Look Ma . . . No Cups, Just Caps

TEA FOR LIFE

By Will Block

I am especially qualified to talk about tea. My mother, in her deepest - as I like to believe - wisdom, gave me what turned out to be one of the best gifts that I've ever received. Because of its feminine nature, however, it has taken me years to sidestep embarrassment and talk about it. My mother bought me, her son, at the age of four, a tea set. Not just an ordinary tea set but a plastic collection of cups and saucers with creamer and sugar bowl, adorned with decals of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. She undoubtedly was quite taken with the tradition of tea use in a great many cultures and gave me an idea, not just a toy. Little did she know that in addition to its strong association with civilization, tea is a vehicle for health, and probably for longevity. And, as we continue to learn, tea is for life.

My mom knew that I liked the Disney characters, and she also knew that I played with my cousins - all girls. It struck her as fitting, and civilized, that I could have them over for "tea," which, by the way, was usually diluted with milk, a practice which may limit the value of tea (see LEN, Issue 30, February 1997). Nevertheless, my tea ceremonies served as the training ground and platform for a life-long fondness for meaningful, "delicious," "sacramental," and scintillating conversation. From this base, I learned to seek out good conversationists, some of whom were good generalists, some of whom often turned out to share my interests in health and who led me to the other values of tea.

The Leaves of the Future

First, I learned about ephedra tea, also known as ma huang, which, strangely, opened the doorway to the future by a detour through the past. Ephedra, it seems, was extensively used at the beginning of Chinese history by the Yellow Emperor, at whose court written language was created. Because we know that ephedra is an adrenergic stimulant, it is reasonable to believe that this tea played a direct role in the invention of ideoforms. This seemed appropriate to me: tea inspired the creation of script by which ideas were sculpted and passed on from person to person over distance, and on to generations not yet born. Here was the basis of intelligent ceremony. Here was civilization indeed. Could Mom have read the leaves?

A thousand years later (about 2000 BC), ephedrine was first extracted from ephedra. The Chinese called it Kim Ye, after the colors of the dragon (red and gold) which represented immortality. As Arabian culture began to filter through the world, Kim Ye became al kim ye (alchemy), which in the mind of Paracelsus gave birth to Western pharmacology and ultimately biomedical science as we know it.

Epidemiologic Studies In the 20th century epidemiologic studies, which examine whole populations in light of

the presence or absence of disease, have drawn some interesting conclusions about tea consumption. ¹ Dietary surveys have found that a particular kind of tea - green tea - is strongly associated with a significantly lower rate of cancer in regions where it is popular. When green tea consumption is high, these dietary surveys showed, users have a much lower incidence of cancer of the stomach, liver, pancreas, lung, breast, esophagus, and skin. ²

Cancer, Heart Disease and More

Studies with animals genetically bred to develop cancer have demonstrated that green tea can prevent cancer altogether. Several mechanisms of action have been identified, including green tea's ability to protect against cancer-causing agents that mutate cells, and its apparent ability to neutralize some cancer-causing agents.

Green tea also has strong antioxidant capabilities due to its high concentration of the bioflavanoid compounds known as polyphenols. One study found polyphenol antioxidants to be as potent as the synthetic antioxidant BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene). ⁴ These antioxidant components protect against free-radical damage as well as cellular damage caused by ionizing radiation. Polyphenols are even thought to enhance the effectiveness of endogenous antioxidants, such as glutathione peroxidase, catalase and quinone reductase. ⁵

Cardiovascularly speaking, green tea may offer protection through its ability to inhibit abnormal clotting within blood vessels. ⁶ It achieves effect through blood pressure reduction via the inhibition of angiotension-converting enzyme and through its tendency to reduce total cholesterol while elevating HDL (the "good") cholesterol. ⁷ Also, green tea can help inhibit LDL oxidation in the lining of the arterial wall where atherosclerosis occurs. ⁸

There's more: green tea dampens glucose receptor abuse by reducing glucose levels (and concomitant insulin release) while operating to inhibit bacteria and viruses. ⁸ Furthermore, its antioxidant benefits are general, rather than specific to LDL protection. ⁹

All of these benefits are easily yours by drinking the equivalent of two to four cups of green tea per day, or by the more convenient ingestion of two to four capsules of green tea per day.

Further, green tea has a very pleasant stimulant effect due to the polyphenols and a small amount of caffeine. For those of you who consume too much coffee throughout the day, you might consider taking green tea capsules instead, as a means of reducing total caffeine consumption. Not that there is necessarily anything unhealthy about coffee (we haven't been able to find any solid evidence of ill health effects from coffee). On the other hand, there are very clearly positive health effects from green tea consumption.

By the way, I could never convince my mother to take the level of nutrients I knew could be helpful to help slow her aging process. Ironically, she never was a consistent user of antioxidants, and she never drank green tea except when I prepared it for her. She died this past summer at the age of 82 of pancreatic cancer. Death was fast, but fortunately, merciful. Unlike most others who succumb to her cancer, she knew little pain except in the dying of the light. My mother lived a fairly long and fruitful life, and she inspired me in my approach to life.

Thanks for the tea set, Mom.

References

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