Rose’s Green Tea: Using Tea Leaves to Tell your Future
By James H O’Keefe, MD
My great-grandmother Rose Cartier grew up in Montreal, Canada. We called her Ma Mere (French for “My mother”), and I recall her as a delightful lady with a loving disposition, a stout constitution, and a mind that remained sharp and active throughout her long life. She took pleasure in chatting with her family and friends; and spoke French when discussing issues with my grandmother and my mother that she didn’t want to share with us kids. At age 94, after a full and contented life, Rose went to bed one evening, fell asleep peacefully, and just never woke up. Even as a child, I remember thinking, what a great way to live—and die.
The only medication she took regularly was aspirin, for her “rheumatism”. Rose loved good food, and when they could afford it, she enjoyed a glass of red wine before her evening meal. Yet, it was tea—green tea specifically—that was her defining habit. Rose would always have loose leaf green tea steeping in a teapot on the kitchen counter. I recall her playfully reading the tea leaves at the bottom of our cups to “tell the future”. If you want your future health to be bright and rosy, I would suggest that you take a cue from my great grandmother, and make tea (green tea whenever possible) one of your beverages of choice. The accumulating scientific evidence indicates Rose’s daily habit of drinking green tea probably played a big role in why she was so healthy, happy and clever for almost a century.
People who make a habit of drinking 4 or more cups of green tea daily are 44% less likely to suffer from depression; theanine may be the reason. Theanine, an amino acid present in green tea, is a unique compound that induces a mental state of “relaxed awareness”. Theanine is a stimulant that energizes you and increases alertness, while at the same time reducing anxiety. Stimulants such as coffee and other caffeinated beverages like Red Bull, especially in excess, can make you jittery and anxious. On the other hand, agents that reduce anxiety, like alcohol or Xanax, tend to reduce your energy level and make you feel fatigued. So, if you are feeling like you need an energy boost that will also leave you feeling relaxed and calm, green tea may be your answer.
Many recent studies looked have focused on the health effects of drinking coffee and tea, and the results are generally encouraging. The research shows that a routine of two to four cups of coffee per day is linked with lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, and Parkinson’s disease, and a slightly reduced the risk of death from all causes. Tea consumption has been linked to even stronger health benefits; for instance, drinking three to six cups of tea daily is associated with a 45 percent lower risk of death from heart disease. Long term generous consumption of tea has also been shown to lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels. Studies suggest that green tea might play a role in preventing Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration (the most common cause of blindness in adults), and several cancers including cancers of the mouth, lung, and prostate, and leukemia. Tea can aid digestion, strengthen bones, and improve the health of gums and teeth. Studies also indicate that frequent tea consumption is linked to better longevity. In one large study of 40,000 Japanese followed for 11 years, those who drank more green tea were less likely to die from all causes, and seemed to be especially protected from cardiovascular death.
A study focusing on Chinese people offered a fascinating insight into how tea might improve longevity. Men who consumed three or more cups of tea daily were genetically younger than those who consumed less tea. In this study the tea drinkers had significantly longer telomeres—the protective caps on the ends of DNA strands that keep them from unraveling. Enthusiastic tea drinkers’ telomeres showed substantially less wear and tear, translating into a genetic age about 5 years younger than the non-tea drinkers.
Drinking a lot of tea can be helpful if you are trying to lose weight. Besides being a tasty and healthy calorie-free drink, tea also cranks up your metabolism which burns off belly fat. Studies show that drinking at least 3 or 4 cups of tea, especially green tea, will help to flatten your tummy and trim your waistline—which is not only great for your figure, but also for your health. Excess belly fat is one of the biggest sources of chronic inflammation that predisposes to everything from diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, to heart attack and stroke.
The health benefits of tea may be due to the high levels of antioxidants and other plant chemicals in the beverage. Studies show that you tend to absorb more of these beneficial antioxidants from your tea if you add a slice or squeeze of lemon. Tea, whether iced or hot, green or black, is naturally calorie free. Try to learn to enjoy your tea unsweetened; both sugar and artificial sweeteners make it a less healthy beverage. Your abdominal fat will really melt away if you substitute green tea for Coke and other sweet drinks.
Bottom line: try to include tea into your daily routine. Green tea and white tea are probably best for health benefits; and if caffeine bothers you, drink the decaf version. Or, if you just can’t or won’t drink green tea regularly, consider taking a daily supplement in the form a capsule of tea antioxidants. Getting your tea antioxidants in the form of a daily capsule has been shown to significantly lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and help to trim excess belly fat.
I have been impressed that my patients, family and friends seem to feel better and be healthier when they add either green tea, or a tea supplement to their daily routine. As for me, I’m following Ma Mere’s example and drinking at least four cups of green tea daily; and I love it as much as she did.
