by Chau-Jean Lin, AWC London
Coming from a family of tea farmers, tea masters and tea producers, people often ask me if tea, as a beverage made from the plant species Camellia sinensis, can help alleviate common ailments – including weight problems, dull skin, digestive problems, aches and more. The question is usually prefaced with a reference to traditional forms of medicine. As a trained scientist, my answer usually points them in the direction of recent scientific research, which indicates that drinking tea may improve one’s health if complemented with a healthy lifestyle. Although tea is the most popular beverage in the world, drinking tea is not a panacea to all problems – much as we would like it to be!
The idea behind tea to improve one’s health is likely rooted in the use of tea in traditional forms of medicine. Its properties were already noted in early writings on the subject. As early as 1590, Li Shizhen wrote in the Compendium of Materia Medica that “tea is cold and lowers the fire.” In traditional Chinese medicine, the “fire” refers to inflammation.
The interest in tea as traditional medicine is likely linked to its stimulant and diuretic properties, which are formed from its key chemical constituents. These chemical components include polyphenols, caffeine, amino acids, vitamins (especially vitamin B2 and C), dietary fiber and inorganic mineral elements such as zinc, potassium and manganese (1). In recent research, these properties have been shown to improve cardiac health (2), and there is a growing bank of evidence that tea improves digestion and mental processes (3).
With the popularity of tea as a means to maintain a healthy lifestyle growing, scientists have been looking more closely at the chemistry of tea over the last decade. Although the research behind tea has been limited to subjects consuming large doses of tea extractions in the form of capsules rather than drinking cups of tea, there have been links particularly with green tea and antioxidant polyphenols.
Among these recent studies, the popularity of tea as a beverage with health benefits has been promoted primarily due to the research on catechins, which are polyphenolic compounds in tea. Catechins are the molecules in tea that can create astringency when it is brewed for too long. Because catechins are soluble in hot water, we are able to extract them from tea easily and quickly absorb them with the help of caffeine, another molecule well known for promoting one’s metabolism. Although catechins are present in other plants, measurements also show that the quantity (11-17% content) of the compounds found in tea, especially in green tea (4), is much greater when compared to other similar plants. Catechins in tea have been shown to have antioxidant, anti-cancer, and antibacterial qualities as well as inhibiting blood glucose levels to help chronic diseases such as Type II diabetes (5).
So a cup of tea in the morning can give you both a caffeine boost and help you with a healthy start to the day.
(1) Sharangi, A. B. (2009). "Medicinal and therapeutic potentialities of tea (camellia sinensis L.) – A review." Food Research International, 42(5), 529-535.
(2) Li, G., Zhang, Y., Thabane, L., Mbuagbaw, L., Liu, A., Levine, M.A. and Holbrook, A., 2015. "Effect of green tea supplementation on blood pressure among overweight and obese adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis." Journal of Hypertension, 33(2), pp.243-254.
(3) Vuong, Q.V., 2014. "Epidemiological evidence linking tea consumption to human health: a review." Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 54(4), pp.523-536.
(4) All about Tea. Japan Tea Export Promotion Council, 2020.
(5) Asbaghi O, Fouladvand F, Moradi S, Ashtary-Larky D, Choghakhori R, Abbasnezhad A. "Effect of green tea extract on lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta- analysis." Diabetes & Metabolic Syndrome Clinical Research & Reviews. 2020;14(4):293-301.
Chau-Jean Lin is a member of the American Women’s Club in London and founder of Marulin tea company.
Images are courtesy of www.marulin.co.uk