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Armed with tea
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Stained teeth is a small price to pay for drinking tea, it seems, as research reveals that the brew’s disease fighting antioxidants protect against several cancers, while lowering cholesterol and blood pressure.
By Joanne Nijhuis
Canadians drink more than seven billion cups of tea a year. In fact, next to water, it's the second most popular beverage in the world. But who would have thought it was good for us? Raising a cuppa to your health may sound like a new concept, but scientists in North America, Europe and Asia have been studying tea's healthful antioxidant properties for nearly two decades.
Originally, research focused on green tea but it looks like black tea may have similar health benefits.
Authentic teas, including traditional black tea like orange pekoe, Chinese green tea and the rare oolong, are all derivatives of the same warm-weather evergreen shrub called Camellia sinensis. Black, green and oolong tea are processed from the leaves of this tea plant, yet each has a distinct flavour, colour and aroma, resulting from varying lengths of fermentation before the leaves are cured. Despite their differences, they're all rich in natural compounds that have "antioxidant" properties.
If you're up on your nutritional buzz words, you've probably already heard about antioxidants. They help protect the body from "free radicals", the harmful chemical by-products of normal body functions, along with those that result from the punishments imposed on the body through smoking, air pollution and exposure to sunlight. If not kept under control by antioxidants, these free radicals may contribute to diseases like cancer, stroke and heart disease.
Foods packed with vitamins C and E, beta-carotene and selenium are excellent antioxidant sources. The surprising news is that tea, whether it's black or green, hot or cold, or with or without caffeine, is rich in disease-fighting flavonoids antioxidants - as are oranges, broccoli and wine. The two most important flavonoids in tea are catechins and flavonols, which protect against damage to the body cells.
While most of the news about tea-drinking is positive, there is one negative. To a small degree, tea interferes with the body's absorption of iron.
If you're not at risk for iron-deficiency anemia, drinking a cup with a meal shouldn't pose a problem. And if you're prone to anemia, you can still enjoy tea between meals when iron absorption isn't affected. It looks like tea only decreases iron absorption of iron plant sources like spinach, and not from animal sources like beef. So if you're vegetarian, it's probably better to drink your tea between meals. If you really miss tea with dinner, offset its detrimental effect on iron by pairing it with foods rich in vitamin-C, like orange juice, tomatoes and lemon in the cup.
Before tea-drinkers load their tea pots and prepare to celebrate, realize that more clinical trials with humans are needed before tea should be embraced as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Herbal infusions
Did you know that herbal teas aren't really tea? They're infusions made from a single ingredient or a blend of herbs, fruits, spices, berries or flowers. Although herbal teas may have medicinal properties, in their own right, their potential benefits are very different from black or green teas. With herbal teas, be aware that:
• if you're allergic to any food or plant, you might also be allergic to certain herbal teas
• many herbal teas may not be safe during pregnancy and lactation
• to prevent adverse reactions, you should let your doctor know which herbal teas you drink when you're taking prescribed medications
Joanne Nijhuis, RD, is a clinical dietitian at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She is also a consulting dietitian in private practice.
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