Hello, I have some question about tea.
What kind of plant we use to make black tea and green tea?
Where does this plant grow?
What kind of environment it requested?
What is the nutrition in tea?
Why drinking tea is good for our body?

Hi lovefish!

Mmmm...tea.  It's raining in my hometown today, and when it's grey and
rainy, I set my usual coffee aside for a soothing cup of tea.  But we
don't often think about where it comes from or how many different
varieties there are.

Tea (proper name: Camelia Sinensis) is grown primarily in the
following countries:

--China
--India
--Ceylon and Formosa (Sri Lanka and Taiwan)
--Japan
--Kenya 
--Uganda
--Burundi
--Tanzania
--Georgia (Russia)

Varieties of tea are classified by growing region and "curing" - black
teas (fermented), the oolongs (semifermented) and the green teas (not
fermented).  The curing of teas for each classification is discussed
here in some detail:

The Process of Transforming Tea Leaves
http://pages.infinit.net/aaricia/tea/proces2.htm  

There's a terrific little summary page discussing each tea growing
region, including a map, here:

Tea Growing Countries
http://pages.infinit.net/aaricia/tea/pay2.htm

As you can see from the map, tea plants thrive in tropical and
sub-tropical areas.  The tea plant grows best in constantly moist (but
not soggy!), well drained soil.  The quality of the soil itself seems
to be irrelevant:

"Tea flourishes in tropical and semi-tropical climates where it will
grow anywhere from sea level to 8,000 feet, and in areas with annual
rainfall between 50 and 300 inches. It will grow in light sand or
stiff clay, and in soil too poor for other crops."

Tea Growth, Buying and Development
http://www.liptont.com/knowwell/teagrowth.shtml

Nutritional content of tea is generally consistent - a single cup (8
fl. oz.) of brewed black, oolong or green tea, with no additions (no
lemon, milk or sugar) contains no fat, no sodium, no carbohydrates, no
protein and no calories!  Caffeine content of each of these ranges
from 20 - 40 milligrams per serving.  "Enhanced" or "wellness" teas my
also include varying levels of vitamin C, or other herbal additives
for flavor or health benefits, but these are not typical of plain
black teas.

Source:  My own tea drawer and

Caffeine Information On Teas
http://www.stashtea.com/caffeine.htm

Tradition has long held that tea is good for both body and mind. 
Recently, studies reported that drinking gren tea in particular may
aid in preventing cancer, due to high levels of antioxidants found in
green teas:

"Green tea consists of 15-30% catechins (a type of polyphenol), which
act as super antioxidants. Antioxidants fight radical-free oxygen, an
agent which can begin the process of cancer by damaging essential body
chemicals and harming DNA.Green tea's most abundant and powerful
catechin is called EGCg.Green tea polyphenols also deoxify or trap
cancer-causing chemicals, as well as block the initial formation of
cancer-causing compounds."

How Does Green Tea Help Me Prevent Cancer?
http://www.mrgreentea.com/pro/pro.html

Other studies suggest that green tea may also help lower cholesterol
and promote fat buring:

"Green Tea, Cholesterol Levels, and Weight Loss

Green tea antioxidants have been shown to have a direct effect on
lowering cholesterol levels. Green tea also causes carbohydrates to be
released slowly, preventing sharp increases in blood-insulin levels.
This promotes the burning of fat."

Green Tea Health Benefits
http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/health.htm

This same site also provides links to articles for further information
about green tea and cancer prevention:

Green Tea Catechins and Cancer
http://www.exn.ca/Stories/1998/12/14/54.asp

Green Tea Can Prevent Breast Cancer
http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/news/cancer/0901/tea.shtml

Green Tea and Prostate Cancer
http://www.wholehealthmd.com/news/viewarticle/1,1513,17,00.html

ABC News reported several health benefits linked to tea consumption:

"Heart Disease: A recent study published in the journal Circulation
found that drinking more than two cups of tea a day decreased the risk
of death following a heart attack by 44 percent. Even less spirited
tea drinkers were rewarded: Consuming just two cups a day decreased
the risk of death by almost a third.

Cancer: Green tea extracts were found to inhibit the growth of bladder
cancer cells in the lab — while other studies suggest that drinking
green tea protects against developing stomach and esophageal cancers.

Arthritis: Research suggests that older women who are tea drinkers are
60 percent less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis than those who
do not drink tea.

Bone Density: Drinking tea regularly for years may produce stronger
bones. Those who drank tea on a regular basis for 10 or more years had
higher-bone mineral density in their spines than those who had not.

Parkinson's Disease: Tea consumption may be protective against
developing this debilitating neurological disorder.

Oral Health: Rinsing with tea may prevent cavities and gum disease."

A Cup of Good Health:
Tea Consumption Linked to Numerous Body Benefits
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/DailyNews/tea_health020701.html



For more tea facts, history and information, why not have a look at
some of my favorite tea companies?

TAZO
http://www.tazo.com/tazo.html

Celestial Seasonings
http://www.celestialseasonings.com

Stash
http://www.stashtea.com

I hope this information helps!  If I've been unclear, please don't
hesitate to ask for clarification.  I'll be happy to help you further.

--Missy

Just what I need.
Thanks!

I started drinking green and black tea a couple of years ago, and
during the past four months, I've switched to 1 green tea extract
capsule/3x day (each cap. containing the equiv. amount of polyphenol
catechins of three cups of green tea).

[Widely effective (prophylactic) levels of green tea components can be
reached by consuming 5-10 cups of green tea/day. This is more easily
achieved with extracts (and the caffeine level more readily
controlled).]

Factors that heavily influenced my decision to increase my green tea
intake:

* Green tea's wide-reaching protective effects relative to its lack of
side effects.

http://bios7.tripod.com/bioblog/greenteablog.html#gre 

[this compact information framework (also the source of information in
this GA comment) contains graphic (simple) molecular representation of
the tea fermentation process, several in-depth background pages, an
overview of research from 1987-1999, stand-out (linked) abstracts, and
an automated PubMed link of research over the past 90 days]

---------

* Researchers who started consuming green tea based on the results of
their own work.  For example:

"If you stop this process (*), you are starving the tumor to death. I
was not really a believer in those common sense or home remedies, but
when I saw (it) on my computer and I saw it in my laboratory, I drank
my first cup of tea."

 --- Dr. Jerry Jankun, prof. of urology, the Medical College of Ohio
in Toledo (Nature:6/97)

[(*) ECGC, a polyhenol found in green tea, inhibits the activity of
the enzyme (protein) urokinase. In cancer, urokinase helps dissolve
the proteins in cells, making room for the tumor and blood vessels
that feed it. ]

Dr. Woodson Merrell of Columbia U. and Beth Israel Medical Center
drinks one to two cups of green tea each morning and one to two during
the day.

---------

* Green tea's influence on Phase I and Phase II detoxification enzyme
systems (known to neutralize carcinogens before they trigger tumor
growth).

[Phase I's, which normally govern chemical processes involved in
ridding the body of unwanted substances, can activate a carcinogen by
attaching other compounds to it. Phase II's attach still more material
to the newly-activated carcinogen, making it unable to react with DNA,
and rendering it harmless again. ]

In other words,
"tea polyphenols are effective against the initiation, promotion and
progression stages of multistage carcinogenesis". (!)

Dr. SK Katiyar
J Cell Biochem Suppl
1997; 27:59-67


How green tea attacks cancer cells:
http://www.healthscout.com/template.asp?page=newsdetail&ap=1&id=507999

---------

* Green tea's effect on body fat (in the presence of caffeine):

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/70/6/1040

...and its related effect on the "life" of the neurotransmitter,
norepinephrine

["When the body wants to burn fat, it releases norepinephrine. By
keeping norep. alive for longer, EGCG can help the body burn more fat.
Caffeine and EGCG work together in this regard."

---------

Green tea contains some remarkable phytochemicals, and clearly merits
consideration as a daily dietary supplement.


lancebowski-ga