Green tea or black tea?

[A2K89]

The health benefits of drinking green tea and black tea are vast, especially green tea... I've recently started drinking a lot of green tea myself, and have noticed the detox effect at work.

Green tea is second only to water as the most consumed beverage in the world. It has been used medicinally for centuries in India and China. Green tea is prepared by picking, lightly steaming and allowing the leaves to dry whereas black tea is fermented before drying. Fermentation can destroy some of the active components of black tea. The active constituents in green tea are powerful antioxidants called polyphenols (catechins) and flavonols. Tannins in tea are large polyphenol molecules and form the bulk of the active compounds in green tea, while catechins make up nearly 90% of the tannins. Several catechins are present in significant quantities and account for the bulk of research: epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG) and epigallocatechin gallate EGCG. EGCG accounts for 10-50% of the total catechin content and appears to be the most powerful of the catechins; its antioxidant activity about 25-100 times more potent than vitamins C and E. One cup of green tea may provide 10-40mg of polyphenols and has antioxidant activity greater than a serving of broccoli, spinach, carrots or strawberries. Research shows that green tea may have be anti-atherogenic by reducing cholesterol & triglycerides; reduce blood clotting; enhance immune function; enhance weight loss; and be anti-cancenogenic.

Theoretically, the high antioxidant activity of green tea makes it beneficial by protecting the body from oxidative damage due to free radicals. Diseases that are association with free radical damage include cancer, heart disease, suppressed immune function, and accelerated aging.

In the laboratory, green tea is an effective antioxidant. It can protect against experimentally induced DNA damage; and slow or halt the initiation and progression of cancerous tumor growth. There is also evidence from some studies that green tea provides significant immunoprotective qualities, particularly in the case of cancer patients undergoing radiation or chemotherapy. White blood cell count appears to be maintained more effectively in cancer patients consuming green tea compared to non-supplemented patients

There may also be an anti-obesity action of green tea. In one study, mice receiving green tea in their diets had a significant suppression of food intake, body weight gain and fat tissue accumulation. Also, levels of cholesterol and triglycerides were lower in mice receiving the green tea diet and leptin levels in serum showed a decrease with green tea treatments – indicating that green tea may have a direct effect reducing body weight.

Dosage: Typical dosage recommendations are for 125-500mg/day – preferably of an extract standardized to at least 60% polyphenols and/or EGCG as a marker compound (this should be equivalent to 4-10 cups of brewed green tea).

Side Effects: Green tea consumption of as much as 20 cups per day has not been associated with any significant side effects. In high doses, teas that contain caffeine may lead to restlessness, insomnia, and tachycardia. Decaffeinated versions of green tea and green tea extracts are available – but the amounts of phenolic/catechin compounds can vary between extracts.

(Source: SupplementWatch)

Research Overview

Green Tea:
1. Prevents tumor growth and metastasis
2. May be used to control H pylori gastric disease
3. May be an effective therapy in treating human papilloma virus (HPV) cervical lesions
4. Protects normal cells from the radiation of cancer cells
5. Is a powerful antioxidant
6. May be used as an anti-inflammatory for the skin
7. Reduces risk of breast cancer
8. Reduces risk of lung cancer
9. Reduces risk of cancer in alcohol drinkers
10. Reduces risk of cancer in cigarette smokers
11. Reduces the risk of cancer from proximity to PCP pollutants
12. Used in treatment for cervical cancer
13. Protects prostate from tumor development
14. Protects bladder from tumor development
15. Protects from gastric atrophy during fasting
16. Diminishes lipid peroxidation in the brain
17. May be used to treat skin tumors
18. Control growth of myelogenic leukemia cells
19. May prevent atherosclerosis
20. Is a free radical scavenger
21. May prevent Parkinson’s disease
22. May be used to treat periodontal disease
23. Halts development of breast cancer tumors
24. May help prevent cataracts
25. May be effective in treating neurodegenerative diseases
26. Is beneficial in the treatment of diabetes
27. May prevent liver damage from alcohol
28. May prevent cancer of the mouth
29. Reduces inflammation in arthritis
30. Lowers total cholesterol levels
31. Prevents ishemic cardiac damage
32. May prevent Alzheimer's disease
33. May be used to treat baldness
34. May control obesity
35. Reduces risk of colon cancer

Other green tea articles:
7 Reasons to Drink Green Tea - Beauty Eats on Yahoo! Food
Health Benefits of Drinking Green Tea
Benefit of Green Tea Diet - Green Tea Extract Health Benefits


So anyone have any stories about their tea drinking?

[A2K89]

Oh and I have another kinda off topic question..

About a year ago I water fasted for about three days... Recently I've been interested in starting another fast, for about 4-5 days.

Would going on a green tea fast be smart? Or should I just do a juice fast?

Apparently it prevents "gastric atrophy" while fasting.. Don't know if thats a common probable during fasting..

Gastric atrophy: A condition in which the stomach muscles shrink and become weak. It results in a lack of digestive juices. Gastritis: Inflammation of the stomach.

[beautyscientist]

I am from England and you can't get through a day without being offered black tea every few hours. I have seen it seriously suggested that the widespread drinking of tea enabled the British urban population to grow in the early years of the idustrial revolution despite the unsanitary conditions in the early cities. It's health benefits are that good!

I have never seen any proper data to convince me that green tea is any better - though I haven't looked that hard so it may exist.

What detox benefits are you experiencing?

[Blueskied]

I am into black tea,too. It tastes way better than green one.
It's also healthy, something to do with the blood vessels.
Too bad this effect is ruined by adding milk as studies show, which is my preferred way of drinking black tea.

[openeyes]

I tend to drink mostly green and white teas. White tea seems to be less well known but it's even higher in antioxidants (though raw chocolate beats them all). Green, white, and black tea are all from the same kind of plant, they're just picked at different times, white being freshest/youngest, then green, then black.

If taste is an issue to you, add a bit of spearmint in (I've tried bagged green tea with spearmint added in for good effect, but lately I've gotten more into loose leaf teas). Also make sure you're only soaking the tea for a couple minutes, as the taste does change after that.

As for fasting on tea, a 4-5 day fast is fairly mild so it should be fine. If you google tea fasting you'll find people recommending a number of different teas, from "Fasting Tea, Yogi Tea" to Essiac Tea. Try whatever method most appeals to you.

[Keith]

As I understand it, Green Tea is a much better source of a particular antioxidant, while black tea has a lower level of a wider variety of antioxidants.

As such, it's probably best to have some of each.

Note though, that the black tea largely loses its antioxidant benefits if you add milk.

[Zombie]

Apparently adding milk to black tea helps prevent esophageal cancer by binding the tannin in the tea.

The Chinese, although they are heavy tea drinkers, drink tea that is low in tannin and have little throat cancer. The British, also profuse drinkers of tea that contains tannin, add milk to their drink which binds tannin, rendering it harmless.

Article here.

I've recently hopped on the rooibos bandwagon, all the antioxidants with very low tannin levels.

[Vantage72]

Just to let you know: Green tea contains caffeine. Black tea too.

Herbal teas and Rooibos don't.

[aSearchingSoul]

I found a study a number of days ago that may interest you.

Here's the summary of the findings of the study:

"Therefore, we conclude that green tea has more health benefits than an equal volume of black tea in terms of antioxidant capacity."

To read the rest of the study go here:
Antioxidant Activity of Black Tea vs. Green Tea -- Lee et al. 132 (4): 785 -- Journal of Nutrition

[eblight]

Thanks for all the info on green tea. I just found out that green tea also contains an amino acid called L-Theanine. Theanine has a calming and relaxing effect on the nervous system and will help induce Alpha brain waves.

[Vantage72]

Some interesting info about caffeine.

A: Dr. Oz and Dr. Joel Fuhrman answer: One cup of coffee per day is not likely to cause a significant risk and may even be beneficial, but the more you drink over this one cup maximum can interfere with your health and even your weight-loss goals. Caffeine addicts are at higher risk of irregular heartbeats, high blood pressure, and even elevated cholesterol and homocysteine, two risk factors for heart disease.

Besides the slight increased risk of heart disease, there are other problems. First, caffeine is a stimulant whose consumption allows you to get by with less sleep and reduces the depth of sleep. Such sleep deprivation results in higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and it interferes with glucose metabolism, leading to insulin resistance. This insulin resistance (and subsequent higher baseline glucose levels) further promotes aging, blood vessel disease and other problems. In other words, caffeine consumption promotes inadequate sleep and less sleep promotes disease and premature aging. Adequate sleep is also necessary to prevent overeating. There is no substitute for sleep.

The second issue is that drinking caffeine boosts estrogen levels. Higher levels of estrogen worsen problems like endometriosis, breast pain and menstrual disorders. Increased estrogen levels are also associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, so theoretically coffee could turn out in the future to be more dangerous than we thought. A recent study showed women who consumed more than 500 milligrams of caffeine per day (four to five cups of coffee) had nearly 70 percent higher estrogen levels during the early part of their menstrual cycle than women consuming only one cup or no caffeine. Coffee, tea and colas fuel most of America's caffeine addiction: coffee 40-175 mg. per cup, tea 30-110 mg. per cup, cola 40-90 mg. per 12 oz.

Also, drinking even moderate amounts of decaffeinated coffee can quadruple a person's risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. Since these studies involved decaffeinated coffee, not caffeinated, the researchers speculated that organic solvents in the decaf coffee might be the culprit.

If this is not enough to convince you coffee is not harmless, consider that I have my own unique objection to my overweight patients consuming caffeine. I find that these individuals are drawn to eat more often and are not able to determine when they are truly hungry because of caffeine consumption.

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Keith

Note though, that the black tea largely loses its antioxidant benefits if you add milk.

I now read that this is no longer considered the case. So I stand corrected.

[openeyes]

To anyone contemplating a foray into various teas I recommend checking out this site:

Gourmet Tea, Loose Leaf vs. Tea Bag

I'd been drinking green and white tea in bags for the past couple years, not realizing there was anything significantly better out there health or tastewise. Then my girlfriend gave me a loose leaf bag of Silver Jasmine white tea and an infuser this past Christmas. Not only is the taste better, so are the health benefits, as mentioned in the above link.

[A2K89]

Originally Posted by eblight

Thanks for all the info on green tea. I just found out that green tea also contains an amino acid called L-Theanine. Theanine has a calming and relaxing effect on the nervous system and will help induce Alpha brain waves.

Thanks for the fun-fact, didn't know that. Helpful for someone who is into binaural beats.