Simply Darjeeling!

In its April 2007 issue, page 20, the German magazine Fit for Fun reports that tea with milk is less healthy than ‘pure’ tea. Reflecting on a recent study of the Charite in Berlin, Fit for Fun writes,

“Wird Milch zum Tee hinzugefuegt, bleiben typische Effekte aus, etwa die Erweiterung der Arterien und ein Verbesserung des Blutflusses. Dies ergab eine Studie, in der 16 Frauen schwarzen Tee mit oder ohne Milch tranken. Die Ursache dafuer sind nach Angaben der Forscher die Proteine der Milch, die das im Tee enthaltene Katechin hemmen. Katechin hat eine schuetzende Wirkung auf die Gefaesse. Die Forscher vermuten ausserdem, dass Milch die erwiesene Antikrebswirkung von Tee beeintraechtigen kann.”

A recent study, conducted by University College London and Unilever, found out that black tea can be a remedy for stress. People who drink four cups of black tea daily are less affected by stress-induced health problems.

People connect drinking tea to calming down, and those who drink tea tend to cope better with stress, Andrew Steptoe says. His study gives proof to the fact that tea induces positive changes in bodily chemistry. The level of the stress hormone Cortisol sank much more rapidly in those test persons who drank tea than in those who were given a placebo beverage to drink.

However, the exact substance responsible for this positive effect has not been identified yet. Tea consists of many different substances (polyphenols, flavonoids, etc.) — all of which have been tested as beneficial to health in previous studies.

(Source: Article in the German magazine Stern)

Green tea is an unfermented tea, naturally low in caffeine, and very soothing. It is very popular because of its mild and fresh taste and its many benefits to health, including

• Cancer prevention
• Heart disease prevention
• Stroke prevention
• Rheumatoid arthritis prevention and relief
• Allergy relief
• Weight loss

Jane Pettigrew, in her recent article “What Can Green Tea Do for You?,” summarizes the results of world-wide studies on the health benefits of green tea. Catechins, powerful antioxidants contained in green tea, might offer protection against various forms of cancer (e.g. breast cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, skin cancer), heart disease, and arthritis, as well as against some bacteria and viruses. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the most powerful of these catechins, is believed to prevent cancer cells from growing, to inhibit the growth of some bacteria (e.g. E.coli, Helibacter pylori, Staphylococcus aureus), and protect the brain against memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s. According to a Japanese study, people who drink up to 10 cups of green tea daily reduce their risk of developing any form of cancer. Green tea, Pettigrew further reports, might also be helpful in reducing the effects of aging on the skin. Polyphenols lower the cholesterol level in the blood and reduce blood pressure. Thus, green tea is believed to protect against such diseases as stroke, heart attack, or atherosclerosis. A Duch study found out that five cups of tea a day can reduce the risk of stroke by up to 70 per cent.

(Source: Jane Pettigrew, “What Can Green Tea Do for You?”, TEA & COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL, October 2006, www.teaandcoffee.net)

According to a recent study, conducted by the Charité in Berlin, adding milk to tea counteracts the beneficial nature of the beverage.

In a healthy artery system, blood vessels relax if the blood increases. The study showed that black tea improves this so-called flow-mediated dilation (FMD). If, however, milk is added to the tea, the beneficial effects completely vanish. The researchers believe that certain proteins in milk might cause this negative effect.

[Source: Jane Kirby, “Tea, but no milk, please: How to beat heart disease,” The Independent, Online Edition, January 9, 2007.]