Tea: Are Black Tea's Anti-Oxidants As Effective As Green Tea's?

Tea: Are Black Tea's Anti-Oxidants As Effective As Green Tea's?Copyright (c) 2007 Marcus StoutGolden Moon Teahttp://www.GoldenMoonTea.comIn recent years, scientists have been discovering the benefits ofdrinking tea. Tea's anti-oxidants have become the source of muchdiscussion for their ability to prevent disease and slow theaging process. We've learned that tea drinking can be a simpleway to help preserve your health.Most of the attention has been given to green tea. All types oftea come from the camellia sinensis plant, but the finishedproducts we drink are different because of the way the tea leavesare processed. Black tea is fully fermented, oolong tea ispartially fermented and green tea is left unfermented.Because fermentation changes the properties of the tea leaves,and thus the anti-oxidants they contain, green tea is believed tobe healthier than other forms. Green tea's unfermented leavescontain all the plant's anti-oxidants in their natural state. Inblack tea, the converted anti-oxidants are referred to astheaflavins; green tea's anti-oxidants are called catechins.However, at least one study suggests that black tea'stheaflavins are equally as beneficial as the catechins in greentea. A study conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kongconcluded that the theaflavins in black tea are just as effectiveat scavenging free radicals as the catechins in green tea.The scavenging of free radicals is critical to maintaining ourhealth. These free radicals are created as a by product ofconverting the food we eat to energy. If they are not kept incheck, they wreak havoc on our bodies by damaging our cells andDNA. This leads to faster aging and a higher risk of manydiseases, including cancer, heart disease and stroke. They evenmake us look older.So, to prevent your risk of disease, doctors recommend that youhave a diet high in anti-oxidants. And, not all anti-oxidants arecreated equal. It's helpful to eat the foods that contain themost potent anti-oxidants. This includes pomegranates, tomatoesand blueberries. And, it also includes drinking tea each day.The attention that green tea has received for its naturalanti-oxidants has caused a significant rise in the consumptionand availability of green tea in the Western world. While greentea has always been the tea of choice in Asian countries, blacktea is far more popular in the west, though that is changing.However, black tea is still the most widely consumed beverage inthe west (after water) and is expected to remain so. The newsthat our favored black tea may be just as effective at preventingdisease as green tea is good news, indeed.If you want to receive the maximum health benefits from your tea,it's important to make it part of your daily life. Asiancultures, where rates of cancer and heart disease are lowest,consume tea all day long. So, drinking a cup or two of tea a weekmay not be enough to provide you the health benefits you'relooking for.Therefore, it's important to find ways to make tea drinking aregular habit. Even if you're a morning coffee drinker, you mayfind that you can substitute a cup of tea for your second cup ofcoffee of the day.And, a cup of tea can be a very relaxing way to wind down justbefore bed. Because tea's caffeine doesn't seem to causejitters and increase heart rate the way coffee does, most peoplehave no problem drinking it before bed.In addition, you'll find lots of bottled teas available on themarket today. This form makes it simple to grab a bottle of teaand take it anywhere. Some of the health benefits you may gain bydrinking tea each and every day include: There is clear evidence that tea reduces our risk forcardiovascular disease. Tea helps reduce cholesterol levels andprevents the cholesterol that's in our bodies from turning intoartery clogging plaque. There have been many studies that link tea with a reduced riskof many forms of cancer, including colo-rectal cancer, breastcancer, uterine cancer, prostate cancer, stomach cancer and evenskin cancer. There have been studies that suggest that tea is healthy forthe teeth and prevents tooth decay. Some studies suggest that tea can positively affect mood andcognitive performance. Tea may have the ability to regulate the hormone insulin,meaning that it may offer help for those with diabetes. Tea may be able to prevent neurological disorders likeAlzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Tea has been shown to speed up the metabolism and help oxidizefat, so it may help you lose weight.As research continues, it's likely that we'll find even moreways that tea can protect our health and slow down the agingprocess. And, now that it seems that tea can protect usregardless of whether we prefer green tea or black, it's eveneasier to be certain we're getting our daily dose of tea!----------------------------------------------------------Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon Tea Company. For more information about tea, (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea) green tea (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/blacktea) and black tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com