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| What is living in your PG Tips? |
As I sit and write this, I have a steaming mug of milky tea beside my laptop. Over the past few months, I have grown more and more attached to the delightfully heart-warming beverage, thanks to Britain's cold snap in January-February, and Spring's belated arrival.
I have often heard that tea has many benefits, and heard even more often of its dangers. So I decided to investigate - what am I (and I'm sure, plenty of you) actually drinking?
The Good Stuff
White and green teas have the highest concentrations of antioxidants, but don't despair, black tea also has a substantial amount of them too. The specific antioxidant is called a catechin, pronounced "katt-eh-kin", I believe. Now, antioxidants, we hear about these all the time... but, if I'm honest, I'm as clueless about antioxidants as I am about quantum physics. Which is rather clueless to be frank, although I promise to master QP in a future post.
Antioxidants - molecules which inhibit oxidation of other molecules.
And oxidation is bad, so I'm warming to antioxidants. You see, oxidation is the loss of electrons from a substance, and these reactions produce free radicals.
Free radicals - atoms, molecules, ions with unpaired electrons, making them highly chemically reactive.
So these radicals start chain reactions in cells, catching the innocent cell unaware and fatally wounding it. Antioxidants stop these chain reactions by removing free radicals... by offering themselves up as juicy sacrifices to be oxidised by the radicals.
I sort of feel indebted to these antioxidants now...
Tea's antioxidant, the catechin, is also found in strawberries and some cocoa solids. Catechins are flavonoids - plant pigments which add the colour to their flowers. It can reduce the risk of 4 major health problems: stroke, diabetes, cancer and heart failure, apparently, but obviously, drinking 16 barrels of Earl Grey a day isn't going to make you invincible. You have to add routine exercise, balanced diet, banana face masks and a flowy red cape to the mix before you can really be invincible.
The Bad Stuff
Tea plants naturally absorb elements like fluoride and aluminium. Excessive amounts of fluoride leads to bone pains and fractures, whilst aluminium leads to an untimely death. But a mug of tea contains such small traces that you can wipe that anxious frown off your face.
And then, or course, there is caffeine. Some people live off the stuff, whilst others avoid it at all costs. Headaches and nausea are common symptoms of moderate caffeine intake, whilst long-term effects include the risk of developing cardiovascular and hepatic diseases. Oh, and diuresis, which, if you're not sure, means you pretty much have to carry your toilet around in your pocket all day (excessive urination).
Like most things, tea is a mix of good and bad, and I won't bore with the 'moderation' lecture. So, I'm off to microwave my mug now, as this post has taken long enough to freeze my tea into a brown ice lolly. Cheerio!
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