My First Blog on Tea's Effect on Your Health and Ageing!

More about the Good and Healthy Stuff about Tea

Green and black teas are widely used beverages, second only to water. Tea is an extract of the leaf of the plant Camellia sinensis. The major health benefit of tea is that the leaf contains several polyphenols, such as epigallocatechin gallate, and in addition an enzyme, polyphenol oxidase. If upon harvest the leaves are heated, these enzymes are deactivated, and thus, after drying and grinding, the result is green tea. If the leaves are ground and incubated in air at about 40° C, the polyphenol oxidase converts the original polyphenol to a number of other products, such as theaflavin and thearubigins. Upon drying, these are the polyphenols typical of black tea. In most instances, the polyphenols from green and black tea have similar properties in health promotion.

Tea also enhances apoptosis, a phenomenon of elimination of cancer cells. Tea drinkers also have a healthier intestinal flora, through the inhibition of bacteria that have adverse effects and promotion of the growth of beneficial bacteria.

Through the elimination of reactive oxygen species, associated with premature ageing, tea drinkers display good health to an old age.