Buddhist monks brought the first seeds
of the tea plant to Japan from China in the eighth century A.D. after
discovering that it kept them from falling asleep during meditation.
Compressed tea became a form of currency in Asia by the 10th century.
It wasn’t until the early 1600s that Dutch traders brought tea
to Europe. And finally by the 17th century it reached North America.
Not surprisingly, it took three more centuries before Western medicine
acknowledged the health benefits of tea—its antioxidant, antiviral,
antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties have been widely used
in Eastern medicine for millennia.
Black, green and white teas all come
from the same plant Camellia sinensis but white tea is the least processed.
The leaves and buds are picked and air dried whereas other teas are
oxidized, rolled, bruised, steamed, aged and/or fired reducing their
polyphenols or catechins, antioxidants with the powerful ability to
fight virus and bacteria and stop the mutation process of carcinogens
on DNA.
A Pace University study proved that White Tea Extract was more effective
than green tea at retarding bacterial growth that caused Staphylococcus
and Streptococcus infections, pneumonia and dental caries. Results
obtained from the model also suggest that it may have anti-viral effects
and additional studies indicated that it has anti-fungal properties.
“Past studies have shown that green tea stimulates the immune
system to fight disease,” said Milton Schiffenbauer, Ph.D.,
a microbiologist and professor in the Dept. of Biology at Pace University.
“Our research shows white tea extract can actually destroy in
vitro the organisms that cause disease.” Several findings in
the study determined:
.
At the Skin Study Center of University
Hospitals of Cleveland and Case Western Reserve University it was
determined that white tea extract protects against the oxidative stress
of the skin that causes a breakdown in cellular strength and function.
Researchers found that DNA damage that occurs in cells after exposure
to sunlight was limited in skin cells protected by white tea extract.
In general, researches believe that white tea extract’s antioxidant
properties may provide anti-aging benefits. The same process of oxidative
stress in skin cells that lead to immune system damage can also promote
skin cancer and photo damage, such as wrinkling or mottled pigmentation.
It appears that the white tea extract build’s the skin’s
resistance to these stresses.
A study published in the journal Carcinogenesis
by scientists from the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University
found that consumption of moderate amounts of green or white tea might
provide protection against colon tumors about as well as the prescription
drug Sunlindac, which has also been known to be effective but can
cause the serious side effects of NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs), such as bleeding and ulcers. But the study also indicated
that routine consumption of green or white teas could be especially
effective in combination with NSAIDS to provide even more cancer protection.
According to Gayle Orner, one of the researchers for this report,
“Teas exert significant protective effects in experimental animal
models of skin, lung, esophageal, gastric, hepatic, small intestinal,
pancreatic, colon, bladder and mammary cancer.” The institute
has been examining the effectiveness of white versus green tea in
blocking mutagens and preventing cancer in general. A professor at
Linus Pauling, Rod Dashwood, wanted to examine if tea could prevent
cancer progression even after cells were damaged so mice predisposed
to tumor development were used for the study. Without any treatment,
the mice developed about 30 polyps each in their colons. Therapy with
the drug Sulindac cut polyp formation in these mice in half. Consumption
of green tea reduced the number of tumors in the mice from an average
of 30 to 17. Consumption of white tea reduced the tumors from an average
of 30 to 13. Mice given both Sulindac and white tea in combination
had a tumor reduction of 80 percent, from 30 tumors to six. Black
tea does not appear to have the same anti-cancer properties as green
or white tea.
Best of all, for those who do not prefer
the “grassy” taste of green tea, the delicate flavor of
white tea is delightful. Fresh, seasonally harvested, loose tea, instead
of bagged tea, is a nutritional powerhouse that is a delicious, preventative
and safe way to combat disease.