Tea time — 10 amazing ways tea helps keep you young

It's great when, in old science fiction movies, the
solution for vanquishing aliens or monsters turns out to be something simple, like
sea water or sunlight. We get the same thrill when the latest medical discovery
is actually a remarkably commonplace substance. This time, it’s tea.

Tea, known by botanists as Camellia sinensis, has been revered by many
cultures for thousands of years — plenty of time to make note of its positive
effects on health. But now there is evidence that drinking tea truly does help you
live a longer — and better — life: emerging science and recent research
show that tea (black, green, oolong, and other varieties — and the different
ingredients each can contain), has distinct effects at the cellular level that enhance
health and slow down the natural aging process.

Specifically, tea has the power to:

Top 10 health benefits of tea

Stress recovery and relief from psychological distress

Insulin regulation and weight maintenance

Arthritis prevention

Immune system support and cold/flu relief

Reduction in risk of certain cancers

Protection against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

Reduced risk for cardiovascular disease

Bone health promotion

Prevention of lung damage

Healthier aging

Relieve certain health-related symptoms

Reduce the risk of developing — and dying from — a long list of illnesses

Prevent chronic diseases, as well as those related to lifestyle, by reducing inflammation

Promote wellness and improved quality of life

You might ask, How could it be that something as
simple — and affordable! — as tea has such potent health benefits?
Well, in truth, the list of molecules in diverse varieties of tea is lengthy, and
their chemical interactions with the body are quite complex. Researchers have pinpointed
a number of individual constituents as responsible for tea’s wide-ranging
health advantages, and now, a tremendous amount of new research is filling in the
details.

It’s more than cozy comfort: tea warms you physically and emotionally

Drinking tea is comforting and relaxing, so a direct correlation between tea consumption
and better health just adds new benefits to this cherished habit. The newest scientific
inquiries are helping define the specific actions that tea has on our bodies and
our longevity.

Doesn’t tea contain caffeine?

Yes. Tea’s caffeine content varies according to the variety and steeping time.
It’s perfectly fine for most people to have a daily 8-10 ounce cup (or two)
of tea or another caffeinated beverage — just don’t overdo it.

Let’s start with the effects you can feel because in some ways, those
are the most noticeable and immediate benefits. While we’ve learned from experience
that a nice, hot “cuppa” can help calm and relax us, research shows
that black tea actually promotes quicker recovery from stress events at a physiological
level. Because this effect is measured by the speedier return to normal levels of
stress hormones, it could also confer significant downstream benefits, such as reduction
of adrenal imbalance and
risk of heart disease.

If you drink several daily cups of green tea — a common practice all across
Asia — you may have less psychological stress overall. And studies on older
people show that green tea can also reduce the prevalence of depressive symptoms
and even improve psychological well-being.

Health span effects you can measure — and weigh

As the prevalence of obesity and diabetes edges up and up, it’s a relief to
know that good old tea can help with both conditions. While a study of instant tea
showed it can help stabilize blood sugar, other research indicates another type
of tea — oolong — helps control the blood sugar effect that carbohydrates
have on people with type 2 diabetes.

Green tea contains some caffeine, like most teas, but it also contains phytochemicals
with powerful antioxidant properties
called catechins. Researchers think both these substances can help increase
your ability to lose abdominal fat while exercising, and may even reduce triglyceride
levels in people who don’t exercise at all!

Green tea is liver-friendly all the way around. It helps you metabolize fats, and
may even stop the build-up of fatty deposits in the liver. But perhaps the most
interesting, and youth-preserving, effect is how green tea can improve your body’s
all-important ability to detoxify well.

The catechins found most abundantly in green tea — but also present in black,
oolong, and white teas — ramp up levels of key protective enzymes. The protective
effects of catechins need more exploration, but to date these enzymes have been
found to help balance the two stages of liver detox (phase I and phase II), reduce
toxic effects of reactive intermediate substances created during the
detoxification process, and neutralize certain cancer-causing molecules.

A kettle-full of immune support

We all try to avoid catching seasonal illnesses, like colds and flu, but it still
happens. When we're achy or have a scratchy throat, we find a soothing cup of hot
tea hits the spot. But now there is scientific proof that this benefit transcends
the psychological. Green tea can actually reduce cold and flu symptoms and get you
back on your feet faster. In fact, people who drink green tea just seem to get fewer
colds overall.

Tea’s effects on arthritis

It used to be thought that arthritis was an inevitable fact of life for us as we
grew older, but there is a lot more to the equation — including a strong inflammatory
component.

Studies show tea consumption can protect against autoimmune arthritis, delay the
onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and reduce joint damage and inflammation in
those who already do have it.

The tea plant contains ingredients that work individually to help you fight germs
and bugs, like L-theanine, which is thought to activate the infection-fighting T-cells
in your immune system. Theanine is found most abundantly in fine green teas that
are shade-grown, but again, in all types of true tea.

Other tea ingredients have effects that are anti-inflammatory and antiviral —
polyphenols or catechins such as epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG. In theory,
the ability to suppress inflammation may translate into less autoimmune activity
in cells exposed to EGCG, accounting for lower incidence of autoimmune diseases
like dry mouth (xerostoma) and rheumatoid arthritis in green tea-loving
populations.

When taken with antibiotics, green tea has been found to effectively supercharge
them and help them knock out “superbugs” and bacterial strains previously
resistant to treatment. White tea — the new kid on the block here in the West
— can also protect against bacterial infections.

Tea can shrink your risk of chronic disease

Tea, breathing, and lung health

Green tea

Helps limit lung damage caused by cigarette smoke

Limits the mental impairment that may result from obstructive sleep apnea

In Japan, where even the preparation of tea is an ancient and beloved ritual, green
tea is a household staple. Several studies there focusing on its health effects
offer some encouraging results: along with helping prevent cells from becoming cancerous,
green tea may also help prevent recurrence of the disease in cancer patients. Emerging
research around the globe points to the power green and black teas may have to prevent
gastric cancer, as well as cancers of the blood, breast, ovaries, colon, mouth,
and prostate.

Drinking tea regularly may help ease another common fear many of us have about aging:
loss of cognitive function. Research shows that both black and green teas protect
against Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and guard against the memory loss linked
to the tangled plaques that are the telltale hallmarks of AD.

In the prevention and treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD), a degenerative
disorder of the central nervous system, black and green teas both have value. Black
tea decreases your risk of getting PD in the first place — by a staggering
71% — while green tea is able to slow down the progression of this devastating
disease.

Tea for the heart: more than an ounce of prevention

If you’ve followed recent health
trends, you know that the greatest overall threat to women’s longevity
is cardiovascular disease. We’ve learned a lot about how diet and lifestyle
can contribute to this degenerative condition, and now we’re starting to pinpoint
effective ways to help prevent it altogether. Handily tea fits right into
a healthy lifestyle focused on avoiding cardiovascular disease.

For people who drink lots of green tea, like the Japanese and others, there is a
measurable reduction in the risk of death from heart disease. The polyphenols in
green tea have the ability to facilitate blood flow through the vessels, and this
circulatory effect can actually reduce both incidence of
cardiovascular disease, and the risk of dying from it.

Stronger bones means longer life

Natural bone health also enhances
a woman’s health span as the years advance. Again, tea comes to the rescue
with well-documented, bone-conserving benefits. For starters, drinking tea is linked
to higher bone mineral density (BMD) as well as a reduction in hip fractures, and
preservation of the hip structure in general. And tea helps protect against bone
loss even after menopause.

We want women to understand that bone tissue is intended to naturally break down
and build back up throughout your life. Green tea can perform double duties in this
process because it helps stimulate mineralization to generate bone formation, while
simultaneously inhibiting the formation of osteoclasts, the cells that
remove bone tissue.

Can tea make you younger?

A large amount of recent, cutting-edge science has focused on the factors that influence
our ability to grow old gracefully. Now, tea is not a “fountain of youth,”
but it might make a difference in the rate at which you age. Several studies show
that black tea, and especially green tea, can help protect your DNA’s telomeres.
Telomeres cap the very ends of your chromosomes, protecting the genetic information
they contain, and by preserving them from fraying, ingredients found in tea can,
in essence, help you stay “younger” than your chronological years.

Additional studies show that tea can support healthy aging by promoting eye and
oral health. Specifically, tea has been associated with the preservation of retinal
function in the setting of glaucoma and ischemia, as well as protection against
gum disease.

Invite tea into your lifestyle

The body of scientific evidence proving the health advantages of tea continues to
blossom more each year. It’s been fun to watch this familiar, everyday drink
— enjoyed for thousands of years and revered as an elixir of longevity —
morph into the latest medical marvel. But it makes perfect sense! When we look at
the cultures where tea drinking has been most embedded throughout human history,
the distinct health benefits of tea are apparent.

So today, why not fill the kettle with fresh, cold water and bring it to a rolling
boil. Choose a nice fragrant variety, either loose or in a teabag, and pour yourself
a cup of steaming, soothing — and healthy — tea. Let it steep for awhile,
then sit back and enjoy the moment, knowing that this preventive lifestyle habit
might be one that helps keep you as young as you feel.

“These data suggest that green tea has preventive effects on both chronic inflammatory
diseases and lifestyle-related diseases (including cardiovascular disease and cancer),
resulting in prolongation of life span.”

“…Although [tea] does not appear to reduce the actual levels of stress we experience,
[it] does seem to have a greater effect in bringing stress hormone levels back to
normal.”
—Lead researcher Professor Andrew Steptoe, University College, London

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