Search From Over 10,000
   Pages of Fitness Content!

Health Benefits of Drinking Tea

Tea may be a welcome break for the buzzing coffee lovers. When your immune system is on its last leg, and you have already thrown back three coffees and three energy pills, why not complete your day with a cup of tea.

Asians have been enjoying the healthy benefits of drinking Green Tea for many centuries. Scientific research is now confirming 4,000 years of folklore and medicinal uses of tea for achieving and maintaining good health.

Green tea has shown far greater antioxidant protection than the well know polyphenols in antioxidant vitamins such as C and E. Green tea is 6% more potent as an antioxidant than black tea. Green tea is produced by lightly steaming the fresh cut black tea leaf, whereas black tea, the leaves are oxidized which destroys some of the compounds which have the potent antioxidant and anticancer properties that green tea has.

The forms of cancer that green tea has shown the most aid in preventing cancer of is the gastrointestinal tract such as the stomach, small intestine, pancreas and colon. Lung cancer prostate, bladder and skin cancer have also shown a reduced risk of developing as an added benefit of drinking green tea.

Other Healthy Tea Benefits Include:

Cholesterol Reduction
Researchers have found that by drinking green tea the "bad" cholesterol can be reduced, and tea drinkers can eat almost twice the foods containing cholesterol as those who don't drink green tea, but still have an equal cholesterol count. This is important to note if you are an off season bodybuilder and may be consuming hi amounts of cholesterol.

Blood Pressure Reduction
Green tea has been extensively tested and has been found to be highly beneficial in lowering blood pressure and aiding the recovery of heart attack victims.

Reduction of Blood Sugar
Persons with diabetes who drank tea had a reduction in their blood sugar. You may already know how to control your blood sugar with your diet, but now you can add tea to help keep your blood sugar consistent.

Antiviral and Antibacterial Lowered
Green tea has shown to inhibit the spread of disease. Tea catechins are strong antibacterial and antiviral agents which make them effective in treating everything from tooth decay and HIV. Green tea can also relieve influenza and diarrhea.

Other Benefits Include

• Improving blood structure
  
• Preventing osteoporosis and arthritis
  
• Improving bone structure
  
• Preventing dangerous blood clots
  
• Aiding and preventing type two diabetes
  
• Helping Parkinson's disease sufferers.
  
• Preventing bad breath
  
• Calorie burning - Green tea should be used as part of a healthy diet, as it
  can play a role in controlling weight. Green tea works by increasing energy
  expenditure and also has thermogenic properties which promote fat burning.

WHITE TEA:

One of the big differences between green and white tea is in the processing. Green tea is exposed to high temperatures to remove the moisture and drying the leaf, while white tea is dried naturally using sunlight or lowered temperatures indoors which preserves tea polyphenals. Therefore, white tea is especially potent and it has three times as many antioxidant polyphenols as green or black tea, and has shown to be 100% more effective in cleaning up free radicals that cause our skin to sag as we age. As someone who weight trains I have several cups of white tea a week.

White tea is more expensive because it is produced in a different way from all other teas. The leaves come from special bushes and then dried in the sun. Only special leaves are selected. Some of the world's best known tea experts consider white tea to be even finer then green tea. True white tea only comes from the Da Bai Hao Bush.

It is better to brew white tea at a cooler temperature instead of boiling water. There are different kinds of white tea. The more expensive the tea the better grade of tea leaves were used to produce the product. Yes, you get what you pay for!

White tea has a pleasant, mellow taste that is subtle and also sweet. It has a delightful aroma and the leaf tea is very fruity. The type that I have enjoying lately is a black current flavor by Tea of Life.

Vitamins in tea:

• Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) - Helps build energy by converting energy from food. Promotes better appetite and digestion and is also needed for growth and reproduction
  
  

• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) - Healthy skin, eyes, and nerves and energy metabolism.

• Vitamin B6 - Helps to release energy from food and enhances the metabolism of proteins.

• Vitamin C (Ascorbic Acid) - Heals wounds and mends fractures. It also fights some common types of virus and bacterial infections.

• Vitamin K - Prevents blood clotting and helps build bone metabolism.

• Carotene - It is converted to Vitamin A upon digestion. Promotes good eyesight and healthy skin.
  

• Folic Acid - Red blood cell formation and gene formation.

• Minerals (tea is a rich source of minerals)

• Manganese - Vital for growth and the body's development.

• Potassium - Essential for maintaining normal heart rhythm

• Zinc - Essential for the development of reproductive organs and helps to heal wounds.

• Fluorine - Protects the teeth and strengthens the bones.

Polyphenols (Tea is a rich source of antioxidants)

Flavonoids and catechins are groups of polyphenolic compounds. They help fight against cancer causing radicals and heart disease.

The amount of tea consumed a day in Asian countries typically is three cups or more per day. It can be steeped for 3 to 15 minutes depending on your preference. There are many good health reasons for tea drinking which could benefit everyone, and its virtues are now being recognized. Tea drinking is becoming more popular in Western countries, and hopefully now in the Fitness communities!

By Fawnia Mondey