If you cut open a bag of green tea and poured the contents into capsules and took them would you get the same health benefit? Or is there some magic process through steeping the tea which causes all the health benefits to be derived?
Is it really that cumbersome and time consuming to boil a cup of tea?
The steeping process releases all sorts of magical compounds, including chi!
In all seriousness, I don’t know. However, I find that I prefer to drink a cup of tea to taking a capsule 
I don’t mind drinking it, I’m just worried that I never get it strong enough even when I let it seep for 5-10 minutes. I drink it for health more than for taste.
Not everything is about pills man…:eek:
but I was wondering if it was ok to actually ingest the leaves and stuff or if you were just supposed to drink the water they touched.
Originally posted by IronFist
but I was wondering if it was ok to actually ingest the leaves and stuff or if you were just supposed to drink the water they touched.
There shouldn’t be any problem with ingesting the leaves - the Japanese actually grind the leaves up and make the tea from the powder, then drink the lot.
I think you get just as much benefit out of just drinking the tea though.
Get sum Green Tea Plus…
the boiling process activates the tea. You will get some small benefit if you eat tea, but not much as a lot of the goodness gets through digestion.
steeping, draughting, de-concocting all are an extraction process which expose the individual aspects of an herb.
so, take the 3 minutes out of your life to get the best benefit.
Originally posted by Kung Lek
the boiling process activates the tea.
How? What if the water’s not boiling and it’s just “hot?” At work we have a tap that produces 190 degree water (it’s labeled that way). It’s not boiling. Will it still work?
You will get some small benefit if you eat tea, but not much as a lot of the goodness gets through digestion.
Eating = digestion.
steeping, draughting, de-concocting all are an extraction process which expose the individual aspects of an herb.
Can you define “draughting,” and “de-concocting,” please?
Thanks.
I’m no chemist but I think the hot water activates the anti-oxidant properties in the tea leaves…
Or you could smoke it, but that probably won’t do much good , for your lungs , sooo it defeats the purpose
ur after the polyphenols no? thats the big scientifical name for the antioxidants in green tea… and if tea is not ur thing try the ‘plus’ stuff i linked to.. its real good. you get 80-90% polyphenols in a couple droppers of the stuff. you put it in water, hot or cold.
So it does require water? Can someone explain the chemical process of this to me? Thanks.
Originally posted by IronFist
So it does require water? Can someone explain the chemical process of this to me? Thanks.
Wait, I think I figured it out.
Tea bag + H2O ----> antioxidents
Originally posted by IronFist
So it does require water? Can someone explain the chemical process of this to me? Thanks.
A quick google finds the following-
http://www.teatalk.com/science/chemistry.htm
http://www.teatalk.com/general/watertemp.htm
http://www.theteashop.com/prepare.htm
im visiting some tea plantation in china when im in hangzhou. supposedly it has some of the best tea in china. expensive too.
well, if smoking is bad for the lungs, do what i did in when i was in high school with some other,…um,…herbal remedies. hehehe make brownies.
back to boiling tea. i drink green tea alot. i like the special gunpowder green tea. doesn’t come in a little baggie. just a box full of dried up tea leaves. to make the tea right, the water has to be very hot. boil water in a pot, take off heat and add leaves. if water isn’t hot enough it doesnt absorve the tea good enough. if to hot, tea leaves get kinda um,… burned i guess.
Green Tea and Cancer
Green Tea Seems to Stem Spread of Prostate Cancer
23 minutes ago
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 1 (HealthDayNews) – Green tea appears to inhibit the spread of prostate cancer in a number of ways, says a study in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer Research.
In research with mice, scientists from the University of Wisconsin and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland found green tea polyphenols (GTP) target molecular pathways that control the proliferation and spread of prostate tumor cells. The polyphenols also inhibit the growth of blood vessels that feed prostate tumors.
“Consumption of GTP led to reduced levels of IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor-1),” study senior author Hasan Mukhtar, of the department of dermatology at the University of Wisconsin, said in a prepared statement.
“GTP also led to increased levels of one of the binding proteins for IGF-1, the insulin growth factor binding protein-3. These observations bear significance in light of studies that indicate increased levels of IGF-1 are associated with increased risk of several cancers, such as prostate, breast, lung and colon,” Mukhtar said.
let me add to the fray…
STRONG green tea also helps reduce “dampness” in your system. Drinking a strong cup after a greasy meal helps to cut the grease and aids in digestion. Maybe that’s why there’s always been unlimited tea at the local Greasy Chopstick (not saying ALL Chinese rest.s are greasy, just the ones in my ethnically bland town!).
drink up.
smoked it when I was young… didn’t seem to work as well
peace
herb ox
Green Tea’s Record Against Cancer Grows
Green Tea Extract Targets Cancer Without Hurting Healthy Cells
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Michael Smith, MD
on Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Feb. 15, 2005 – Green tea’s reputation as a powerhouse against cancer keeps growing. Now, scientists have new insights on how green tea thwarts cancer.
Green tea extract has shown promise against cancer in numerous studies. Those findings came from animal studies and epidemiologic research, which tracks a disease’s occurrence in a large population of people.
In other words, the human studies on green tea are mainly based on observation and don’t prove that tea is responsible for results. But as one of the world’s most popular drinks, tea is widely considered healthy, whether it’s green, black, or white tea. However, green tea and green tea supplements generally contain higher amounts of disease-fighting antioxidants called polyphenols than black tea.
For instance, studies on mice showed that green tea helped prevent prostate cancer growth. Green tea extract is also reported to induce cancer cell death and starve tumors by curbing the growth of new blood vessels that feed them.
But exactly how that happens isn’t clear. Tea’s antioxidants may protect against some forms of cancer. They may also help prevent heart disease by relaxing blood vessels and preventing blood clots. But the precise ways green tea affects cancer aren’t fully understood.
Uncovering a Clue to Green Tea’s Power
Uncovering a Clue to Green Tea’s Power
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) researchers used green tea extract on human bladder cells, some of which were cancerous. Their findings appear in the Feb. 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.
The green tea extract targeted the cancer cells without harming healthy cells, say the researchers. Taking a closer look, they noticed something unusual about the cancer cells.
The green tea extract apparently made the cancer cells more mature, making them bind together more closely. That made it harder for the cancer cells to become invasive and spread.
“In effect, the green tea extract may keep the cancer cells confined and localized, where they are easier to treat and the prognosis is better,” says researcher JianYu Rao, MD, in a news release.
That’s an important clue, but it’s not the final verdict on how green tea works against cancer. More work is still needed to understand the process, say the scientists.
Meanwhile, if you’re interested in trying green tea, be aware that the FDA hasn’t evaluated claims about green tea’s powers and that supplements are not regulated by the government. If you’re watching your caffeine intake, green tea does contain some caffeine (but much less than coffee).
To get green tea’s potential disease-fighting benefits, studies have suggested that you should drink four cups a day. Green tea supplements are also available, and at least one study has shown that you may actually get more powerful antioxidants from supplements than from drinking tea.
As always, let your doctor know about any over-the-counter health products you’re taking.
SOURCES: Lu, Q. Clinical Cancer Research, Feb. 15, 2005; vol 11: pages 1-9. News release, UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center. WebMD Medical News: “Green Tea May Stall Prostate Cancer Growth.” WebMD Medical News: “The Green Tea Taste Test.” WebMD Medical News: “Green Tea Capsules Loaded With Antioxidants.”