Choose the Healthiest Tea
Worldwide, tea is the second most popular beverage after water. Not only is tea flavorful and aromatic, but it also is rich in antioxidants, specifically catechins. Catechins are proven to reduce the risk of cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and infection, and protect your brain and liver from damage.
“All types of tea are made from the leaves, buds, and stems of the evergreen, flowering tea plant Camellia sinensis,” says Jenna Cervantes, a supervising dietitian nutritionist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medicine. “Withering, fixation, rolling, fermentation, and drying are all steps in processing that give each type of tea their characteristic chemical components, flavor, and aroma.”
Green tea is produced with the youngest tea leaves, minimally processed and well-known for its antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties. Green teas are particularly high in the catechin epigallocatechin- 3-gallate (EGCG). EGCG is especially helpful in reducing blood pressure, blood sugars, tooth decay, oxidative stress, and the infection rates of influenza, as well as the risk of cancer. Unfortunately, more is not always better: While drinking green tea is a great choice, there have been cases of liver toxicity from concentrated green tea pill supplements, which go well beyond the amount one would get in a day of tea drinking.
Oolong tea is produced by partial fermentation of the tea leaves, but is the least studied of all teas. However, emerging research may link oolong tea to improving cholesterol numbers even more so than green and black teas.
Black tea is made by first allowing the leaves to brown and ferment; later on, the leaves are heated, dried or crushed. This processing is responsible for the more intense flavor of black teas as well as its high concentration of an antioxidant called theaflavin. Theaflavins are effective at reducing the absorption of both fats and sugars from food consumed and may be beneficial for weight loss. Also, black tea is more strongly associated with reduced risk of ovarian and prostate cancers than other teas.
All types of tea can be helpful in prevention of skin, lung, breast, esophageal, stomach, colon, and prostate cancer, as well as rheumatoid arthritis. “Polyphenols in teas can improve metabolic syndrome by regulating glucose (sugar) and lipid (fat) metabolism, mildly improve blood pressure, and decrease the risk of stroke,” Cervantes adds. Some people experience nausea with tea on an empty stomach.
What’s Not Tea
“Herbal tea isn’t tea at all, but is actually a mixture of spices, herbs, flowers, leaves or fruits known as tisanes. This makes a soothing, warm, caffeine-free beverage,” says Cervantes. Chamomile is known as a calming sleep aid and helpful in relieving gastrointestinal distress. Peppermint tea, from the mint plant, helps with indigestion, but beware: It can worsen acid reflux.
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