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White Tea: Prevent Cancer, Arthritis, and Fight Aging
(From sciencedaily.com)Researchers from Kingston University teamed up with Neal’s Yard Remedies to test the health properties of 21 plant and herb extracts. They discovered all of the plants tested had some potential benefits, but were intrigued to find white tea considerably outperformed all of them.
Professor Declan Naughton, from the School of Life Sciences at Kingston University in South West London, said the research showed white tea had anti-ageing potential and high levels of anti-oxidants which could prevent cancer and heart disease. “We’ve carried out tests to identify plant extracts that protected the structural proteins of the skin, specifically elastin and collagen,” he explained. “Elastin supports the body’s natural elasticity which helps lungs, arteries, ligaments and skin to function. It also helps body tissue to repair when you suffer wounds and stops skin from sagging.” Collagen is a protein found in connective tissues in the body and is important for skin, strength and elasticity, he added.
Results showed white tea prevented the activities of the enzymes which breakdown elastin and collagen which can lead to wrinkles that accompany ageing. These enzymes, along with oxidants, are associated with inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis
Professor Naughton said: “These enzymes and oxidants are key components of normal body processes. However, in inflammatory conditions, suppressing the activities of these excess components has been the subject of decades of research. We were surprised to find such high activity for the white tea extracts in all five tests that were conducted.”
The researchers were blown away by exactly how well the white tea had performed. “We were testing very small amounts far less than you would find in a drink,” Professor Naughton, one of the country’s leading specialists on inflammation, said. “The early indicators are that white tea reduces the risk of inflammation which is characteristic of rheumatoid arthritis and some cancers as well as wrinkles.”
Eight of the other plants and herbs analysed also helped protect against the breakdown of both elastin and collagen. After white tea, bladderwrack performed well followed by extracts of cleavers, rose, green tea, angelica, anise and pomegranate.
Green Tea and Your Health
Learn about all the health benefits of green tea, from cancer prevention, cardiovascular health, weight loss, diabetes prevention, Alzheimer’s treatment, and more! Find out how green tea can improve your health here!
Rooibos: Health Benefits
Find out how rooibos can improve your health here.
Yerba maté: Health Benefits
Yerba maté (also known simply as maté) is a tea made from the dried leaves of Ilex paraguariensis, an evergreen shrub in the holly family that grows in Central and South America. Maté (pronounced MAH-tay) is most abundant in Paraguay, where it has been the centuries-old drink of the Guarani Indians as well as a traditional treatment for everything from fatigue to appetite control to a weakened immune system.
Yerba Mate has grown in popularity for its weight loss benefits, cholesterol reduction, and its ability to improve focus and mental clarity. One of the biggest health benefits of yerba mate is that it is a side-effect free stimulant. Although it has a small amount of caffeine, it also has xanthines, theobromine and theophylline, which are stimulants. The ingredients stimulate myocardial tissue (heart tissue) while relaxing smooth muscle tissue. It contains 20 vitamins and minerals — including magnesium, potassium and manganese — 15 amino acids and some say, has 90% more antioxidants than green tea.
Yerbe Mate contains Vitamins: A, C, E, B1, B2, Niacin (B3), B5, B Complex. Minerals: Calcium, Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Zinc. Additional Compounds: Carotene, Fatty Acids, Chlorophyll, Flavonols, Polyphenols, Inositol, Trace Minerals, Antioxidants, Tannins, Pantothenic Acid and 15 Amino Acids
Other purported benefits include: Boosts immunity, Brain stimulant, Anti-fatigue, Detoxifies blood, Reverses aging, Appetite control, Fights insomnia, Weight loss aid, Cleans colon, Combats allergies, Relieves stress,Diuretic
JEK –
This stuff is awesome. I had some problems using a diffuser because the matte and rooibos tend to clog the screen but I had another actual tea pot with a coarse screen which I use for this. I order 4 different types of tea for my first tea but this is my morning go to. This stuff is great and holds up extremely well as an iced tea.
DuckyJ –
A good everyday tea with a not too complex mixture of flavors. The trickiest part of it for me was figuring out how to steep it, as it’s a mixture of long leaf and fine grain leaves.
I find for the best results it should be treated like a fine pu-erh; lots of short steeps in smaller cups so that I can enjoy the change of the flavor profile as the fine grains loose their strength early on, and the long leaves take over as they open up more. 10 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, and then increase each steep by five seconds until I suspect that the next cup will be too weak with a 5 second increase, at which point I give it one final, long steep. I usually get six or seven steeps out of a teaspoon.
But on days I can’t be bothered with the whole production, I allow three steepings per teaspoon: 60 seconds, 60 seconds, let it steep until I’ve nearly forgotten that I poured a cup of tea.