Tea in the News  

7 Reasons to Drink Green Tea

February 20, 2008.
You'd think the daily dose of disease-fighting, inflammation-squelching antioxidants--long linked with heart protection--would be enough incentive, but wait, there's more! Posted on Yahoo. Read More >>

Passage to Peace: Exploring Tea Culture Today

Sept. 20, 2005
REUTERS - An ingredient in green tea that researchers think might fight cancer may also protect the brain from the memory-destroying Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists injected mice with an antioxidant from green tea called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and said it decreased production of beta-amyloid, a protein that forms the plaques that clog the brains of Alzheimer’s victims. Several months of injections reduced plaque formation by as much as 54 percent, researchers from the University of South Florida wrote in the Journal of Neuroscience. The mice had been genetically programmed to develop an Alzheimer’s-like disease.

Tea may be key to protecting against some cancers

(CNN Food & Health Correspondent Linda Ciampa) -- 1998 --You may want to add a cup of tea to your daily menu. A new study shows tea -- either black or green, hot or cold -- may prevent some cancers, especially oral cancers. A researcher at the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine in Beijing studied 59 patients with precancerous lesions in the mouth. When patients drank or applied tea to the mouth, the precancerous cells stopped growing and the lesions began to heal.

Tea's reputation as a healthy brew increasing

(By Sue Licher) -- June, 2000 -- Few people drink as much tea as physician John Weisburger, Ph.D. To him, each cup is more than just a steamy, comforting brew. What has led him to sip almost a dozen cups a day is the growing -- even astonishing -- evidence of tea's health-promoting properties. According to Weisburger, tea is probably the single best thing you can add to your diet to ward off serious illness. This conviction will doubtless raise a few hackles among colleagues who give that honor to fresh fruit and vegetables. But Weisburger, who chaired two international scientific symposiums on tea and human health, is convinced of his message.

Cup of tea cuts heart attack risk

(MSNBC NEWS SERVICES_ -- July 8, 1999 -- Substances called flavonoids found to be powerful preventive. Drinking at least one cup of tea a day could cut the risk of heart attack by almost half, a new study shows. The brew contains natural compounds called flavonoids that can neutralize harmful chemicals that damage cells — leading to heart attacks, stroke and cancer. Flavoniods are one of the most powerful antioxidants, or substances that offset the damaging effects of oxygen in the body. Scientists have recently become excited about the potential benefits of the chemicals, which also are abundant in onions, apples and red wine.

Strongest Antioxidant Found in Tea

(REUTERS By E.J. Mundell) -- September, 1999 --Anyone for a steaming hot cup of antioxidants? One expert says tea leaves contain the strongest known form of the disease-fighting compounds.

"Our research shows that green tea contains a powerful antioxidant, known as epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG," said Dr. Lester Mitscher, distinguished professor of medicinal chemistry at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. EGCG is the "strongest of all" the antioxidants he's aware of -- more than 100 times as effective at soaking up free radicals than vitamin C, and 25 times more powerful than vitamin E. Mitscher put various teas -- green, black, and oolong -- through tests designed to spot the presence of antioxidants. Green teas have, by far, the highest concentrations of active EGCG, Mitscher said. "Green tea is plucked at the appropriate time and then is immediately steamed," he explained. "That heat process prevents the internal oxidation of these compounds."

He said oolong and black tea leaves are allowed to oxidize during processing. This oxidization greatly reduces the amount of active EGCG in those teas. Black tea, for example contains just 40% of the EGCG of green tea. The daily tea consumption needed for optimum antioxidant effects has "not really been firmly established," Mitscher said. But he points out that in countries like China and Japan, "people customarily drink 4 or more cups (of green tea) per day." Studies in those populations reveal "a lower incidence of ...degenerative diseases," he said. "That's probably a healthy dose. We don't know that one cup (per day) wouldn't work, but that's really not been established.

Prostate cancer and green tea

(MAYO CLINIC) -- January 12, 1999 -- Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among U.S. males. It is the second leading cause of cancer death — trailing only lung cancer — in that group. Researchers have known for years that the incidence of prostate cancer is considerably lower in Asian countries. One possible explanation advanced by scientists is the high consumption of plant foods among Asian populations. Another is the growing number of laboratory studies indicating that green tea — the most popular tea in China, Japan and other Asian countries — has anti-tumor effects.

Tea may enhance Fertility

(KAISER PERMANENTE MEDICAL) -- 1998 -- Although previous research has suggested that women who drink coffee and other caffeinated beverages regularly may experience fertility problems, a new study did not find that coffee drinking had a significant effect on fertility. But researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northern California in Oakland were surprised to note that women who drink more than one-half cup of caffeinated tea every day may actually increase their odds of conceiving, according to findings published in the American Journal of Public Health.