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“Better
to be deprived of food for three days than tea for one,” - Chinese
proverb.
"When the water looks like fishes' eyes and gives off but the hint
of a sound it has reached the first stage. When it chatters like a
spring bubbling with pearls strung together, it has reached the
second stage. When it leaps like majestic waves resounding with
their thunder, the water is at its peak. To heat it longer, the
water will boil itself out; do not use it."
This is how Lu Yu the 8th Century Chinese scholar describes how to
prepare water that is perfect for tea
Add a spoon full of tea into water at the kind of temperature Lu Yu
advices of, and you will have a wonder brew that will give you
amazing health benefits.
Here is a brief synopsis of the latest findings
AGING
If you are the type to fret over the appearance of wrinkles, age
spots and other signs of growing old, tea may be the answer to your
worries. Recent experiments show mice which were fed tea displayed
fewer signs of aging than mice that were fed water.
ALLERGIES
Green tea, rich in antioxidant treasures that protect against heart
disease and cancer, now shows promise as an allergy fighter. In
laboratory tests, Japanese researchers have found that the
antioxidants in green tea, block the biochemical process involved in
producing an allergic response. Green tea may be useful against a
wide range of sneeze-starting allergies, including pollen, pet
dander, and dust.
BONE STRENGTH
Tea flavonoids may be bone builders. A report in this week's
Archives of Internal Medicine looked at about 500 Chinese men and
women who regularly drank black, green, or oolong tea for more than
10 years. Compared with non-habitual tea drinkers, tea regulars had
higher bone mineral densities, even after exercise and calcium-which
strengthen bones-were taken into account.
CANCER
"Tea is one of the single best cancer fighters you can put in your
body," according to Mitchell Gaynor, MD, director of medical
oncology at the world-renowned Strong Cancer Prevention Center in
New York City and co-author of Dr. Gaynor's Cancer Prevention
Program. The latest tea discovery? Strong evidence that both green
and black tea can fight cancer-at least in the test tube. In a new
study, both teas kept healthy cells from turning malignant after
exposure to cancer-causing compounds.
CHOLESTEROL
Tea can lower 'bad' cholesterol levels. Researchers at the
Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland,
asked test subjects to eat low-fat, low-calorie prepared meals and
drink five cups of caffeinated tea or caffeinated and
non-caffeinated placebos that mimicked the look of tea. Levels of
low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol dropped 10 percent among
the test subjects who drank tea.
HEART DISEASE
Drinking black tea may lower the risk of heart disease because it
prevents blood from clumping and forming clots. In a recent study,
researchers found that while drinking black tea, the participants
had lower levels of the blood protein associated with coagulation.
WEIGHT LOSS
Trying to lose weight? Reach for a cup of tea instead of a diet
beverage. If you consume 2,000 calories per day and don't gain or
lose weight (you're in energy balance), an increase of 4% would
translate roughly into an 80-calorie daily difference. Over a year,
this could result in 89 pounds of weight loss. (American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition)
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