1) Whether you prefer your tea to be piping hot or ice cold, are you aware that it is one of the best things you can drink?
a) According to an article from Sciencedaily. com, tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world, behind water.
2) Establish Credibility: the women in my family are hereditarily more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than others. Ever since I was little my grandmother has drank tea, green tea specifically. That’s all I have ever seen her sip on. She always told me that she has been able to prevent breast cancer by drinking teas. As I got older I became curious why and how this was true. So, through my own research, I have realized that teas are very beneficial in so many ways.
3) Thesis and Preview:
a) Today, I will discuss the ways that tea can positively affect your body.
- There are many different types of herbal teas, but I am only going to cover the three most common.
- There is black tea, green tea, and white tea.
BODY
4) To begin, Green tea is the most publically discussed and researched about. It is considered to be a “true” tea. By true tea, I mean that it comes from a plant called the Camellia sinensis. This plant is the mother plant of all natural teas. Different types of teas come from different part of the plants and are processed in different ways. Green tea has undergone minimal oxidation processing.
a) Green tea has been shown to have substantial effects on the prevention and treatment of cancer.
- According to an article mentioned on WebMD. com, there was a study conducted in Japan that involved nearly 500 Japanese women with Stage I and Stage II breast cancer. The study found that increased green tea consumption before and after surgery was associated with lower recurrence of the cancers.
- It also has been shown to have an impact and reduce the risk of stomach cancer, esophageal cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer. (http://www. webmd. com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea? page=2)
b) How about green tea and your heart?
- Green tea has been shown to unclog your arteries and keep blood flow through the heart and body strong.
c) The media has caught on to the green tea phenomenon and its effectiveness with weight loss and its fat burning factors. Even though we take most things in the media with a grain of salt, this isn’t all made up. Green tea has been shown to assist in the handling of obesity and help with losing weight.
- So, how much weight can you really lose? In several studies, it is said that you can burn on average, 75-100 calories a day by drinking about 5 cups of green tea. If you were to combine green tea with a healthy diet and exercise, the potential to shed many pounds is much higher. And if 5 cups in a single day seems like an overabundant amount of tea for you, there are supplements of green tea extract that can be purchased at many local grocery stores.
5) Another type of tea from the Camellia sinensis plant is Black tea. The health benefits of black tea focuses on the similar areas as green tea.
a) The best benefits from black tea come from its high number of antioxidants, which fight off infections and viruses that can attack our bodies.
b) There was a study in the Netherlands that found a connection between regular consumption of black tea and reduced risk of stroke. Researchers concluded that the health benefits of black tea include the reduction of LDL – the “bad” cholesterol that can lead to stroke and heart attacks. This study was discussed within an article from Teagenius.com.
c) There has also been research that has come to the general conclusion that men who consumed approximately four cups of black tea per day, were less likely to have a stroke.
d) More health benefits of black tea are that it helps prevent tooth decay, can lower cholesterol, act as an arthritis soother, and may help in burning fat.
Transition and summary: Thus far, the properties and nutrients found in both green tea and black tea have shown that they can have a positive impact on the body in similar ways. The last tea I would like to discuss today is White tea.
6) White tea is the least processed of all the teas out there, which means that it has retained the most antioxidants to fight off the bad bacteria attacking our bodies. It is mild in taste and extremely light in color (refer to picture).
a) It is said that white tea can have that soothing effect.
- This sense and feeling of relief comes from a compound called L-theanine. It is an amino acid that can enter the brain, and that’s why it has psychoactive properties. Studies show that L-theanine can reduce mental and physical stress.
b) White tea is also known to have an exterior benefit on your body by helping your skin. It can help with sun-damaged skin and reverse some of the wrinkling and dryness of your skin.
Conclusion
7) As I have explained this morning, there are many ways that teas can keep our bodies stay strong and healthy. Green tea, black tea, and white tea all contain antioxidants and different beneficial nutrients that prevent cancer, keep your heart strong, relieve stress, and so many other things.
a) We can give ourselves a longer life expectancy by doing the little things everyday, such as having a cup of hot tea. I encourage you to grab some tea next time you are at the store or stop by a Starbucks. Your body will thank you.
Works Cited
- “Health Benefits of Black TeaA -A Tea Information from Tea Genius. ” Tea Genius – Your Knowledge Base of TeaA -A Tea Information from Tea Genius. N. p. , n. d. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
- “Health benefits of tea. ” Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. N. p. , n. d. Web. 17 Sept. 2011.
- “Types of Teas and Their Health Benefits. ” WebMD – Better information. Better health.. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.
- “White tea and depression. ” White Tea Central. N. p. , n. d. Web. 18 Sept. 2011.