Effects and Benefits of a Millennial Beverage: the Antioxidant Tea

The consumption of tea, considered the oldest and most widely drunk beverage in the world after water, produces numerous beneficial effects on our bodies. It retains unique properties whether drunk cold or hot, making it one of the healthiest beverages. Several varieties rich in antioxidants, molecules that give oxygen to our bodies, are found in nature. But which tea has the most beneficial and antioxidant properties?

Tea: Origins, Description and Uses

Tea, the world’s second most popular beverage after water, is made from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. Today the beverage is widespread throughout the world, but it has ancient origins dating back to Chinese civilization, and before it became known in Europe, it was consumed for more than 2,000 years. Soon its use spread as a beverage served at the end of the finest meals. To this day, tea plays several roles as a ceremonial, medicinal, and medicinal substance due to its many bio-activities, making it a health product and an excellent antioxidant beverage.

Benefits and Properties of Antioxidant Tea

Tea is considered a health drink, rich in antioxidant and beneficial properties, and in recent years it has been pointed out that different varieties of tea contain natural substances, other than theine, that have beneficial effects on health. These are mainly polyphenols, molecules that are antioxidant and protective against many diseases, if consumed in discrete amounts and on a regular basis, capable of counteracting the spread of free radicals, which are responsible for aging and cell degeneration.

Many doctors recommend the consumption of green tea and black tea to reduce cancer risks as they have the characteristic of being able to prevent the formation of cancer cells due to the high number of polyphenols. Green tea has also been shown to be very effective in fighting leukemia because of a component, known as EGCG, which has 20 times more oxidizing power than Vitamin E in protecting brain lipids. Polyphenols are useful in inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol into the bloodstream and preventing clumping in the bloodstream, as well as collecting and deactivating free radicals responsible for cellular aging that can lead to cardiovascular problems, cancer, inflammation, arthritis in addition to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

Tea is also known for its thirst-quenching properties, the perfect drink for restoring lost fluids: specialists recommend its consumption frequently and in small quantities for best results. Even in the calorie count, tea boasts zero calories and zero fat.

Tea: Antioxidant Beverage

Tea is an antioxidant beverage, but not all types are, only green teas and poorly fermented oolongs. We know that matcha and gyokuro, the teas that are shaded during cultivation, have somewhat less but in general all green teas are rich in antioxidants.

Green tea is rich in antioxidant properties because its young leaves and buds contain the highest percentage of polyphenols found in nature. The latter have antioxidant actions that are useful in protecting our cells from the formation of free radicals, which are responsible for cellular aging and many chronic diseases. Free radicals can increase in our bodies as a result of numerous factors, such as pollution, smoking, or stress both mental and physical to name but a few.

What Are Antioxidants? Polyphenols, Catechins and EGCG

What exactly are antioxidants? They are polyphenols, which are a diverse group of natural substances well known for their beneficial effects on human health. Polyphenols are naturally produced by plants’ secondary metabolism, where they play various roles based on their chemical diversity.

In nature we find a great many types of polyphenols, characterized by marked structural and functional variability. Catechins are tea polyphenols with potent antioxidant action, cha have the basic formula C6H5OH and from which several are developed. Tea especially has 10, of which three are the main ones: EGC, ECG and EGCG.

An antioxidant is a molecule that prevents other molecules from oxidizing. Free radicals can be produced during oxidation reactions. Although free radicals are produced naturally in our bodies, they can cause reactions that damage cells. Our bodies have natural mechanisms for preventing or treating free radical damage. One of these is to use antioxidants like vitamin C and E. One of the most beneficial properties of EGCG is that it has a stronger antioxidant effect than these vitamins.

Because EGCG accounts for roughly half of the catechin content in green tea, it is the focus of much green tea research. However, the antioxidant catechin content of different types of green tea varies. The upper leaves, the green tea plant’s youngest leaves, contain more catechin than the lower leaves. In addition, the leaves of later crops also contain more catechin. For example, the upper leaves of ichibancha have less catechin content than the upper leaves of nibancha. To make matters even more complicated, catechin content varies greatly depending on location and the amount of sunlight the tea leaves receive.

Benefits of Antioxidants

It is important in that reactions are produced in our bodies to produce energy where oxygen is consumed. This happens with anything, running, eating and even breathing. Doing so generates free radicals, which are oxidized molecules that need to recover as they run out of oxygen. Although free radicals are produced naturally in our bodies, they can cause reactions that damage cells. They do this by taking away oxygen; high amounts can contribute to increased dryness and aging of the skin, or even worse can lead to many diseases, including cancer.

By drinking tea, we integrate antioxidants and thus oxygen molecules into our bodies. We cannot stop this aging, but the more antioxidants we take the more we slow it down.  Antioxidants are not only present in tea, but just about everywhere. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, but EGCG is even more effective. The ranking of antioxidants is extensive, and many are present in tea.

Types of Tea: Which Are the Most Antioxidant?

Several antioxidant-rich varieties of tea are found in nature, so it is good to know which have the greatest antioxidant properties, and why not, which tea may be the most antioxidant-rich:

Green tea

Probably the best known and most widely drunk antioxidant drink in the world. It does not oxidize because a heat source is applied to the harvested leaves such that the oxidation process is stabilized and stopped. Gyokuro and sencha as green teas are the best medicinally. As the leaf gets older and gets more sun it will have more antioxidants. Antioxidant-rich sencha or bancha tea will be richer than gyokuro but, it will also be higher in caffeine and have more polyphenols that can be aggressive to the stomach. It will be necessary to know how to balance the amounts well.

Matcha tea

Matcha tea has superior antioxidant properties when compared to other green teas. Because matcha tea is made by suspension rather than infusion, the powder is mixed in hot water directly, resulting in a higher concentration of substances. In fact, it contains about 10g of catechins per 100g of matcha, significantly more than regular green tea in bags. Matcha tea has 10 to 20 times more antioxidant properties than a good quality green tea.

Black tea

Black tea has fewer antioxidant effects and properties than green tea because, being oxidized, it loses all antioxidants with exposure

White tea

White tea has few antioxidants because it has little exposure to the sun; in fact, it is obtained from the earliest buds as soon as they are born, and antioxidants, being related to photosynthesis, are present in smaller quantities. It is, however, very rich in amino acids, essential oils and molecules that help defend us in nature. If you want to take more antioxidants, green tea is most recommended.

Oolong tea

Oolong tea has both health properties typical of green tea and black tea, and is therefore considered somewhere in between. Those with little oxidation have more antioxidants.

When to Drink Tea?

When to drink tea? For antioxidants whenever you want, but a tea very rich in antioxidants such as sencha is best taken in the morning so as to avoid side effects attributable to caffeine. In the evening hours, prefer matcha or gyokuro.

Side Effects

Of course, the beneficial properties are a plus of this drink, but what are its side effects instead? Like all foods, if taken in excessive amounts, green tea can lead to several problems; these are mainly related to its high caffeine content, which can lead to adverse effects such as: insomnia, vomiting and stomach acidity, and increased blood pressure. Those suffering from weak intestines should avoid sencha or drinking too much tea because antioxidants such as polyphenols can be aggressive and irritating.