Whether black, white or green, all types of tea are healthy, but to varying degrees. For example, a new joint study by Spanish and British biologists found that green tea can slow the growth of cancer cells.
Enzymes
One of the main ingredients in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, binds an enzyme that cancer cells need to multiply, preventing them from spreading.
Researchers at Japan’s Kyushu University came to the same conclusion last year. According to their studies, a tumor-inhibiting concentration of EGCG can be achieved by drinking just two or three cups of tea a day.
Vitamins
Black tea, on the other hand, kills plaque bacteria on teeth. In addition, both green and black tea contain a lot of fluoride, which hardens teeth, as well as calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium and zinc. Vitamins B1, B2 and C are also found specifically in green tea.
Secondary plant compounds
Both types of tea have even higher concentrations than vitamins of polyphenols: secondary plant compounds that are also found in fruit, chocolate and red wine. These natural ingredients of the tea plant strengthen the body’s own defense system. They protect cells and blood vessels by scavenging destructive free radicals.
Which and how many polyphenols are in the cup depends on the variety and processing of the tea: During fermentation, the plant substances are partially transformed. They are just as effective in black tea as in unfermented green tea. Thus, black tea contains theaflavins, while green tea contains more flavonoids, both subgroups of polyphenols.
There’s goodness in the bag, too
Tea purists give the tea shelf in the supermarket a wide berth, especially since there is usually only tea in bags. Yet the bags are no worse than loose leaves. They are by no means waste, but either the finest sifting or leaves chopped into small pieces especially for the bag. Bagged tea is more productive and requires shorter brewing times, and the quality and ingredients are often the same.
But: It’s also about the ceremony. Preparing the noble drink means pausing for a moment in the daily business and gives the connoisseur the feeling of doing something good for himself.
Lastingly stimulating
The fact that tea, like coffee, are fluid robbers due to their caffeine content is now considered outdated. The German Society for Nutrition, for example, considers tea and coffee perfectly suitable for quenching thirst, it should only be no more than four, five cups a day.
In the past, the caffeine contained in tea was called “teein” to supposedly distinguish it, but chemically it is the same substance as that in coffee. However, because of the tannins in tea, it acts more slowly and the stimulating effect lasts longer.
In combination with coffee, caffeine is released immediately in the stomach and enters the bloodstream correspondingly quickly – but is also broken down again very quickly. In addition, the stimulating effect is absent with tea because it simply contains less caffeine: Black tea about half as much as coffee, green tea even less.
