Although increasing attention is now rightly being paid to the health benefits of white and green tea, the virtues of many more familiar and more common, black tea, should not be overlooked. All three are products of the plant Camellia sinensis and as such have many common characteristics, including their antioxidant functions, the difference between them is entirely attributable to the different methods by which they occur.
The so-called herbal drinks however, are based herbal tea leaves of a variety of other plants. Although often very beneficial to health, which are not "tea" at all in the strict sense, this term is reserved for products from the plant Camellia sinensis, and should be considered separately, probably as a branch of medicine or herbal therapy.
The freshness, ie unprocessed leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant are rich in compounds called polyphenols, particularly a type known as catechins, which are powerful antioxidants. The problem is that these compounds are easily destroyed by processing the leaves go. For black tea the process known as fermentation, results in virtually complete oxidation of catechin resulted in a dramatic loss of its antioxidant.
The prized white teas, however, are produced by steam from the youngest leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, protecting them from harmful oxidation. Green teas are produced by a similar process of treatment heat, but the older leaves are generally not used as antioxidant-rich ant active compounds. Another category of tea, known as oolong tea, that are somewhere between green and black varieties, are partially oxidized (fermented).
While traditional medicine continues to insist that Evidence of the elements giving health benefits of these teas is not clear evidence, in fact, there is widespread anti-oxidant power of these drinks. For example, some respectable number of studies have concluded that moderate consumption of tea (just a few cups a day) can reduce the risk of heart disease by about thirdly, in the case of black tea and half in the case of green tea. At least one research report also suggests that tea consumption may contribute to reduce the risk of stroke by nearly two thirds.
Because heart disease and stroke remain two of the main causes of premature death and disability in the wealthy Western world, these results only seem to do that regular consumption of tea, green tea, including protection useful.
But the benefits do not stop there.
Avail radical oxidative damage to blood vessel walls is known to be a factor in the development of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), another major cause of life-threatening cardiovascular diseases. Black tea consumption has been shown to has a protective effect on the cells lining blood vessels (endothelium) and to the extent that this effect is due to the antioxidant polyphenols, is very likely that testing green tea could produce results at least as good.
Less conclusive, but, curiously, there is also evidence that the antioxidant polyphenols green and black tea may play a role in the fight against cancer and osteoporosis.
In the case of cancer, these effects are clearly demonstrated in animals, if the evidence against humans is less clear. But as cancer is a degenerative disease in early May, which will be accelerated by oxidative damage in the cells caused by the activity of free radicals, the antioxidant activity of black tea and green potential can only be beneficial.
Similarly, no observational evidence that bone density is positively correlated with consumption of tea, which protects against osteoporosis, probably due to the anti-oxidant drink, but causality is not understood.
Despite the household stocks of conventional medicine, it seems a good test of the qualities of antioxidant tea polyphenols, in general, and green tea in particular. But that's not all. Tea is also a good source of some trace elements, including manganese, which is itself a powerful antioxidant. Black Tea is a very good source, and a convenient way to obtain this mineral, which is often drastically in our possession. In addition to its general anti-oxidant manganese is also known by therapists as an aid nutrition for heart disease and bone health, to relieve the symptoms of diabetes and to treat certain types of seizures.
The only drawback to the varieties of the nature of consumption of large amounts of tea that is both green and black can contain large amounts of caffeine. Black tea is also rich in tannin, acid substance that also gives an astringent taste for red wines, and in May it lead to mild stomach upset if exaggerated This problem does not arise with green tea, however, and both black and green varieties are available in coffee decaffeinated, finally, in a range of natural flavors to enhance palatability improved.
About the Author:
Steve Smith is a freelance copywriter specialising in direct marketing and with a particular interest in health products. Find out more at
http://www.sisyphuspublicationsonline.com/LiquidNutrition/HealthBenefitsOfTea.htm
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Green Tea Or Black – The Choice Is Yours
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