White tea and antioxidants

White Tea And Antioxidants

It is well known by now that white tea has a high concentration of antioxidants. For a lot of people, that alone is the reason they drink white tea, or green tea, or both.

In many studies and experiments, its has been shown that antioxidants may be effective in preventing cancer, heart disease, macular degeneration and diabetes, to mention just a few. It also seems probable that antioxidants may prevent physical aging.

In short, antioxidants have a very beneficial effect on our health, and here is a brief explanation of how it works:

Antioxidants and free radicals

When the cells in our bodies convert nutrients to energy, one of the side products is free radicals. Free radicals are chemical compounds that attack and break down the cells.
The more calories we eat, the more free radicals are produced and let loose in the body.
Free radicals can be fought by the immune system and any antioxidants.
The more antioxidants available to absorb and neutralize the free radicals, the less time the free radicals have to break down the cells.
The less free radicals are in the body, the more resources the immune system has to protect the body from other threats.
Different antioxidants work best on different free radicals, so it's important to get several different antioxidants in the system every day.
Different antioxidants recycle and strengthen each other in a kind of network. That's another reason why a mix of several antioxidants is better than only a few.
Food high in antioxidants produces less free radicals when it is metabolized.
Free radicals are associated with cancer, heart disease, physical aging, mental aging, and a large number of ailments and diseases. Keeping the concentration of free radicals as low as possible can have a very beneficial effect on the health.

In short, we want to reduce the concentration of free radicals and increase the concentration of antioxidants. The better the ratio is in favor of the antioxidants, the longer the cells in our bodies live and the healthier we are. A good way to accomplish this is to eat foods high in antioxidants, and limit our intake of food high in calories.

Get the most out of your white tea

White tea is of course a very healthy drink, and the more you drink, the higher the concentration of the potent antioxidants catechins in your body. To reap the full effect of the antioxidants in white tea, you should also follow these guidelines:

Limit your intake of unhealthy food high in calories. The more calories in a meal, the more free radicals are freed to attackt the cells.
Exercise regularly. Exercise strengthens the immune system and increases the body's ability to eliminate free radicals.
Eat foods high in antioxidants and other nutrients. White tea is excellent, and many fruits and vegetables contain different antioxidants in high concentrations.
Don't pour cream or milk in your tea. The caseins in dairy products will bind and absorb the antioxidants.
Limit the amount of sugar in your diet. Refined sugar is a major source of free radicals when it is metabolized.
For the same reason, don't sweeten your white tea with sugar – it defeats the purpose and negates any positive effects the antioxidants may have had.

To get the best health benefit out of your white tea, eat healthily and drink as much white tea as you like – you can't get too many antioxidants, and the caffeine in the white tea only reaches a critical point around 200 cups.

Summary: The best way to get the strongest effect out of the antioxidants in your white tea is to limit the free radicals. This is done by eating healthy foods and limit the caloric intake. Regular exercise is also very beneficial.

white tea central