Is There Too Much of Good Thing When It Comes to Black Tea?
In findings presented 25 July 2010 at the 2010 International Association of Dental Research Conference, Dr. Gary Whitford who is a professor at the Medical College of Georgia, School of Dentistry said that black tea
This conclusion started with four patients with skeletal fluorosis who had one thing in common. They drank excessive amounts of black tea every day. I love my tea and in the south I know drinking iced tea is a big thing but one to two GALLONS of tea a day?! And they drank it for 10 to 30 years.
This lead the good doctor to trying to find out if black tea actually has more fluoride than the 1 to 5 milligrams per liter previous reports showed. He created a way to actually measure the amount of fluoride including that in aluminum fluoride which previous studies had not been able to measure. That raised the result to “as much as 9 milligrams” per liter.
When you learn that it only takes 20 milligrams daily to become a health hazard, you can understand why drinking over a gallon a day becomes a problem. Of course, the researchers said you had to do this for over 10 years to create the bone and joint problems. Additionally too much fluoride can be a problem to people’s thyroids if they have low iodine intake and if they have kidney disease.
These findings were based on results from seven brands of store bought black tea. Apparently the tea plant absorbs and accumulates large concentrations of fluoride and aluminum. When you steep your black tea, these minerals leach out into the water. If your water source is fluoridated, you are compounding the problem. Guess that makes a good case for bottled water with no added fluoride.
Good News About Black Tea and Theaflavins for Allergies
Now turning to some good news about black tea
Black tea has lots less polyphenols than green tea. This new study focused on theaflavins in black tea instead and particularly two: theaflavin-3-gallate and theaflavin-3,3-digallate (TFDG).
What the study found was these two theaflavins kept mice, or actually their bodies, from producing pro-inflammatory cytokines. That means no or much lowered inflammation in the body.
When the mice were either given an injection or fed the theaflavins, there was "... significant preventive effects against mouse type IV allergy" which also didn't raise the oxidant levels in the mice either. A type IV allergy is known as a "delayed type hypersensitivity" which can cause the allergic response up to 24 hours later. That has to be tough. But if you have it, drinking black tea
Filed under black tea, Health Benefits of Tea by on Jul 30th, 2010. 
Just a little bit of news I searched out to find out what the latest was on the health benefits of tea. You know they are always researching to see what more this wonderful drink can provide us.
Reduce Ovarian Cancer with Tea
In a study by the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia published in May 2010, the researchers came to the conclusion that a hypothesis that drinking tea every day reduces the risk of ovarian cancer is supported. According to the data they went through any tea drinking helps but drinking four cups or more is the best.
And it doesn’t matter what kind of tea you drink. However, the data presented, as compared to those who don’t drink tea, women who drank black tea had the best odds ratios followed by green tea and then herbal tea. Then again the study leader, Dr. Nagle, stated that the study “…suggests that drinking one or more cups green tea per day may reduce your risk of developing ovarian cancer by 40%.”.
Tea Has Anti Aging Effects
Everyone knows your mental abilities decline as you get older. Phooey! However, findings that were presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease 2010 tell us that in people over 65, drinking tea has positive affects on your brain.
Those who drank tea regularly had a 17 – 37% less cognitive decline when compared to people who don’t drink it. WooHoo! I drink it every day so sounds good to me. If I’m reading this article http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-data-suggest-regular-tea-drinking-may-protect-against-cognitive-decline-98227754.html correctly, the ones who got the 37% were actually the ones who drank it one to four times a week and not those who drank it more than 5 times a week. Oh, well. It has other great health benefits too.
Filed under Health Benefits of Tea by on Jul 28th, 2010.
Cancer fighting green tea may have a dark side
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/40634/title/Cancer_fighting_green_tea_may_have_a_dark_side
For more than a decade, study after study has extolled the cancer-fighting virtues of green tea, or at least extracts of its polyphenol antioxidants. But preliminary data now suggest that for some people this herbal remedy may not prove beneficial — or even benign. In test-tube experiments on cancer cells and in animals, green tea’s polyphenols inactivated the cell-killing activity of a drug used to treat blood cancers.
Physicians prescribe bortezomib, a drug sold under the trade name Velcade, to patients with multiple myeloma. This treatable, though incurable,…
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/archive_of_editorial/615
Well, okay, we might be slightly overstating the benefits of tea, but not by as much as you’d think; science continues to reveal just how potent the beverage is. And popular: Last year marked the 13th consecutive year that tea sales increased, according to the Tea Association of the USA, which represents the industry.
This steady increase in tea consumption is likely linked to a slew of studies showing that drinking tea can significantly improve your health. Tea has been shown to slow tumor growth in cancers of the skin, lungs, mouth, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas, small intestine, colon and prostate, according to a review of multiple studies reported in the January 2005 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Other research demonstrates tea’s effect on heart health—a study in…
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/features/375
From chai-flavored cheesecake to tea-smoked tofu, with a scoop or two of green tea ice cream in between, cooking with tea is taking culinary circles by stealth.
“As drinking tea becomes more and more in vogue, chefs are turning to tea as a flavoring agent—the same way they started experimenting with coffee when the Starbucks phenomenon hit a few years back,” explains François Payard, owner of Payard Patisserie & Bistro in New York City, who has recently created a green tea tart and a collection of tea-flavored chocolates. “Tea is something that has always gone well with food, so it’s only natural that chefs are turning to it for its flavoring possibilities and using it in the same way they use herbs and …
Filed under Health Benefits of Tea, Tea by on Feb 6th, 2009.