Family Living
Focus
by
Katherine
Wenzel
Mercer County
Tea Benefits
There’s nothing like sipping on
a hot beverage in the morning, or
when you’re socializing with
friends, but if coffee is your only
selection of hot beverages, you
could be making a better health
choice—tea.
Tea is gaining popularity, and
larger cities now have “tea
houses” as well as “coffee
houses.” Why the new interest in
this “old” beverage? Nutrition
Research Specialist at Prilikin
Longevity Center, James J. Ken
ney, PhD, RD, LD, FACN, gives
the following health benefits that
tea may provide:
• Tea (both black and green)
contains a variety of plant chemi
cals called phytochemicals. The
phytochemicals, called flavo
noids, found in teas may reduce
the tendency of blood platelets to
stick to artery walls.
A recent study found a 70 per
cent lower risk of a fatal heart at
tack in those who consumed at
least 2-3 cups of black tea a day
compared to those who were not
tea drinkers.
• Tea is good for your bones,
too. The Archives of Internal
Medicine (May 13, 2002) pub
lished a study indicating that
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those who drank tea for 10 or
more years had the strongest
bones. Tea is a good source of
fluoride and other phytochemi
cals that may promote stronger
bones.
The fluoride also makes tea
good for your teeth. The tannins
in tea may suppress the growth
of plaque bacteria. Stronger teeth
and less plaque are the keys to
keeping your teeth into old age.
The natural phytochemicals in
tea also act as antioxidants to
neutralize free radicals providing
a defense against a variety of
cancers.
Tea does contain caffeine (un
less it’s decaffeinated), but for
those wanting to decrease their
caffeine consumption, tea is a
better choice with 30-50 milli
grams of caffeine per cup com
pared with coffee at 135 milli
grams a cup.
The above health benefits are
provided by both green and black
tea, although some research does
lean toward green tea as a better
choice for cancer prevention.
Green and black teas come from
the same plant, but green tea is
dried for a shorter time than
black tea and does not go
through the short fermenting
process used for black tea.
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There are many types of tea to
try. Black tea has a stronger
flavor. This is a good choice for
those trying to switch from coffee
to tea. English breakfast is proba
bly the most popular form of
black tea. Oolong tea looks like
black tea, but has a more golden
color, and a sweet flavor.
Green tea has a mild pleasant
flavor, and is good hot or cold.
There is a wide variety of herb
teas on the market, but they have
not been studied as the teas men-
tioned above, so their flavonoid
content is not known.
Dietitian, Nancy Berkoff, sug
gests increasing your tea con
sumption by making iced tea.
Chilling tea does not affect its
health aspects.
To make the perfect iced tea
she recommends bringing one
cup of water per tea bag or tea
spoon of dried tea to a rolling
boil. Measure the tea into a glass
container. (Plastic and metal
tend to pick up extra flavors.)
Pour the boiling water over the
tea and allow it to steep to the de
sired strength. Don’t leave the tea
in too long or it will acquire an
acidic taste. Add a little ice to
speed the chilling process. Place
your tea in the refrigerator and
allow it to cool for several hours.
Brewed tea will keep its flavor for
at least two days in the refrigera
tor.
You can add more flavor to
your tea by adding a splash of
fresh fruit juice, or by freezing
fruit juice in ice cube trays for
fruity ice cubes.
Believe me, no one likes a large
cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee
more than I do, but research
shows that I could be making a
healthier beverage choice—next
time I think I’ll try tea. (But I’m
still getting a donut!)
Time For Tea Could
Help Diabetics
COLUMBUS, Ohio I’ve
heard that drinldng tea could be
good for people with diabetes.
How does that work?
Well, there is evidence from
testing on rat cells that suggests
drinking tea might boost insulin
activity. That would be good
news for the 17 million Ameri
cans with diabetes, as well as the
estimated 16 million who have
pre-diabetes, or “impaired glu
cose tolerance.”
With Type II diabetes, the
body loses the ability to make
enough insulin or effectively use
the insulin that it does make.
This allows glucose to build up in
the blood, and that’s something
you definitely don’t want. Over
time, high blood sugar can en
danger your eyes, kidneys, blood
vessels, heart and limbs.
In a study published in the
Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry, researchers tested
tea’s effect on fat cells from rats.
Fat cells are sensitive to insu
lin, so they make good testing
material. The researchers mixed
sugar, insulin and various tea ex
tracts into the cells and watched
what happened.
They found that plain old
black tea, as well as green and
oolong teas, boosted insulin activ
ity as much as 15 times for up to
six hours. Both caffeinated and
decaffeinated teas had the same
effect. However, adding milk, soy
milk or non-dairy creamer de-
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ST. PAUL, Minn. Students
pursuing careers in agriculture
are encouraged to apply for
scholarships sponsored by Agrili
ance, Land O’Lakes Feed and
Croplan Genetics.
High school seniors from
throughout the country who will
enroll in a two- or four-year
agronomy or livestock curric
ulum in the fall of 2003 are eligi
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are needed to fill a variety of po-
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 9, 2002-B7
creased that boost in insulin ac
tivity significantly. Lemon juice
had no effect.
The researchers have not
tested tea’s effects in humans, but
they have identified the compo
nents that seem to have the most
impact. An antioxidant called ep
igallocatechin gallate seemed to
boost insulin activity the most,
and it is found in all three types
of tea. In black tea, tannins,
theaflavins and other compounds
also joined the effort.
Herbal teas which aren’t
true teas at all because they don’t
come from the tea plant Camellia
senensis had no effect on insu
lin activity. The vast majority of
instant teas also had no effect,
and neither did commercially
prepared iced teas.
This study adds to evidence
gathered over the past 20 years in
which scientists have uncovered
numerous health benefits associ
ated with antioxidants in tea.
Studies suggest tea can have pos
itive effects on atherosclerosis,
high blood pressure, infectious
diseases and immune response.
Chow Line is a service of Ohio
State University Extension and
the Ohio Agricultural Research
and Development Center.
Send questions to Chow Line,
do Martha Filipic, 2021 Coffey
Road, Columbus, OH
43210-1044, or filipic.3@osu.edu.
sitions in our industry,” said An
nette Degnan, scholarship com
mittee chairperson. Since its
formation 13 years ago, the Ca
reers in Agriculture scholarship
program has awarded more than
$350,000 in scholarships to rural
youth.
Applications are available from
participating local cooperatives
or on the Agriliance Website
(www.agrillance.com) in the Ca
reers section or the Land O’Lakes
Feed Website (www.lolfeed.com).
All applications must be
postmarked by March 3,
2003. Winners will be
notified in May. For
more information or to
request an application,
call (800) 232-3639, Ext.
4584.