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Sun, 11 May 2003 01:38:02 -0400 (EDT)

 

THE MOSS REPORTS Newsletter (05/10/03)

 

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Ralph W. Moss, Ph.D. Weekly CancerDecisions.com

Newsletter #83 05/10/03

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Teas, Black, Green and Now White

 

 

 

What are you drinking? According to a increasing number

of scientists your daily beverage of choice should be

tea. Black and Oolong tea were standbys for hundreds of

years. Then came the taste sensations of the Nineties:

green tea, Chai and rooibos (a red herbal tea). And now

comes a new and expensive variety called " white tea. "

I shall try to make some sense out of the burgeoning

tea scene.

 

 

Tea is prepared in various ways from the dried leaves

of the camelia bush (C. sinensis). Black, green and now

white…all are healthful for you. A recent article by Dr

Jack F. Bukowski in the Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences (PNAS) showed that tea

significantly increased the body's ability to defend

against infections, a growing concern in this age of

SARS. That is because tea contains a substance that

turns into an immune-stimulating 'drug' in the body.

Tea fights against invading bacteria, viruses and

fungi. Immune system blood cells of tea drinkers

respond five times faster to germs than do blood cells

of coffee drinkers! Coffee does not have any such

effect.

 

 

Dr. Bukowski and his team at Harvard Medical School and

Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston isolated a

substance called L-theanine from ordinary black tea.

This substance is broken down in the liver to

ethylamine, a molecule that primes an immune system

element called the gamma-delta T cell. This cell in

turn prompts the secretion of interferon, which is one

of the body's hormone-like defenses against infection.

These results indicate that five cups of tea a day may

sharpen the body's defenses against disease.

 

 

Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton, a nutrition specialist at

Pennsylvania State University, agrees. She has said

that the latest PNAS finding adds to a growing body of

evidence that tea is effective at fighting disease. It

is immunotherapy, on just pennies a day.

 

 

 

Tea Vs. Colon Cancer?

 

 

 

Studies have also shown that people who drink tea have

a lower incidence of many types of cancers than those

who drink no tea. (Most such research has been done on

green tea, but black tea appears equally effective.)

Tea may also be helpful in preventing coronary heart

disease. It has been shown both to reduce high blood

pressure and to inhibit the formation of blood clots in

artery walls. Further benefits of green tea include a

steadying of blood sugar levels and an inhibition of

the growth of bacteria that can cause gum disease,

cavities and bad breath.

 

 

For most Americans, tea choices used to be limited to

Lipton, Salada and White Rose. The cost was a penny or

two a cup. Today, the choices in supermarkets, food

co-ops and specialty shops can be bewildering…and so are

some of the prices. When I was in Washington DC

recently I visited " Teaism, " a chain of New Age tea

houses that are devoted to the " belief that selecting,

serving, and selling tea is art and love not just

commerce. " I wonder what old Sir Thomas J. Lipton would

have made of that!

 

 

For various reasons, I generally drink my tea

decaffeinated. But one has to be sure that the tea is

decaffeinated by natural means (water or carbon

dioxide) rather than with harmful chemicals. If you

find yourself without access to decaf (decaffeinated

tea is almost unknown throughout Europe, for example)

you can effect a do-it-yourself decaffeination by

dunking a regular teabag in a small amount of water for

half a minute and then discarding this first liquid.

The next dunking of the bag will yield tea that has

significantly less caffeine. (Thanks to an alert reader

for this tip.)

 

 

 

And What's With White?

 

 

 

" White tea " is not tea with milk added. It refers to a

form of tea in which the leaves and buds are steamed

and dried. It is thus the least processed form of tea

since all other teas undergo both withering and

oxidation. White tea contains more buds, which are

covered with silvery hairs that give it a whitish

color. It brews to a pale yellow or light red color,

and has a slightly sweet flavor. The biggest problem

with white tea is its price: In the interest of

scientific research, I recently purchased some at my

local food co-op, which generally has reasonable prices

on exotic food items. Yet, even there, the price was

over $46 per pound. This could be a budget buster. I

bought a dollar's worth. It made one pot of tea. It was

delicious: mild, like green tea, but without green

tea's somewhat hay-like aroma. The caffeine sneaks up

on you and can pack a wallop.

 

 

To view a picture of the white tea I purchased, click or

go to:

http://www.cancerdecisions.com/images/whitetea1.jpg

 

 

White tea originated in Fujian Province, China and in

Sri Lanka and was once a delicacy reserved for the

Chinese Emperor. It is now available to well-heeled

Western consumers. To gather white tea, the buds, or

silver tips, are plucked before opening and are then

withered to allow the natural moisture to evaporate and

dry. Brewed, it yields a pale, smooth liquor, whose

mild taste is reminiscent of a fine Oolong.

 

 

White teas that comprise only downy buds can run to

$100 or more per pound, considerably more expensive

than those that include leaves and buds (such as I

purchased). To economize, white teas can be reinfused

several times. Although delicate, they benefit from a

steeping time up to fifteen minutes in order to release

their full flavor. So, if the current economic

downturn has not caused you to start " Quicken-ing " in

the middle of the night, you might spring for some

white tea. If you are watching your money, don't

despair: you can still get an enormous amount of health

benefit out of a simple cup of black tea from the

supermarket.

 

 

 

Is white tea better for you than green or black tea?

 

 

 

In a recent experiment, tea was found to fight against

the development of colon cancer, at least in animals.

White tea was compared to green tea for its ability to

suppress precancerous formations (known as aberrant

crypts) in the colons of mice. Both white and green tea

were compared to sulindac, a non-steroidal

anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) known to cut back on

precancerous tissue changes in the colons of mice.

 

 

After 12 weeks, mice given green tea, white tea, or

sulindac had significantly fewer such precancerous

lesions than controls. The protection provided by

either green or white tea was in fact comparable to the

proven ability of sulindac in this regard. But mice

treated with a combination of white tea plus sulindac

had significantly fewer tumors than they did when

treated with either substance alone. " This research

provides evidence that teas, particularly when

administered in combination with sulindac, are highly

effective at inhibiting intestinal neoplasia (tumors)

in mice, " researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute in

Oregon concluded.

 

 

The same researchers tested four types of tea for their

ability to protect the rat colon from a known dietary

carcinogen (or cancer-causing substance). Researchers

brewed the white tea for five minutes, using two grams

of tea to every 100 milliliters of water, which works

out to about two-thirds of an ounce of dry tea to a

quart of liquid. A second group of rats was given an

equivalent amount of just caffeine. In weeks three and

four of the experiment, the animals were given a

carcinogen derived from cooked meat.

 

 

An examination of liver enzymes and metabolites in

urine at eight weeks suggested that the " carcinogen was

more rapidly metabolized and detoxified " by the rats

given white tea than those getting caffeine alone or

water. At the end of the study, rats given white tea

also had significantly fewer pre-cancerous lesions in

their colon. Interestingly, rats given caffeine alone

also had fewer such lesions than the controls.

 

 

The researchers cautioned that " these data are highly

preliminary, and cannot be extrapolated to human cancer

prevention or treatment, since animal data is only

suggestive of what might happen to humans. " They do

indicate, however, that white tea, like other forms of

tea, can block experimentally induced DNA damage. The

animal studies also raise the possibility that any

potential extra benefit from white tea (compared to

other teas) might simply be related to its higher

caffeine levels.

 

 

 

Pesticide Problems in Teas

 

 

 

Tea crops are sometimes heavily sprayed, and one

should rightly be concerned about the danger of

chemical residues. This is particularly true for teas

originating, in whole or in part, from China and India.

The situation is improving but still warrants caution.

Starting in 2001, European Union (EU) regulations

reduced pesticide tolerances for tea by 100 times. This

has been great for European consumers. Because spraying

is so common in China, it effectively excluded half of

China's tea exports to the EU and caused more than $125

million in losses to farmers in Zhejiang Province. (In

2001, Chinese pesticide production rose by 9 percent to

696,400 tons, more than three times their 1995 total.

When will they get the message?)

 

 

Indian teas will also have to meet new health standards

being set by the European Union or lose their

considerable share of the European market. Starting in

July, 2003, the EU plans ban the use of 320 types of

pesticides and fertilizers, many of which are used by

Indian tea growers. Indian suppliers will then have to

ensure that their consignments comply with these

stricter pesticide limits. Even the permissible

pesticides cannot go above the level of 3 milligrams

per kilogram of tea. India currently produces about 20

percent of the tea on the world market. But Sri Lanka

and Kenya, with their organic varieties, have both

justifiably made a dent in the Chinese and Indian tea

markets.

 

 

Kenyan tea is generally less contaminated than Chinese

or Indian brands. At the Unilever (i.e., Lipton)

website they state that natural biological methods of

controlling pests and diseases are employed in their

Kenyan plantations and that " no pesticides are used on

mature plants except for one herbicide on field edges. "

Such teas, while not strictly organic, are much less

worrisome than Chinese or Indian teas and a lot less

expensive than specialty organic brands.

 

 

One very flavorful brand of Kenyan black tea that I

often drink is from the famous Irish tea distributor,

Bewley's, which is also available in a decaffeinated

form. Their Clipper Gold Tea comes from tea gardens

high in the mountains of Kenya and is considered to be

among the best of the Kenyan varieties. Even

decaffeinated, it is delicious and strong: one teabag

will make six to eight cups. Another excellent company

is Tazo, two of whose teas won high marks in a recent

(March, 2003) Consumer Reports taste test of green

teas.

 

 

Here are some other brands that offer organic teas,

some of them decaffeinated:

 

 

Choice Organic Teas (offers a decaf Earl Grey and green tea)

Gepa3 Earl Gray

Equal Exchange

Great Eastern Sun's

Harney & Sons

Island Rose

Kalani Organica

Simpson & Vail

The Original Ceylon Tea Company

St. Dalfour

Tedde's Tea

Thousand Cranes

 

 

However you brew it, you should consider making tea

your basic beverage of choice. Coffee offers little in

the way of health benefits (and may in fact be harmful

to some people). But the wonders of tea never cease. It

is a simple, inexpensive and healthful habit, " that

Excellent and by All Physicians approved China drink, "

as an English author of 1658 put it. In sophisticated

ways, modern science is now confirming the insights of

our tea-imbibing ancestors.

 

 

 

Ralph W. Moss, Ph D

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

 

If you are interested in learning more about the best

currently available conventional and alternative

treatments for many kinds of cancer please consider

buying one of our detailed Moss Reports. We have Moss

Reports for 214 different kinds of cancer. Please

visit our website at www.cancerdecisions.com or call us

at 1-800-980-1234.

 

 

Dr Moss is currently traveling and there will be no

newsletter next week (May 12-16).

 

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An earlier Cancer Decisions newsletter on health

benefits of tea:

 

http://www.cancerdecisions.com/092401.html

 

 

Bukowski study:

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/22/health/22TEA.html

 

Oregon study: Orner GA, et al. Suppression of

tumorigenesis in the Apc(min) mouse: down-regulation of

beta-catenin signaling by a combination of tea plus

sulindac. Carcinogenesis. 2003 Feb;24(2):263-7.

 

See also: http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/new/whitetea.html

 

Pesticide residues:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/toxic/chinapesticides012103.cfm

 

Indian tea:

http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/mar/10tea.htm

 

Rating teas:

http://www.concentric.net/~Dusted/EarlGrey/ChoiceDecaf.html

 

http://www.unilever.com/environmentsociety/casestudies/agriculture/Case_study_te\

a.asp

 

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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER

 

 

The news and other items in this newsletter are

intended for informational purposes only. Nothing in

this newsletter is intended to be a substitute for

professional medical advice.

 

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