Tea

Kids love tea. Miss Judy is a tea drinker, and so often the children will ask for a sip. They really love the stuff and I drink it unsweetened. I drink all kinds of flavors -- all green or red and now white. One of the most delicious teas I've had recently is a Russian tea that Nikolai's grandmother brought over from Russia. It was made of juniper berries and it was very pungent and wonderful. Because children like tea, it's a great idea to start them on this nutritious kick right now. But don't sweeten it. Tea is the only substance we know of that has fluoride in it. Why sweeten it if you don't have to? Buying a child his or her own cup and drinking tea before bed - caffeine free of course, is an excellent way of winding down the evening. Here are two articles about tea you might find interesting.

Daily Food Tip from World's Healthiest Foods

Can you tell me about white tea?

Both white and green tea come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis), but pure white tea (also called Silver Tip) is made exclusively from the unopened leaf buds of the plant, whereas green tea is made from the more mature, opened leaves. The harvesting of leaf buds at this earlier stage of the plant's growth cycle can mean a greater concentration of certain nutrients, because most plants change their nutrient composition in distinct ways right when they are starting to germinate or bud. Some antioxidant nutrients - including vitamin C - can be found in greater concentrations in the early stages of a plant's growth, and this change is true not only for the buds of the tea plant, but also for broccoli sprouts and other sprouted foods. The epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) concentration can also be higher in the buds versus more mature leaves of the tea plant.

Traditionally, production of white tea has involved minimal processing, limited to withering (the simple air drying of buds for a period of several hours) followed by firing (heating) or steaming. Crushing, cutting, rolling, or fermenting are all typically absent from the white tea production process.

It is the health-promoting flavonoids (which account for 30% of the dry weight of a leaf), including catechins and their derivatives, which provide tea with its health promoting benefits. The most abundant catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is thought to play a pivotal role in the green tea's anticancer and antioxidant effects. Catechins have been found to be potent free radical scavengers and deserve to be considered right alongside of better-known antioxidants like vitamins E and C.

So far, the research on white tea has shown special promise with relationship to cancer protection and it's also interesting that white tea extracts have also been applied topically to the skin and found to help protect immune cells in the skin, allowing these immune cells to do a better job in preventing damage to the skin by a variety of means, including excessive exposure to sunlight. We look forward to more research investigating the protective role of white tea with respect not only to skin cancers, but also cancers of the digestive tract, and potentially other cancers as well. Due to the role of EGCG in protection of the cardiovascular system, we'd also expect to see significant benefits from white tea in this regard.

We'd also point out that green tea already has a great track record in these same areas of cancer and cardiovascular disease prevention, and that these two teas should both be regarded as unique in their health benefits. As always, quality is important when you are purchasing white or green tea, and we recommend organic teas produced by companies that have a reputation for high standards.

Article two:

If you're a coffee lover, you might want to reconsider your choice. Coffee may give you the energy boost you crave, but if you want to live longer, maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, you might want to switch from coffee to green tea.

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Preventing catastrophe

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So what makes this traditional Asian drink so special? The key to green tea's health benefits are polyphenols, especially epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). In test-tube experiments, EGCG exhibits many anticancer qualities, including the ability to inhibit the growth of cancer cells while not affecting normal cells. It also promotes the death of damaged cells, inhibits chromosomal damage, affects enzymes that metabolize cancer agents and inhibits an enzyme associated with spreading tumors. Because it works on so many fronts, researchers at Tokushima Bunri University in Japan have suggested that people who want to prevent cancer combine drinking green tea with green tea supplements.

Although most studies show that green tea gives general cancer protection, one new study from Japan’s Cancer Center has discovered that it also guards against one specific type of cancer. The new study involving nearly 50,000 men found that drinking five or more cups of green tea daily slashes the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer by 48 percent.

But cancer isn’t the only disease green tea targets. It can also help you avoid heart disease. One study by the American Health Foundation looked at the healthful effects of green tea on both cancer and cardiovascular disease. They found that this tasty beverage produces potent antioxidants, supports detoxifying enzymes, helps regulate abnormal cell growth and cancer, prevents LDL (bad) cholesterol oxidation, and improves the function and growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria. Drinking green tea can also help blunt the ill effects of a poor diet and bad habits like smoking – two lifestyle factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease.

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Have a cuppa – or 10

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A second large study in Japan looked at the effects of drinking less than 3 cups a day versus the effects of drinking more than 10 cups of green tea daily among more than 8,500 people. They found that those drinking the most green tea cut their risk of cancer in half and experienced a significant delay in the development of those cancers that did occur. The participants that drank large amounts of green tea also had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease.

While drinking more than 10 cups a day of tea is difficult for most people, the availability of highly concentrated green tea extracts in capsule form has made it possible for anyone to easily obtain the amazing benefits experienced in both of these studies.

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The skinny on green tea

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While the effect on chronic disease is a great reason to switch from coffee to green tea, this nutrient-filled beverages also brews up some pretty impressive weight loss benefits. One recent study confirms that tea catechins are effective in suppressing glucose and insulin concentrations in the blood. Since blood sugar tends to increase with age, this effect is an extremely important anti-aging benefit.

Green tea can also suppress your appetite, again thanks to EGCG. Plus, tea polyphenols inhibit the activity of amylase, a starch-digesting enzyme found in saliva and in the intestines. As a result, starch is broken down more slowly and the rise in blood sugar is minimized, so that you don't crave sweets and other snack foods after eating a meal.