Tea: Are Tea's Anti-Oxidants Really Useable By The Body?

[Guest guest]

Free-Reprint Article Written by: Jon M. Stout

See Terms of Reprint Below.

*****************************************************************

*

* This email is being delivered directly to members of the group:

*

*

*

*****************************************************************

We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article.

Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS

OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you.

This article has been distributed by:

http://Article-Distribution.com

Helpful Link:

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Article Title:

==============

Tea: Are Tea's Anti-Oxidants Really Useable By The Body?

Article Description:

====================

In recent years, tea has gained a great deal of attention for its

ability to protect our health and prevent disease. But, many have

wondered if the anti-oxidants in tea are actually absorbed by our

bodies in enough quantity to really be helpful, or if we're

better off taking supplements.

Additional Article Information:

===============================

842 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2007-03-14 10:12:00

Written By: Jon M. Stout

Copyright: 2007

Contact Email: mailto:jon.stout@...

Jon M. Stout's Picture URL:

http://www.thephantomwriters.com/client-img/jon-stout.jpg

For more free-reprint articles by Jon M. Stout, please visit:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Jon_M._Stout

=============================================

Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters:

=============================================

If you use this article on your website or in your ezine,

We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let

us know where you have used this article, and we will

include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com:

http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=4521 & p=load

HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste

Versions Of Article Are Available at:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/s/tea-anti-oxidants-body.shtml#get_\

code

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Tea: Are Tea's Anti-Oxidants Really Useable By The Body?

Copyright © 2007 Jon M. Stout

Golden Moon Tea

http://www.GoldenMoonTea.com

In recent years, tea has gained a great deal of attention for its

ability to protect our health and prevent disease. But, many have

wondered if the anti-oxidants in tea are actually absorbed by our

bodies in enough quantity to really be helpful, or if we're

better off taking supplements.

Well, at least one study suggests that the anti-oxidants we

consume in tea and other anti-oxidant rich foods are indeed

effective. A study reported by the Journal of Nutrition studied

the actual bioavailability of black tea catechins. After a 5 day

period of abstaining from anti-oxidant rich tea, participants

were put on a regimen of black tea 4 times per day.

During the study period, the participants abstained from other

anti-oxidant rich foods, so that researchers could be certain

that the anti-oxidants they found in evaluation came from the

tea. In order to determine whether or not the catechins had been

absorbed by the body, researchers evaluated the participants'

blood, urine and feces for traces of the tea catechins.

Results showed that traces of the tea's anti-oxidants were found

in the blood, urine and feces of the participants, meaning that

the anti-oxidants had been absorbed by the body. Catechin levels

appeared to peak at about 5 hours after the consumption of the

dose of tea. At peak levels, the concentration of anti-oxidants

in the subjects was significantly higher than at the beginning of

the study.

The only downside to the results of this study was that it

appeared that the amount of tea catechins absorbed by the body

was relatively low compared to amount of catechins actually

ingested. This suggests that in order to get maximum anti-oxidant

benefit, we may need to ingest fairly large quantities of

anti-oxidant rich foods, like tea.

However, one aspect of anti-oxidant absorption that this study

did not measure was how much was absorbed in the digestive tract.

It is hypothesized that much of the anti-oxidants we consume are

absorbed in the digestive tract and metabolized for use by the

body.

If this is the case, our bodies are receiving the benefit of the

anti-oxidants, even though traces of them are not found in our

urine, blood or feces.

But, even if our bodies don't absorb a large amount of the

anti-oxidants we consume, we do know that some are available for

use by the body. For this reason, it's even more important to

ensure that your diet is especially rich in anti-oxidants.

This means that you should consume a wide variety of foods that

contain anti-oxidants to help you ensure that your body absorbs

enough to provide health benefits.

In addition to drinking tea at least 4 times daily, add the

following foods to your diet in significant quantity to get the

most " bang for your anti-oxidant buck " .

* Asparagus

* Blueberries

* Pomegranates

* Strawberries

* Raspberries

* Blackberries

* Broccoli

* Tomatoes

* Red grapes (including red wine)

* Garlic

* Spinach

* Soy

* Whole grains

* Carrots

* Coffee

* Chocolate (dark chocolate with at least 60% cacao)

All of these foods can help protect your health and slow down the

aging process. If you build your daily diet around these foods,

you'll be certain to get enough anti-oxidants to ensure that

your body absorbs them in an amount to be beneficial.

Experiment with new recipes and interesting ways to use and

combine the most anti-oxidant rich foods to ensure that you're

getting a good dose at each and every meal.

Many of these foods are easy to incorporate into your life. For

example, berries and grapes make great afternoon snacks, and can

be used in a wide variety of desserts. Tomatoes are one of the

most versatile foods around.

In fact, some doctors recommend that you eat tomato sauce

regularly because it's a more concentrated form of tomatoes'

anti-oxidants than simply eating a raw tomato. And of course,

most of us have dozens of recipes that use tomato sauce.

Spinach is another versatile food that can be added to many

dishes. For example, why not add some cooked spinach to your

regular lasagna recipe? It's hardly noticeable when layered with

the cheeses. Don't forget to season with garlic!

The combination of spinach, tomato sauce and garlic suddenly

makes your lasagna a very anti-oxidant rich meal! Serve it with a

salad containing carrots and broccoli and your meal is a

powerhouse!

Another especially potent food is the pomegranate. Most of us

don't eat pomegranates on a regular basis, and they can

sometimes be difficult to find at the grocer. However,

pomegranate juice and tea with added pomegranate is readily

available.

Try having a glass of pomegranate juice each day, or drinking

pomegranate tea. This gives you a double whammy of anti-oxidants

in a delicious and refreshing beverage.

As you can see, once you realize the right foods to eat, it's

simple to ensure that your family gets a diet that's especially

rich in anti-oxidants. It just takes a little planning and a good

understanding of the best foods for your body. Wash it all down

with a cup of tea and you'll be on the road to good health!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Jon M. Stout is Chairman of the Golden Moon

Tea Company. For more information about tea,

(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea)

green tea (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/blacktea)

and black tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com