Relax with a healthy cup of tea
by Dan Carrier
Camden New Journal - 20 June 2002


Tea has played a role in Chinese medicine for thousands of years and, says Benny Mei of the AcuMedic Centre, it’s about time the coffee-swilling West woke up to its rejuvenating properties

The daily cuppa is an institution seen as being uniquely British, a cultural marker that declines the country. But we are newcomers when it comes to part-taking in a daily brew. For it was the Chinese who first discovered the joys and the health benefits of a brew-up, and they have been drinking tea for more than 2,000 years. Today, tea plays an major role in Chinese medicine and health. But there is no need to travel to the Orient to try the vast range of Chinese teas, each possessing different revitalising properties.

The AcuMedic Centre in Camden High Street, run by Man Fong Mei, a Chinese medicine specialist from Beijing University, offers 28 different sorts of teas – and advice on how you can get the best out of your afternoon tea break.

Prof. Mei came to study in Britain in the 1960s and founded AcuMedic, which specialises in Chinese medicine, in 1972. He runs training courses for GPs and NHS doctors interested in how Chinese medicine can complement Western medical practice.

The guiding principle of Chinese medicine is harmony and balance – illustrated by the belief in Yin and Yang, or the philosophy that everything in the universe consists of opposite but complementary aspects. This means balancing your lifestyle with exercise and relaxation, and doing the same with diet. Modern lifestyles create heat caused by toxins in our bodies. The current popularity of coffee dismays Prof. Mei who would like to see high street coffee shops joined by tea houses. ‘It is about time tea drinking was taken up seriously to counterbalance the ‘hot’ nature of coffee and alcohol drinking’ he says.

Prof. Mei adds that tea is not just a nice tasting drink with simple properties that are good for you. It has long played a key role in China’s social culture – and merely sharing it with friends helps you relax. ‘Britain took up tea in the 17th century. Unfortunately, it did not go further than Indian and Ceylon teas’ he says. And this love of Indian tea- further fostered by the British Empire and the strong links between the two countries – meant for many years Chinese teas were overlooked.

Prof. Mei hopes to introduce the vast range of medicinal Chinese teas to a new generation of tea lovers, and has imported 28 different varieties – each a special tonic and with a unique flavour. ‘Tea helps you stay slim and cuts cholesterol’, adds Prof. Mei. It is rich in amino acids and antioxidants and other essential elements.’

And the varieties, which range from the River High – reputed to boost libido - to Mature Choice, which is believed to help clarity of thought and boost memory cells – mean a Chinese tea party has much to offer the discerning palate. Chinese tea drinkers hold parties to try different varieties. ‘It is like wine tasting – it is sociable – but your body will feel better afterwards,’ says Prof. Mei

How green is your cuppa?

With cancer rates increasing sharply in the Western world, it makes sense to do anything we can to reduce our risk. The World Health Organisation recently declared that up to 70% of cancers are diet related. Over the past decade, there has been growing interest in the role of specific foods and drinks in cancer prevention. One that has received particular attention is green tea – traditionally consumed in China and Japan. Research published in this month’s edition of the International Journal of Cancer shows that drinking green tea halves the risk of a condition known as gastritis (stomach inflammation), believed to precede many cases of stomach cancer. This latest research supports already existing evidence for green tea’s cancer-protective effects. However, benefits do not end there: other studies suggest that drinking green tea may protect against heart and liver disease, too.

Green tea is prepared by drying leaves harvested from the tea plant Camellia sinensis. This is rich in a class of substances known as polyphenols, which have an ‘antioxidant’ action in the body, helping to quench damaging molecules known as ‘free radicals’, believed to promote illnesses such as cancer and heart disease. Green tea differs from black tea – the variety predominantly drunk in the West – in that it is not fermented before drying. This process appears to reduce polyphenol content by up to 90%, which is why green tea is believed to offer significant health benefits over black tea. Green tea’s chief antioxidant is a compound known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which appears to have ability to suppress many different elements of the cancer-forming process.

Work published in the medical journal Mutation Research in 1998 found that drinking more than ten cups of green tea a day significantly delayed cancer development, compared with drinking fewer than three cups a day. In women, cancer onset was delayed more then seven years. Men saw a more modest but still significant delay of more than three years. To date, there have been more than 30 studies, which have examined the effect of consuming green tea on cancer risk. As with many areas of science, not all of these studies have been positive. However, the balance of evidence does suggest that green tea can help protect against several different forms of cancer, including those affecting the colon, stomach, oesophagus (gullet), bladder and pancreas. Research published in the British Medical Journal in 1995 also found green tea consumption was associated with lower levels of cholesterol and other unhealthy blood fats known as triglycerides.

Interestingly, green tea consumers also had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol – the ‘good’ cholesterol associated with a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke. Other studies published last year in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry found green tea extract could protect cholesterol from damaging changes (oxidation) believed to contribute to its tendency to promote blockage of the body’s arteries. Another organ, which may benefit from green tea’s properties, is the liver. Liver function is often assessed with blood tests, which measure the levels of substances known as liver enzymes. The level of one or more of these enzymes is frequently elevated in liver disease. The same research which found an association between green tea and lowered cholesterol, found evidence that green tea might reduce the level of liver enzymes, too.

Although we still have much to learn about the health effects of green tea, there is mounting evidence to suggest that it does have significant health giving properties. Although it has been mainly a drink of the East, green tea has recently become widely available in the UK, in many health food stores and supermarkets. However, green tea contains stimulants such as caffeine and theobromine in similar amounts to black tea. Excessive consumption of these may lead to side effects such as digestive discomfort, nervousness and insomnia. Drinking green tea (or any other caffeinated beverage) is best kept to a level at which these side effects are not apparent.