Obesity is reaching epidemic proportions in the United States. Many scientists and nutritionists blame fast food and sugary drinks for America’s ever-expanding waistline. In an attempt to cut calories and reap some of the benefits from tea, some drink tea by the bottle. Although tea is known to be very healthy and contain high levels of disease preventing antioxidants and polyphenols, beneficial levels aren’t found in bottled tea drinks, according to a new study. At the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, scientists reported that for a person to reap the beneficial antioxidants and polyphenols found in only one glass of brewed tea, he or she would have to consume 20 bottles of tea.
Many tea drinkers understand that tea has many natural health benefits, but what people don’t realize is that bottled tea has very minute levels of healthful nutrients that are naturally found in tea. Bottled tea contains little to none of the healthy ingredients that have given tea its high stature over centuries, but it also contains sugar, sweeteners, and other detrimental substances people who are trying to live healthier lives may want to steer clear of. Scientists measured polyphenol and antioxidant levels in six brands of store bought tea beverages. Half of the drinks contained little to no antioxidants at all and the remaining beverages contained such small levels of polyphenols that health benefits would most likely never be seen; especially when the amount of sugar present was taken into account.
Polyphenols are chemicals known to help protect against certain illness and also serve as anti-aging agents. Polyphenols help prevent damage to cells by protecting them from free radicals, molecular waste spinning freely within the body. Polyphenols can also prevent cancer by stopping enzymes from helping cancerous growths occur. Tea that is brewed at home will contain polyphenols which can help prevent cancer, inflammation, and diabetes. So bottoms up, as long as that tea is homemade.