TRIBUTE TEA NEWS - Should You Switch to Tea?

Evidence is mounting that black, green, and oolong tea
have important health benefits.

While tea drinking is embellished with great ceremony in such places as Japan, China, and Great Britain, in the more hurrying culture of the U.S., tea is viewed as just another beverage. Americans drink 85 percent of their tea iced. And the brew is much less popular than soft drinks, beer, coffee, milk, fruit beverages, or bottled water.

Yet drinking tea-hot or iced-may be an easy, pleasurable way to get some serious health benefits. A number of recent studies add support to earlier findings about the benefits of tea and reveal some possible new ones. The evidence for those benefits is strongest for green tea, mainly because the green brew has been studied more than the others.

Stronger bones? Tea drinking may increase bone-mineral density and so, theoretically, could protect against osteoporosis. Two recent studies from China and Great Britain report higher bone-density measurements among tea drinkers. The Chinese study, which included over 1,000 participants age 30 and over, found that those adults who had been drinking tea regularly for 6 to 10 years had higher lumbar-spine bone-mineral density than those who didn't partake of the brew. Those who had been regular tea drinkers for more than 10 years had the highest bone density in all sites measured. Most of the tea drinkers in this study drank green or oolong tea, but some did drink black tea. Interestingly, the key variable was how long tea drinkers had been consuming tea, not how much or what type they drank each day. Additionally, in a study of more than 1,200 British women over age 65, current tea drinkers-whether they sipped one cup or more than six cups a day-had higher bone-density measurements than non-tea drinkers.

Healthier heart? Dutch researchers reported in May that tea drinkers had a substantially lower risk of heart attack-particularly fatal ones-than those who don't drink tea. That study included nearly 5,000 adults age 55 and older. Those participants who drank over 11 ounces of black tea daily had about half the risk of heart attack and less than one-third the risk of fatal heart attack compared with nondrinkers. Another study, also published in May, this one from the Harvard School of Public Health, looked at patient-survival rates after a heart attack. The more tea that patients drank in the year before their heart attack, the better their chances of surviving in the years after. Participants were divided into moderate drinkers (fewer than 14 cups per week), heavy drinkers (14 or more cups weekly), and nondrinkers. Moderate drinkers had a 28 percent lower death rate after heart attack than nondrinkers, and heavy drinkers had a 44 percent lower death rate than those who didn't drink tea. Those results held up after researchers adjusted for such factors as age, smoking, obesity, and hypertension.

Improved arteries? Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine report that both short- and long-term tea drinking appear to improve blood-vessel functioning in patients with coronary heart disease. In that clinical trial, researchers measured the effects of black tea on the arteries of 50 coronary patients. Tea improved artery functioning and seemed to reverse atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attack and stroke. An earlier Dutch study of more than 3,400 people without cardiovascular disease found that the risk of developing severe atherosclerosis was 46 and 69 percent lower in participants who drank one to two cups or more than four cups of tea per day, respectively. Those protective effects were particularly evident in women.

Cancer fighter? Recent research supports earlier findings that tea may have cancer-protective qualities. Some promising findings were presented in April 2002 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. A large study of over 18,000 Chinese men revealed that tea drinkers were about half as likely to develop stomach or esophageal cancer as non-tea drinkers. Another Chinese study found that people who drank one to three cups of green tea a day had an apparent 30 percent reduction in their risk of developing stomach cancer; the risk reduction jumped to 61 percent for people who drank more than three cups daily. And a study published in June suggests that tea drinking may possibly have a protective effect on cancer, particularly in men. However, a recent Japanese study of over 26,000 people found no link between drinking green tea and protection from gastric cancer.

HOW TEA MAY FIGHT DISEASE
The three nonherbal teas-black, green, and oolong-all come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Their differences lie in the processing: Heating the leaves immediately after they've been chopped minimizes certain chemical changes and produces green tea; a brief delay in heating yields oolong tea, and a longer delay yields black tea.

All three forms of Camellia sinensis are unusually rich in a potent class of antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are important because they neutralize harmful free radicals, the highly unstable molecules produced by the body's normal metabolism and by exposure to chemicals, heavy metals, radiation, and the like. Lacking a vital part of their molecular structure, free radicals oxidize other molecules by snatching the missing part from them. That process can damage the body's cells, proteins, and fats-and, in theory, can help cause a wide range of diseases and possibly even hasten aging. To minimize the damage, the body uses antioxidants-some produced internally, others gleaned from food and drink-to help neutralize the radicals.

In theory, antioxidants can protect against disease and may help to explain why tea drinkers tend to be healthier. In laboratory and animal studies, the antioxidants in tea have been shown to help check the formation of certain carcinogenic compounds, disrupt several tumor-promoting enzymes, kill or at least slow the growth of actual cancer cells while leaving normal cells unscathed, and prevent normal cells from turning cancerous, mainly by shielding their DNA from oxidative damage.

Other laboratory studies suggest that tea may help protect the heart by relaxing blood vessels; by inhibiting blood clots, which can trigger a heart attack or stroke; by shielding the "bad" LDL cholesterol from the oxidative damage that makes it stick to the walls of coronary arteries; and possibly by helping to improve blood-cholesterol levels. Other compounds in tea include fluoride and phytoestrogens, which researchers speculate may favorably affect bone-mineral density.

HOT, COLD, OR DECAF?
When Consumer Reports tested teas in November 1999, bagged green and black teas scored high in antioxidant content, a key indicator of potential health value. Even the powdered instant teas and ready-to-drink iced teas contained a good deal of antioxidants, though not as much as fresh-brewed tea.

Brewed tea appears to have more antioxidant action than almost any whole fruit or vegetable-and more than most commercial fruit or vegetable juices, too. Other research shows that adding milk, sugar, or lemon to tea does not destroy antioxidants or block their absorption by the body.

While tea is a generally benign beverage without harmful side effects, it does contain caffeine. Black tea has one-half or less of the caffeine in coffee, and green tea contains somewhat less than black.

Decaffeinated tea appears to be almost as rich in antioxidants as the caffeinated form, so decaf may be a better choice for people with hypertension, irregular heart rhythms, or anxiety or panic attacks. If you're pregnant or nursing, you may want to avoid caffeine because it can cause abnormal heart rhythms in the fetus or jittery behavior in the infant.

Also be aware that caffeine interacts with certain drugs-such as birth-control pills and certain heart and thyroid medications, antidepressants, and sedatives; check the package insert of any drugs you're taking.

SUMMING UP
While the evidence of the health benefits of traditional tea is mounting, it's not yet clear whether it's the tea itself or other factors that result in the lower disease risks of frequent tea drinkers. Nonetheless, since drinking tea is safe, convenient, and inexpensive, there's little downside and possible health benefits for those who enjoy the beverage.

There is not yet enough evidence to make recommendations about how much of which type of tea to drink. But don't think of tea as a substitute for eating a varied diet rich in fruits and vegetables. The evidence that produce helps prevent disease is far stronger than the evidence for tea.

OTHER BEVERAGES
Tea is not the only beverage that contains antioxidants. Cocoa and coffee-especially the strong brews favored by French consumers-typically have higher antioxidant activity than green or black tea, according to a study from the Nestlé' Research Center in Switzerland. (Herbal teas chamomile, lime flower, mint, rosehip, and verveine--had by far the least antioxidant power.) Coffee and cocoa are both rich in polyphenols, the same class of antioxidants that gives nonherbal tea its apparent disease-fighting powers. However, the evidence from the type of nutritional studies conducted on tea drinkers indicates that coffee and cocoa have only a tepid positive effect in humans. Other beverages that have high to moderately high antioxidant power include grape juice, red wine, tomato juice, and orange juice.

CLOSE WINDOW

www.tributetea.com

RETURN TO TRIBUTE TEA	SHOULD YOU SWITCH TO TEA?	BEEHOUSE TEAPOTS
Evidence is mounting that black, green, and oolong tea have important health benefits. While tea drinking is embellished with great ceremony in such places as Japan, China, and Great Britain, in the more hurrying culture of the U.S., tea is viewed as just another beverage. Americans drink 85 percent of their tea iced. And the brew is much less popular than soft drinks, beer, coffee, milk, fruit beverages, or bottled water. Yet drinking tea-hot or iced-may be an easy, pleasurable way to get some serious health benefits. A number of recent studies add support to earlier findings about the benefits of tea and reveal some possible new ones. The evidence for those benefits is strongest for green tea, mainly because the green brew has been studied more than the others. *Stronger bones?* Tea drinking may increase bone-mineral density and so, theoretically, could protect against osteoporosis. Two recent studies from China and Great Britain report higher bone-density measurements among tea drinkers. The Chinese study, which included over 1,000 participants age 30 and over, found that those adults who had been drinking tea regularly for 6 to 10 years had higher lumbar-spine bone-mineral density than those who didn't partake of the brew. Those who had been regular tea drinkers for more than 10 years had the highest bone density in all sites measured. Most of the tea drinkers in this study drank green or oolong tea, but some did drink black tea. Interestingly, the key variable was how long tea drinkers had been consuming tea, not how much or what type they drank each day. Additionally, in a study of more than 1,200 British women over age 65, current tea drinkers-whether they sipped one cup or more than six cups a day-had higher bone-density measurements than non-tea drinkers. *Healthier heart?* Dutch researchers reported in May that tea drinkers had a substantially lower risk of heart attack-particularly fatal ones-than those who don't drink tea. That study included nearly 5,000 adults age 55 and older. Those participants who drank over 11 ounces of black tea daily had about half the risk of heart attack and less than one-third the risk of fatal heart attack compared with nondrinkers. Another study, also published in May, this one from the Harvard School of Public Health, looked at patient-survival rates after a heart attack. The more tea that patients drank in the year before their heart attack, the better their chances of surviving in the years after. Participants were divided into moderate drinkers (fewer than 14 cups per week), heavy drinkers (14 or more cups weekly), and nondrinkers. Moderate drinkers had a 28 percent lower death rate after heart attack than nondrinkers, and heavy drinkers had a 44 percent lower death rate than those who didn't drink tea. Those results held up after researchers adjusted for such factors as age, smoking, obesity, and hypertension. *Improved arteries?* Researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine report that both short- and long-term tea drinking appear to improve blood-vessel functioning in patients with coronary heart disease. In that clinical trial, researchers measured the effects of black tea on the arteries of 50 coronary patients. Tea improved artery functioning and seemed to reverse atherosclerosis, which can lead to heart attack and stroke. An earlier Dutch study of more than 3,400 people without cardiovascular disease found that the risk of developing severe atherosclerosis was 46 and 69 percent lower in participants who drank one to two cups or more than four cups of tea per day, respectively. Those protective effects were particularly evident in women. *Cancer fighter?* Recent research supports earlier findings that tea may have cancer-protective qualities. Some promising findings were presented in April 2002 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. A large study of over 18,000 Chinese men revealed that tea drinkers were about half as likely to develop stomach or esophageal cancer as non-tea drinkers. Another Chinese study found that people who drank one to three cups of green tea a day had an apparent 30 percent reduction in their risk of developing stomach cancer; the risk reduction jumped to 61 percent for people who drank more than three cups daily. And a study published in June suggests that tea drinking may possibly have a protective effect on cancer, particularly in men. However, a recent Japanese study of over 26,000 people found no link between drinking green tea and protection from gastric cancer. *HOW TEA MAY FIGHT DISEASE* The three nonherbal teas-black, green, and oolong-all come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Their differences lie in the processing: Heating the leaves immediately after they've been chopped minimizes certain chemical changes and produces green tea; a brief delay in heating yields oolong tea, and a longer delay yields black tea. All three forms of Camellia sinensis are unusually rich in a potent class of antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are important because they neutralize harmful free radicals, the highly unstable molecules produced by the body's normal metabolism and by exposure to chemicals, heavy metals, radiation, and the like. Lacking a vital part of their molecular structure, free radicals oxidize other molecules by snatching the missing part from them. That process can damage the body's cells, proteins, and fats-and, in theory, can help cause a wide range of diseases and possibly even hasten aging. To minimize the damage, the body uses antioxidants-some produced internally, others gleaned from food and drink-to help neutralize the radicals. In theory, antioxidants can protect against disease and may help to explain why tea drinkers tend to be healthier. In laboratory and animal studies, the antioxidants in tea have been shown to help check the formation of certain carcinogenic compounds, disrupt several tumor-promoting enzymes, kill or at least slow the growth of actual cancer cells while leaving normal cells unscathed, and prevent normal cells from turning cancerous, mainly by shielding their DNA from oxidative damage. Other laboratory studies suggest that tea may help protect the heart by relaxing blood vessels; by inhibiting blood clots, which can trigger a heart attack or stroke; by shielding the "bad" LDL cholesterol from the oxidative damage that makes it stick to the walls of coronary arteries; and possibly by helping to improve blood-cholesterol levels. Other compounds in tea include fluoride and phytoestrogens, which researchers speculate may favorably affect bone-mineral density. *HOT, COLD, OR DECAF?* When Consumer Reports tested teas in November 1999, bagged green and black teas scored high in antioxidant content, a key indicator of potential health value. Even the powdered instant teas and ready-to-drink iced teas contained a good deal of antioxidants, though not as much as fresh-brewed tea. Brewed tea appears to have more antioxidant action than almost any whole fruit or vegetable-and more than most commercial fruit or vegetable juices, too. Other research shows that adding milk, sugar, or lemon to tea does not destroy antioxidants or block their absorption by the body. While tea is a generally benign beverage without harmful side effects, it does contain caffeine. Black tea has one-half or less of the caffeine in coffee, and green tea contains somewhat less than black. Decaffeinated tea appears to be almost as rich in antioxidants as the caffeinated form, so decaf may be a better choice for people with hypertension, irregular heart rhythms, or anxiety or panic attacks. If you're pregnant or nursing, you may want to avoid caffeine because it can cause abnormal heart rhythms in the fetus or jittery behavior in the infant. Also be aware that caffeine interacts with certain drugs-such as birth-control pills and certain heart and thyroid medications, antidepressants, and sedatives; check the package insert of any drugs you're taking. *SUMMING UP* While the evidence of the health benefits of traditional tea is mounting, it's not yet clear whether it's the tea itself or other factors that result in the lower disease risks of frequent tea drinkers. Nonetheless, since drinking tea is safe, convenient, and inexpensive, there's little downside and possible health benefits for those who enjoy the beverage. There is not yet enough evidence to make recommendations about how much of which type of tea to drink. But don't think of tea as a substitute for eating a varied diet rich in fruits and vegetables. The evidence that produce helps prevent disease is far stronger than the evidence for tea. *OTHER BEVERAGES* Tea is not the only beverage that contains antioxidants. Cocoa and coffee-especially the strong brews favored by French consumers-typically have higher antioxidant activity than green or black tea, according to a study from the Nestlé' Research Center in Switzerland. (Herbal teas chamomile, lime flower, mint, rosehip, and verveine--had by far the least antioxidant power.) Coffee and cocoa are both rich in polyphenols, the same class of antioxidants that gives nonherbal tea its apparent disease-fighting powers. However, the evidence from the type of nutritional studies conducted on tea drinkers indicates that coffee and cocoa have only a tepid positive effect in humans. Other beverages that have high to moderately high antioxidant power include grape juice, red wine, tomato juice, and orange juice. CLOSE WINDOW www.tributetea.com