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Today, 10 July 2009

> Bottled water ban

> Second chance for Carl?

Yesterday, 09 July 2009

> 'We will strike until 2011'

> Black Anglo chairman?

> Mob breaks robber's legs

> New charges for Malema?

> White farmers to be spared

“If you are cold, tea will warm you. If you are too heated, it will cool you. If you are depressed, it will cheer you. If you are excited, it will calm you” — William Gladstone

The celebration of a marriage usually brings gifts for the bride and groom, contributions to help get the new home started. These days it may be a gift voucher from @home or a nice set of knives, or even a new toaster.

But that’s not what royalty expects. Princess Catherine of Portugal, well, she got the territory of Mumbai (Bombay) and Tangier as part of her dowry when marrying King Charles II of England. Thanks Daddy!

Queen Catherine had quite a passion for tea and, believe it or not, tea wasn’t a popular drink in England in the early 1600s. It really took some time before it became the symbol of polite refinement, especially when sipped with cucumber sandwiches at four.

Thanks to the new territories that came parcelled with the royal bride, the East India Company was able to establish a permanent base in India. This meant an ample supply of tea for the English domestic market. At first tea was considered quite an exotic product, which meant it was quite expensive, and this obviously added to its appeal.

By the dawn of the Victorian era, tea had become the heart of late-afternoon socials for the well-to-do. But it wasn’t long, though, before the price dropped and the beverage became the favourite of everyone — rich and poor alike. Very soon it replaced the national drink — beer. Yes, it’s true; beer was the British choice — from royalty to the poor, and even children — there was nothing like a frosty pint over breakfast.

Why was beer so popular? Well, aside from the obvious kick of the alcohol, this home-produced brew provided a healthy amount of B vitamins, iron and antioxidants, all very essential at a time when people didn’t know too much about nutrition.

And this brings us to the wonder of tea — its health benefits.

For starters, tea is reputed to be good for the heart. Black, red and green tea have a rich source of a group of antioxidants called flavonoids that are said to help prevent cholesterol from damaging the arteries.

Another claim for the antioxidant properties of tea polyphenols, which are also found in abundance in fresh fruit and vegetables, is that they have the ability to fight cancers. They do this, apparently, by helping to repair cells in the body that have been damaged by sunlight, chemicals, stress and other foods. Damaged cells, it is believed, lead to cancer and heart disease as well as a host of other serious conditions.

Now here’s something that will please those of us who hate the fuss of peeling fruit, but don’t mind waiting for the kettle to boil: the UK’s Tea Council says, “There is eight times the amount of antioxidant power in three cups of tea than there is in one apple.”

If you are watching your weight, don’t worry about tea, because it contains no calories. Well, if you take it without milk or sugar, of course.

Drinking too much tea does have its downsides, though, and that’s not just plenty of trips to the loo. While there seem to be many benefits of drinking tea, it seems we shouldn’t rely on tea as our only source of liquid during a day. This is because it acts as a mild diuretic, which means our bodies produce more urine (see, I told you). But this only becomes a problem if we are real addicts, drinking an excessive amount of tea per day — probably more than six cups.

Another problem with caffeinated drinks is that caffeine can become addictive if drunk in large quantities. Although it’s good to know that a cup of tea — depending on how strong you brew it — contains about a third to half the caffeine of a cup of coffee.

Although polyphenols and their antioxidant properties are very good for us, they make it harder for our bodies to absorb iron. So, we shouldn’t drink our tea with meals, or even about 30 minutes after a meal. We need to learn the patience we taught our five-year-olds — wait 30 minutes after lunch before you go swimming again. We all remember how tough that was. If we find this difficult, we can get busy. We can clear the table, do the dishes and once everything is organised, it should be time for the cuppa.

The health benefits of tea come from the infusions made from the plant Camellia sinensis and this has been apparent for over 4700 years, ever since its discovery was made by the emperor, Shennong, of China. He claimed its taste and its stimulating properties were useful for treating tumours, abscesses, bladder ailments, lethargy and many other conditions.

All teas. Regardless of the processing methods, all teas contain polyphenols—even our very own rooibos. The more processing tealeaves undergo, the darker they will turn. Green tea is the least processed tea; it’s simply steamed quickly. Black and red teas are partially dried, crushed and fermented.

Herbal tea leaves are not actually from the Camellia sinensis bush and so they don’t have the same health-promoting properties as black, green and red teas do. Most herbal teas in the market are not tea at all, but infusions made with herbs, flowers, roots, spices or other parts of some plants. The proper term for this type of beverage is ‘tisane’. Herbals ‘teas’ do promote other health-producing effects though, such as relaxation and calmness.

Up to this point, and with tea sounding so convincingly good, you might want to put it on your list of must-have health foods, up there with fruit and vegetables. Just remember to skip the milk and sugar. And if you want to really taste those polyphenols, brew your tea for at least 3 to 5 minutes.

If tea, after water, is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world that means so many people can’t be wrong, can they?

Courtesy of...

Good Taste magazine

Confused by all the health talk? Want to know exactly what antioxidants do? Antioxidants are ‘Free-radical scavengers’ which prevent and repair damage caused by free radicals.

Free radicals are natural by-products of oxidation (when oxygen interacts with certain molecules — just like in wine) in our bodies. They are also triggered by other things such as poor diet, pollution, stress, smoking, etc. They attack healthy cells and when our cells are functioning poorly or die, this can lead to degenerative diseases like cancer and heart disease.

This means a diet high in antioxidant-rich foods presumably offers us protection against cancer, heart disease and other age-related degenerative diseases. So put the kettle on, Polly.