Okay you tea drinkers! Maybe people laughed at you for liking the "weak brew" and not drinking coffee so strong that hair grows on your chest, but you are actually doing something very wise!
A Chinese researcher investigated a group of elderly Chinese men who drank three cups or more of tea a day. They discovered that these men had significantly longer telomere lengths than men who did not drink tea.
What is a telomere? It is the little cap or top of each strand of DNA. Over time, when your cells divide, the telomeres get a tiny bit shorter. And telomere length is a very important indicator of how well you are and how long you will live. So the men who drank three or more cups of tea a day were preserving their telomere length and lengthening their lifespan.
Another interesting fact - they have discovered that when they clone animals, the clones have a shorter lifespan. Why? Because their parent animal's telomere length was already shortened by their age when they were cloned, so the clone were starting out life as a clone with the shorter telomeres of the older animal that they were cloned from. The length of your telomeres are one important measure of health and longevity.
So how do you keep your telomeres long? Why does green tea help? The scientists say that telomeres are very sensitive to oxidative stress. The antioxidants in tea help reduce oxidation in the body, and in this way they protect the telomeres from damage. The more the anti-oxidant activity, the less "rust" happens in your body.
Do you remember that from chemistry class? Oxidation is what causes rusting of metal. It happens when an oxygen interacts with another molecule and an electron is lost. Think of rusting. It is like the cells in your body getting rusty. Not something we like to have happen! The antioxidants in tea prevents this "rust" from occurring
Tea is wonderfully wealthy in the antioxidants and phytonutrients that eradicate the free radicals (molecules that are looking for something to rust up) floating in your body. So drink more tea to extend your life span and have better health. It is important to remember to drink just plain tea, because it seems that milk neutralizes the antioxidants. And of course, sugar is never a good idea. If you can get used to drinking it plain, it will be much better for you in the long run.
The active ingredient in green tea is called EGCG, and it prevents and repairs damage to your body's cells. The things that damage your body, pollution, sunburn, smoking and things added to your food that don't belong can all be combated by drinking tea. You can buy it in capsules, but why not just drink tea?
The way to receive the most benefits from tea is to use whole leaves or a tea bag. Bottled versions aren't as good for you, since they usually have other chemicals added, and sit on the shelf for a long time.
There are other vitamins you can take to help support your body, help your telomeres stay long, fight the oxidative process and keep it "rust-free." They are:
Vitamin B12 – Take at least 100 mcg per day.
Vitamin C – Doctors I know say taking up to 3,000 mg per day of the natural form of vitamin C is a good amount if you're in good health. There have been studies that show the natural form of vitamin C was 148% more effective than the synthetic form, providing the extra advantage of staying in your system longer.
Vitamin E – Take at least 200 iu of “mixed tocopherols," not just alpha-tocopherols.
Just taking vitamins in tablets can never do for you what real food can provide. And drinking tea is a wonderful way to strengthen your system and give you a longer life.
