all markers remained unchanged). This obviously doesn't mean it doesn't work, as the antioxidant theory is just that...a theory.

#7 kismet

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 10:42 AM

I don't think the antioxidant properties are responsible for most of the benefits, the biggest benefit is some form of chemoprevention (I've never heard of antioxidants preventing any type of cancer). However, higher doses (up to 10 cups) seem to be superior to lower doses anyway.

#8 jessicantique

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 12:04 PM

ten cups a day is quite a lot. so it's drinking the tea throughout the day. does anyone know any interaction between tea with some food or supplement?

because i heard that from some asian community that you can take certain supplement and food with tea...

#9 JLL

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 01:02 PM

We know that the catechins from a few cups of green tea increase plasma antioxidant activity in vivo and that this increase seems to happen even when milk is added (though I know at least one study that contradicts this); however, milk certainly doesn't improve the antioxidant status and in fact decreases it slightly compared to tea consumed without milk. Ascorbic acid protects catechins from degrading in vitro, so that part of the conclusion doesn't seem too surprising; on the other hand, the increase in antioxidant status from drinking tea is not completely linear, which means that drinking one extra cup won't necessarily increase antioxidant activity any further.

So, to me this suggests that either there's something not right with the simulation, or that catechin absorption is not directly related to plasma antioxidant activity.


Does this mean 1 cup is more than enough then?


In all of the studies the minimum dose is at least cups; I'd say 3 is closer to the truth. I don't know whether one cup is enough to see similar benefits. It certainly won't hurt.

As for the 10 cups of tea daily, if I remember correctly the study doesn't mention whether each of those cups was brewed using fresh leaves or whether the same leaves were used more than once (as is often done). The second brew has considerably less catechins, so depending on how they counted, 10 cups could mean anything from 4 to 10 cups.

#10 Forever21

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 02:13 PM

As for the 10 cups of tea daily, if I remember correctly the study doesn't mention whether each of those cups was brewed using fresh leaves or whether the same leaves were used more than once (as is often done). The second brew has considerably less catechins, so depending on how they counted, 10 cups could mean anything from 4 to 10 cups.




Which ones should be used?

Fresh tea leaves (fresh as in, green leafy fresh)
Posted Image


Dried leaves
Posted Image


Powderized / Dried in a bag
Posted Image




I've always used #2 dried leaves.

Edited by Forever21, 22 March 2009 - 02:25 PM.


#11 JLL

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 04:03 PM

Dried leaves is what most of the studies use. They either brew the tea as you normally would or extract it with ethanol from the leaves*. Tea in tea bags is usually considered to be of a lower (and cheaper) quality, which may mean less catechins, but that depends on many things (like which leaves they used, how fresh they are, etc). The reason I buy #2 as well is because of the taste.

* Ethanol does give you a stronger extract than water, but the difference is not as big as I thought.

#12 VictorBjoerk

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 08:45 PM

white tea extract, is that also a widely sold supplement? I've never seen it in any supermarkets,pharmacies etc...

#13 Forever21

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Posted 22 March 2009 - 09:03 PM

white tea extract, is that also a widely sold supplement? I've never seen it in any supermarkets,pharmacies etc...


http://www.newchapte...white-tea-force

#14 Jay

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Posted 02 April 2009 - 06:23 PM

Does anybody worry about aluminum? Lots of it in green tea. Doesn't seem like Asian get Alzheimer's more though...

#15 tunt01

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Posted 02 April 2009 - 07:05 PM

Does anybody worry about aluminum? Lots of it in green tea. Doesn't seem like Asian get Alzheimer's more though...


i'm not aware of this issue. feel free to enlighten me - what do you base this on?

aluminum is terrible for the human system. a friend used to be involved in the manufacturing of anti-perspiring type deodorant which is laced with aluminum for that purpose. he always advised me never to buy it.
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#16 Jay

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Posted 02 April 2009 - 07:17 PM

Does anybody worry about aluminum? Lots of it in green tea. Doesn't seem like Asian get Alzheimer's more though...


i'm not aware of this issue. feel free to enlighten me - what do you base this on?

aluminum is terrible for the human system. a friend used to be involved in the manufacturing of anti-perspiring type deodorant which is laced with aluminum for that purpose. he always advised me never to buy it.



Google green tea and aluminum. There's lots of info out there and I don't want to bias you. My understanding is that green tea has much more aluminum than tap water (maybe 20x the amount) and also has flourides, which make the aluminum more absorbable. You would think this would be a pretty big Alzheimer's concern but there's not much out there re green tea and Alzheimer's and want there is seems to be positive.

#17 kismet

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Posted 03 April 2009 - 10:17 AM

 You would think this would be a pretty big Alzheimer's concern but there's not much out there re green tea and Alzheimer's and want there is seems to be positive.

There's not much there supporting the Alzheimer's and aluminum connection either. As far as I know. (I'm not saying it's safe)

#18 Jay

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Posted 03 April 2009 - 03:45 PM

You would think this would be a pretty big Alzheimer's concern but there's not much out there re green tea and Alzheimer's and want there is seems to be positive.

There's not much there supporting the Alzheimer's and aluminum connection either. As far as I know. (I'm not saying it's safe)



There are a handful of studies that show higher Aluminum in tap water means higher incidence of Alzheimer's. The latest I have seen (here: http://aje.oxfordjou...ract/169/4/489) found lower AD when more silica in the water and higher AD when more Aluminum. There have been other studies showing no correlation between aluminum and AD.

Personally, I would guess that AD is not caused by aluminum but think there's enough linkage of the two to conclude that aluminum plays a role in it.

#19 Saintoftea

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Posted 10 April 2009 - 10:01 PM

So what are your thoughts about tea consumption?. Tea, especially green and white are said to have a lot of benefits. On the other hand there are some sources that thinks the benefits of tea are overrated. So do you drink tea for getting health benefits? Have you experienced any health benefit through drinking it or taking supplements containing it like eg green tea extract?

Tea is rather a healthier lifestyle as it benefits us in long-term. It is scientifically proved that those people who drink green tea or other tea on a regular basis have stronger immune system and are less likely to have cancer.(for example, some villages in China and Japan.) However in order to benefit from tea, you need to drink a lot everyday.

Edited by FunkOdyssey, 10 April 2009 - 10:11 PM.


#20 ajnast4r

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Posted 11 April 2009 - 04:52 PM

So what are your thoughts about tea consumption?. Tea, especially green and white are said to have a lot of benefits. On the other hand there are some sources that thinks the benefits of tea are overrated. So do you drink tea for getting health benefits? Have you experienced any health benefit through drinking it or taking supplements containing it like eg green tea extract?

Tea is rather a healthier lifestyle as it benefits us in long-term. It is scientifically proved that those people who drink green tea or other tea on a regular basis have stronger immune system and are less likely to have cancer.(for example, some villages in China and Japan.) However in order to benefit from tea, you need to drink a lot everyday.


i laughed SO HARD at that edit... good one funk

#21 openeyes

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Posted 16 April 2009 - 01:36 AM

As for the 10 cups of tea daily, if I remember correctly the study doesn't mention whether each of those cups was brewed using fresh leaves or whether the same leaves were used more than once (as is often done). The second brew has considerably less catechins, so depending on how they counted, 10 cups could mean anything from 4 to 10 cups.




Which ones should be used?

Powderized / Dried in a bag


Though I still drink loose leaf green, white, oolong and black tea, matcha tea has become a new acquaintance. At a dollar or two per cup I usually have only one every day or so, though the slightly lower grade by the same company (zenmatcha in this case) is about a fourth the cost and the only alleged difference is an increase in bitterness. I note little to no difference in taste and enjoy them both. By actually eating the powdered leaf one supposedly gets the benefits of several cups of green tea, and the caffeine content is similar to coffee (but is said to be absorbed more slowly). Kombucha made from various teas is also good.

#22 nancyd

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Posted 18 April 2009 - 09:04 PM

ten cups a day is quite a lot. so it's drinking the tea throughout the day. does anyone know any interaction between tea with some food or supplement?

because i heard that from some asian community that you can take certain supplement and food with tea...



I think 10 cups everyday is too much because of the tannins in tea. If I remember correctly it inhibits absorption of minerals.

I plagarized this from a website:

"If ingested in excessive quantities, tannins inhibit the absorption of minerals such as iron which may, if prolonged, lead to anemia.[24] This is because tannins are metal ion chelators, and tannin-chelated metal ions are not bioavailable. This may not be bad for someone with an infection, as iron is mopped up by the immune system to keep microorganisms from properly multiplying. Tannins have been shown to precipitate proteins,[2] which inhibits in some ruminant animals the absorption of nutrients from high-tannin grains such as sorghum. Tannins only reduce the bioavailability of plant sources of iron, also known as non-heme. Animal sources, or heme iron absorption will not be affected by tannins. Tannic acid does not affect absorption of other trace minerals such as zinc, copper, and manganese in rats.[25]

Tannins are phenolic compounds and interfere with iron absorption through a complex formation with iron when it is in the gastrointestinal lumen which decreases the bioavailability of iron. There is an important difference in the way in which the phenolic compounds interact with different hydroxylation patterns (gallic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid) and the effect on iron absorption. The content of the iron-binding galloyl groups may be the major determinant of the inhibitory effect of phenolic compounds. However, condensed tannins do not interfere with iron absorption.[24]

In order to prevent these problems, it is advised to drink tea and coffee between meals, not during. Foods rich in vitamin C help neutralize tannin's effects on iron absorption. Adding lemon juice to tea will reduce the negative effect of tannins in iron absorption as well. Adding milk to coffee and tea has very little to no influence on the inhibitory effect of tannins.[26]"

Edited by nancyd, 18 April 2009 - 09:08 PM.


#23 openeyes

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Posted 19 April 2009 - 01:29 AM

"Tannins only reduce the bioavailability of plant sources of iron, also known as non-heme.[...]. Tannic acid does not affect absorption of other trace minerals such as zinc, copper, and manganese in rats."


For men, and menopausal women, that may actually be a good thing. I give blood partly to maintain lower iron levels.
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#24 Daniscience

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Posted 16 February 2017 - 08:18 PM

Obviously good.

 

I find that everything about longevity relates to iron. People in countries with higher wine and tea consumption, live longer.






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