A Nice Cuppa

Buddhist monks brought the first seeds of the tea plant to Japan from China in the eighth century A.D. after discovering that it kept them from falling asleep during meditation. Compressed tea became a form of currency in Asia by the 10^th century. It wasn’t until the early 1600s that Dutch traders brought tea to Europe. And finally by the 17^th century it reached North America. Not surprisingly, it took three more centuries before Western medicine began to acknowledge the health benefits of tea—its antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties have been widely used in Eastern medicine for millennia.

Black, green and white teas all come from the same plant Camellia sinensis but white tea is the least processed. The leaves and buds are picked and air dried whereas other teas are oxidized, rolled, bruised, steamed, aged and/or fired reducing their polyphenols or catechins, antioxidants with the powerful ability to fight virus and bacteria and stop the mutation process of carcinogens on DNA.

A Pace University study * proved that White Tea Extract was more effective than green tea at retarding bacterial growth that caused Staphylococcus and Streptococcus infections, pneumonia and dental caries. Results obtained from the model also suggest that it may have anti-viral effects and additional studies indicated that it has anti-fungal properties. “Past studies have shown that green tea stimulates the immune system to fight disease,” said Milton Schiffenbauer, Ph.D., a microbiologist and professor in the Dept. of Biology at Pace University. “Our research shows white tea extract can actually destroy in vitro the organisms that cause disease.” Several findings in the study determined:

. The anti-viral and anti-bacterial effect of white tea is greater than that of green tea.

. White tea extract exhibited an anti-fungal effect on both Penicillium chrysogenum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

. White tea extract may have application in the inactivation of pathogenic human microbes.

At the Skin Study Center of University Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University* *, it was determined that white tea extract protects against the oxidative stress of the skin that causes a breakdown in cellular strength and function. Researchers found that DNA damage that occurs in cells after exposure to sunlight was limited in skin cells protected by white tea extract. In general, researches believe that white tea extract’s antioxidant properties may provide anti-aging benefits. The same process of oxidative stress in skin cells that lead to immune system damage can also promote skin cancer and photo damage, such as wrinkling or mottled pigmentation. It appears that the white tea extract build’s the skin’s resistance to these stresses.

A study published in the journal Carcinogenesis by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute*** at Oregon State University found that consumption of moderate amounts of green or white tea might provide protection against colon tumors about as well as the prescription drug Sunlindac, which has also been known to be effective but can cause the serious side effects of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), such as bleeding and ulcers. But the study also indicated that routine consumption of green or white teas could be especially effective in combination with NSAIDS to provide even more cancer protection. According to Gayle Orner, one of the researchers for this report, “Teas exert significant protective effects in experimental animal models of skin, lung, esophageal, gastric, hepatic, small intestinal, pancreatic, colon, bladder and mammary cancer.” The institute has been examining the effectiveness of white versus green tea in blocking mutagens and preventing cancer in general. A professor at Linus Pauling, Rod Dashwood, wanted to examine if tea could prevent cancer progression even after cells were damaged so mice predisposed to tumor development were used for the study. Without any treatment, the mice developed about 30 polyps each in their colons. Therapy with the drug Sulindac cut polyp formation in these mice in half. Consumption of green tea reduced the number of tumors in the mice from an average of 30 to 17. Consumption of white tea reduced the tumors from an average of 30 to 13. Mice given both Sulindac and white tea in combination had a tumor reduction of 80 percent, from 30 tumors to six. Black tea does not appear to have the same anti-cancer properties as green or white tea.

Best of all, for those who do not prefer the “grassy” taste of green tea, the delicate flavor of white tea is delightful. Fresh, seasonally harvested, loose tea, instead of bagged tea, is a nutritional powerhouse that is a delicious, preventative and safe way to combat disease.

Sources

*http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040526070934.htm

**http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/medizin_gesundheit/bericht-16116.html

***http://www.thegroovymind.com