Pu-erh Tea - Health

Health

See also: Potential effects of tea on health

Scientific studies report that consumption of pu'er tea leaves significantly suppressed the expression of fatty acid synthase (FAS) in the livers of rats; gains in body weight, levels of triacylglycerol, and total cholesterol were also suppressed. The compositions of chemical components found to have been responsible for these effects (catechins, caffeine, and theanine) varied dramatically between pu-erh, black, oolong, and green teas.

Specific mechanisms through which chemicals in pu'er tea inhibit the biosynthesis of cholesterol in the laboratory have been suggested.

Pu'er tea has also been found to have antimutagenic and antimicrobial properties in vitro. (In vitro studies do not necessarily correlate to medicinal effects. An article in Microbiologist, The magazine of the Society for Applied Microbiology, in March 2008, Vol 9 No 1, p35, found that tea had many in vitro antimicrobial properties against many organisms; for example English Breakfast tea at the concentration used for drinking had significant antimicrobial effect on the lethal anthrax bacillus (Bacillus anthracis) and many others, but this did not make it a useful treatment for anthrax.)

Pu'er tea is widely believed in Chinese cultures to counteract the unpleasant effects of heavy alcohol consumption. In traditional Chinese medicine it is believed to invigorate the spleen and inhibit "dampness." In the stomach, it is believed to reduce heat and "descends qi".

Pu'er tea is widely sold, by itself or in blends, with claims that it promotes loss of body weight in humans, although there is no accepted evidence for this.

Some pu'er brick tea has been found to contain very high levels of fluorine, because it is generally made from lesser quality older tea leaves and stems, which accumulate fluorine. Its consumption has led to fluorosis (a form of fluoride poisoning that affects the bones and teeth) in areas of high brick tea consumption, such as Tibet.

Read more about this topic:  Pu-erh Tea

Famous quotes containing the word health:

    To get time for civic work, for exercise, for neighborhood projects, reading or meditation, or just plain time to themselves, mothers need to hold out against the fairly recent but surprisingly entrenched myth that “good mothers” are constantly with their children. They will have to speak out at last about the demoralizing effect of spending day after day with small children, no matter how much they love them.
    —Wendy Coppedge Sanford. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, introduction (1978)

    The greatest public health threat for many American women is the men they live with.
    Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)

    The middle years of parenthood are characterized by ambiguity. Our kids are no longer helpless, but neither are they independent. We are still active parents but we have more time now to concentrate on our personal needs. Our children’s world has expanded. It is not enclosed within a kind of magic dotted line drawn by us. Although we are still the most important adults in their lives, we are no longer the only significant adults.
    —Ruth Davidson Bell. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 3 (1978)