Tea – simple, diverse, healthy

Tea – so simple and yet so diverse. Leaves, buds, roots, stems or fruits brewed with hot water. Green tea, black tea, herbal tea, fruit tea and many more. Depending on the region and tradition, the preparation methods, drinking cultures and ceremonies differ. While in our tea shelves there are varieties such as Winter magic, hot love or Stomach-friendly In many long-established tea regions, only black and green tea are considered the true version. These are made from the plant Camellia sinensis and only differ in the different production methods. In this article we will first look at these "classic" types of tea and their health effects.

Manufacturing and ingredients

The taste of green and black tea differs significantly, although both varieties originate from the same plant. First, the harvested leaves are dried. The crucial step is the subsequent rolling and fermentationRolling breaks down the cell walls to release the contents of the plant cell. Fermentation oxidizes the tea leaves. Black tea consists of fully oxidized and previously rolled leaves, whereas green tea is not fermented at all.

The different fermentation stages have a big impact on the composition of the ingredients in the tea. As you probably know, tea also has a high caffeine content.

In its dry form, it has a higher content than coffee, but since it is usually brewed with more water, the proportion in the brewed drink is reduced.

Just like Coffee also has tea Thousands of different ingredients, which interact to have different effects on our body. Let's first look at the most important ingredients of the tea.

Caffeine

Caffeine in tea is often called thein The reason for this is the long-held assumption that the active stimulating substances in tea and coffee are different but related substances. In fact, the substances in tea and coffee are chemically the same and differ only in that they are bound differently in the plant. While Caffeine in coffee can be released and absorbed in the stomach, the Caffeine in tea is only released in the intestine. This makes it later, but longer.

polyphenols

The reason that caffeine is absorbed later is because of the polyphenols. These bind the caffeine, which means it is only released in the intestine. polyphenols are secondary plant substances that protect the plants themselves from predators, UV damage and oxidative stress. There are many different molecules, some of which occur in different concentrations in tea depending on the variety. We will now take a closer look at two groups of these.

Catechins

The health-promoting effects of tea are mainly attributed to the catechins. They are antioxidants and reduce the negative effects of oxidative stress in our cells (more about Antioxidant Effect). However Catechins are mainly found in unfermented green teaCatechins are originally also components of black tea, but through fermentation they are transformed into theaflavins. One of the well-known catechins is EGCG.

Theaflavins

Theaflavins are produced by fermentation mainly found in black tea and give it its red-yellow color. Since theaflavins are formed from catechins, they also have similar effects. However, the molecules are much larger than catechins and are therefore less well and more slowly absorbed by the body. Studies have shown that both theaflavins and catechins reduce the risk of infection with HIV and Covid-19 can.

amino acids

Amino acids are naturally present in all organisms as building blocks of proteins. In tea, they primarily have a Influence on taste. The non-proteinogenic amino acid L-theanine (i.e. not a component of proteins) seems to play a major role in the effects of tea and is not found in any other plant.

theanine

In addition to the stimulating effect of caffeine, tea also has a calming effect. This comes mainly from theanineStructurally, it is similar to the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, which is why most studies on theanine refer to its neuronal effects. Theanine lowers blood pressure in high doses and has been shown to have a positive effect on mental relaxationAnd people who are less stressed are known to be healthier and live longer.

Antioxidant effect

Many foods are said to have a health-promoting effect through antioxidants This is also the case with some polyphenols in tea. In short, cells are constantly in a state of stress when energy expenditure is high. This stress produces radicals that are harmful to the cell components. Antioxidants can bind these radicals and thus no longer cause damage. Some polyphenols in tea – especially unfermented green tea – have an antioxidant effect and protect our cells and thus our health.[

Autophagy-promoting effect

In the third part of the series Hallmarks of Health we explain, among other things, the process of Autophagy as a health-promoting cellular mechanism. Now you may be wondering what this has to do with tea? Quite a bit, because In cell studies, catechin from tea Autophagy activate in cells. During the process of autophagy, the body recycles its own components to protect itself from damage. Autophagy is an important component for the health of our cells, because a constant accumulation of junk would harm our body. Recycling in the form of autophagy regularly empties the bins of our cells. So if catechin can activate autophagy in the cells, we can hope for a positive effect of green tea on our health.

Anticarcinogenic effect

The effects of tea on various types of cancer are among the best studied. In general, tea – especially green tea – has a protective effect against cancer. The properties of antioxidants certainly play a large part in this protective effect. But the regulation of other systems in our body by the many ingredients in tea can also lead to a reduction in the incidence of cancer in regular tea drinkers. Both epidemiological and animal model studies demonstrate the link between tea drinking and lower cancer risk.

Effect on the cardiovascular system

The connection between green tea polyphenols and the risk of cardiovascular disease was investigated as early as the 90s. At that time, the search for a connection came to nothing. In 2018, it was the turn of catechins in animal studies. From the results of this study, it can be deduced that the catechins in green tea protect against heart problems. However, a human study would still be necessary to achieve the same effect as humans. However, in addition to the advantage of a delicious warm drink on cold and tired days, there are plenty of other reasons to reach for tea.

Other types of tea

In addition to the variety of classic tea culture, there are other brewed beverages that are more or less similar to classic tea. Matcha tea, which is usually drunk here as a hip Matcha latte and is easily recognized by its light green color, consists of ground green tea. The ingredients are similar, but all components are consumed in a significantly higher dose. The very common in South America Mate tea is more commonly drunk in this country as a sweetened cold drink. The tea also contains caffeine, but there is a great deal of disagreement about its health effects. On the one hand, mate drinkers have a higher risk of various types of cancer, but on the other hand, laboratory tests have clearly shown that components of the drink can also kill cancer cells.

You are probably familiar with the variety on our tea shelves. With so many types of tea, science is probably unable to keep up with examining all of them for their health effects. But they all have one thing in common: they are mostly Plants with a large surface As a result, the plants are at greater risk of absorbing fine particles from the environment that we in turn ingest when preparing and drinking the tea. Therefore, regardless of the type of tea, we recommend paying attention to the quality.

The effect of teas mostly depends on the secondary plant substances and these vary greatly between different leaves, plants, buds and flowers. If you have found the right type of tea for you and your body, don't burn your tongue in anticipation of the tea and its healing effects!