Veronique Greenwood tells in BBC
today some interesting facts about the British love for tea. Apart from being a
refreshing drink, it has become a way of life and acquired a social status,
just as Japanese have developed beautiful tea drinking ceremony.
On average British yearly
consumption of tea comes to 60 billion, or more than 900 cups a year for every
person.
Given how much tea people drink,
there's more interest in understanding whether this habit has any medical
benefits. It appears that molecules found in tea can protect cells in a dish
from some kinds of damage, but despite copious research, there might be
conflicting evidence whether tea-drinking provides benefits beyond warm hands
and an alert mind.
Brewed tea has roughly half the
caffeine of an equivalent volume of coffee, but it is still plenty for a
mid-afternoon pick-me-up. You might have heard that caffeine in tea gives a
different high from the caffeine in coffee. Many experts feel that in this
case, it’s because of an amino acid called theanine, which occurs in tea. When
volunteers consume both caffeine and theanine – versus caffeine and other tea
molecules – they show moderately more alertness and better ability to switch
between tasks than with caffeine alone.
Being in the business of
manufacturing herbal organic skin and hair care products, Herbally Radiant finds
more benefits of tea. Among its beauty ingredients, green tea is special; it is
not oxidized (fermented) during processing, and so its buds and leaves retain
much of their essence.
Among other benefits, tea contains a
high concentration of polyphenols, with potent antioxidant properties. They
scavenge free radicals and cell damaging compounds that alter DNA molecules in
the chromosomes, inducing harmful mutations, possibly leading to skin cancer.
Several factors causing premature
aging, are due to a build-up of free radicals in the body, damaging skin
cells. Free radicals do occur naturally, but their concentrations rise
due to exposure to pollution, too much sunlight and some types of
chemicals. Chemicals called catechins in green tea significantly improve
the activity of SOD – a body of chemicals that mops up free radicals.
Also, a cup of green tea contains
upto 200 mg of catechins with antioxidant properties, inhibiting production of
a key enzyme (gyrase) needed by bacteria, thus reducing the chance of any
bacterial infection. The CLEAN range of
Cleanser, Toner, Serum and Scrub being made by Herbally Radiant derive best
healing and beautifying properties with the use of Tea Tree Essential Oil, made
especially for acne-prone or sensitive skin types.
Please note: Benefits of green tea,
occur after drinking it for extended time - months or years, as an integral
health diet, not as an immediate fix.
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