The Health Benefits of Tea: White Tea Might Be the Best

By Jo Hedesan. Published in Self Alchemy http://selfalchemy.blogspot.com on 7 Mar 2009.

I didn’t use to drink a lot of tea in the past, preferring to indulge in coffee, soft drinks
and others. Yet, for a reason or another, about two years ago I began drinking more
and more tea every day, perhaps because I was surrounded by roommates doing the
same thing. Now, I knew that tea was good for your health, but I never looked too
much into it. What type of tea, how much and on what occasions? As I have become
quite health-conscious recently, I decided to do my research homework.

Choosing Tea
All tea types come from the leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), which was
originally cultivated in Southeast Asia. The difference between teas rests almost
exclusively on the amount of processing being done to the leaves. White tea is
processed the least, green tea – medium, while black tea – the most. The potency of
positive health effects have to do with this length of processing. Basically, tea that is
least processed contains the most catechins, an antioxidant that has been shown to
inhibit bacteria and virus growth and other health problems. According to this, the
healthiest tea should be the white tea, which is however rare and more expensive.
Green tea comes second-best, and least is black tea. Nevertheless, it should not be
understood that black tea is ‘bad’ or inefficient; its consumption has been shown to
produce some promising health effects.

Health Studies on Tea

First of all, it must be noted that not a lot of scientific research has been done on tea
until very recent years. Often, I have found these studies to be incomprehensive and
unconnected, being undertaken in different institutions from Egypt to Croatia to the
US. This is what I have gathered:

• Teeth: Green tea apparently reduces teeth and gum disease. A separate black
tea research reported similar reductions in mouth-related diseases.
• Immune system: all forms of tea seem to be good in helping the immune
system fight bacteria and viruses. However, research shows that white tea may
be the most effective.
• Antibiotics: a 2008 study from Egypt shows that taking antibiotics with green
tea increases the potency of the medicine. No similar research was undertaken
for other types of tea.
• Bones and joints: research shows that green tea prevents and eases arthritis
inflammation, cartilage breakdown and may improve bone mineral content for
older women
• Cancer: so far, white tea has been shown to be most effective in cancer
prevention, as it prevents cancer-mutating DNA in cells. Researchers consider
white tea is most effective against colon, stomach, esophageal and other
gastrointestinal cancer. Other research shows that the risk of ovarian cancer
is reduced by 46% for women that consume at least 2 cups of tea (any type)
per day. A Japanese study also affirms that lung cancer may be prevented or
inhibited by green tea.
 • Heart disease: research has shown that both green tea reduce risk of heart
attack, and both green and black tea lower the danger of atherosclerosis. A
2006 Japanese study also showed that green tea is associated with lower risks
of cardiovascular disease.
• Diabetes: both green and black tea prevent diabetes and reduce its ensuing
complications.
• Stress Levels: research performed on black tea shows that it reduces stress
hormones.

How to Keep Healthy with Tea

This brief review of several scientific studies shows that tea is a good prevention and
disease-reducer for a number of serious diseases. However, as the Mayo Clinic
emphasizes, further in-depth studies are required before science will admit the
qualities of tea. In the meantime, perhaps there is wisdom in the health benefits Asian
cultures have always attributed to tea.
So, how to keep health with tea?
• Drink more than 2-3 cups of tea per day but do not exaggerate (even if you
wanted to, probably your bladder wouldn’t be able to take it!)
• Don’t forget that all tea (except herbal) contains caffeine: black tea contains
roughly 1/3 of a cup of coffee, and green tea 1/6.
• As with everything consumed in excess, drinking too much (particularly
black) tea may have adverse effects on health including caffeine-related
problems (anxiety, sleep disorders, arrhythmias) and high fluoride-related
problems (arthritis, osteoporosis, or even cancer)
• Drink tea, refrain from tea supplements. Research points out to the fact that
too many tea antioxidants could cause chromosome damage and leukemia
• To the best extent, drink white tea; green tea is second best.

References

Kushiyama et al. Relationship Between Intake of Green Tea and Periodontal Disease.
Journal of Periodontology, 2009; 80 (3): 372

American Society For Microbiology (2001, May 24). Tea Fights Cavities, Reduces
Plaque. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2001/05/010523072047.htm

Society for General Microbiology (2008, April 1). Green Tea Helps Beat Superbugs,
Study Suggests. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330200640.htm

National Institute Of Chemistry, Slovenia (2007, January 16). Cup Of Green Tea To
Keep The Bacteria Away. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070116132946.htm

Mayo Clinic (2008, April 6). Drinking Tea May Offer Health Benefits, But Evidence
Still Limited. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402212206.htm
American Chemical Society (2000, April 13). Cancer-Preventive Potential Of White
Tea. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2000/04/000410084553.htm

American Society For Microbiology (2004, May 28). White Tea Beats Green Tea In
Fighting Germs. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/05/040526070934.htm

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (2008, April 10).

Digestive Process Affects Anti-cancer Activity Of Tea In Gastrointestinal Cells.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2008/04/080407172713.htm

University Of Southern California (2002, April 9). Polyphenols In Tea May Reduce
Risk Of Stomach, Esophagus Cancers. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/04/020409073717.htm

JAMA and Archives Journals (2006, January 3). Drinking Tea Associated With
Lower Risk Of Ovarian Cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/01/060103085358.htm

University College London (2006, October 4). Black Tea Soothes Away Stress.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2006/10/061004173749.htm

American Chemical Society (2005, April 19). Tea May Help Prevent Diabetes And
Cataracts. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 7, 2009, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/04/050419094700.htm

Alexopoulos et al. The acute effect of green tea consumption on endothelial function
in healthy individuals. European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention &
Rehabilitation, 2008; 15 (3): 300 DOI: 10.1097/HJR.0b013e3282f4832f

"The combination of green tea and tamoxifen is effective against breast cancer."
Sartippour MR, et al. Carcinogenesis. 2006 Dec;27(12):2424-33. Epub 2006 Jun 19.

Dangerous Side Effects of Tea Exposed. Bio-Medicine. Online. Available at:

http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Dangerous-Side-Effects-of-Tea-
Exposed-20270-1/