When wishing elderly people a long life, it is common to say auspicious words like "health and longevity" or "live to be one hundred". In some regions of China and Japan, a more elegant auspicious phrase "cha shou" is used to express the wish for longevity. The specific meaning of "cha shou" is 108 years old. Interestingly, the "nemesis" of the health problems that often plague the elderly, known as the "three highs", is tea.
1. Cholesterol-lowering effect
In today's increasingly affluent society, diseases caused by overnutrition and unhealthy diets are becoming more common. The so-called "three highs" - high blood fat, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure - are threatening more and more people. To prevent and treat these diseases, the role of Western medicine and medication is limited and often cannot solve the root problems.
Many clinical trials have shown that tea can lower the levels of triglycerides and harmful cholesterol in the blood, while increasing the levels of beneficial cholesterol. It can also reduce blood viscosity and inhibit platelet aggregation. Therefore, drinking tea has significant effects in reducing blood fat and losing weight. Tea contains a large amount of tea polysaccharides, which have a remarkable cholesterol-lowering effect. The cholesterol-lowering effect of tea polysaccharides is first manifested in increasing HDL levels, regulating indicators of arterial atherosclerosis, and enhancing cholesterol excretion through the liver. Tea polyphenols are also effective in reducing blood viscosity and preventing cerebral thrombosis, and their effects are even better than aspirin.
2. Blood sugar-lowering effect
In Chinese folk medicine, it has been a common practice to use old and coarse tea to treat diabetes. Modern research has confirmed this efficacy and found that the main substance responsible is tea polysaccharides. Japanese scientist K. Isiguki and others formulated tea polysaccharides into beverages for diabetic patients to consume, and the results showed improvement in their symptoms.
In China, Cai Hongen achieved an effective rate of 70% in treating diabetes with old and coarse tea. Li Buqing and others injected 300mg/kg of tea polysaccharides into the peritoneal cavity of mice, and measured their blood glucose levels after 7 hours. The results showed a decrease in blood glucose levels by 36.6% to 70.0%. Tea polysaccharides not only lower blood glucose levels in normal mice, but also lower the blood glucose levels of adrenaline and streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic mice, while increasing liver glycogen content. This indicates that the influence of tea polysaccharides on glucose metabolism is similar to that of pancreatic islets. Recent studies have shown that tea polyphenols and tea pigments also have blood sugar-lowering effects and can be used to treat complications of diabetes.
3. Blood pressure-lowering effect
Surveys on the health of elderly people in urban areas have shown that moderate tea consumption can effectively prevent and treat hypertension. According to traditional Chinese medicine, hypertension is caused by deficiency of genuine Yin and accumulation of internal heat. The constitution of middle-aged and elderly people often leans towards Yin deficiency and internal heat, making them susceptible to hypertension. Tea has the effect of reducing internal heat, thus lowering blood pressure.
From the perspective of modern medicine, the formation of hypertension is regulated by substances such as angiotensin. Compounds that can inhibit the activity of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) have antihypertensive effects. Tea contains various compounds that have antihypertensive functions, such as tea polyphenols, caffeine, tea polysaccharides, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), tea saponins, and more. Studies have shown that catechins and GABA lower blood pressure by inhibiting ACE activity. High concentrations of tea extract catechins have been used as antihypertensive drugs in the former Soviet Union. It has been found that placing fresh tea leaves under anaerobic conditions for 6 hours can increase the GABA content from around 30mg/kg to 20mg/kg, making the tea rich in GABA even more effective in lowering blood pressure.
Recent research has also found that theanine and tea saponins have antihypertensive effects. It can be seen that the blood pressure-lowering effect of tea is the result of the synergistic action of various components in tea.
