Black tea is one of the six types of tea and is a type of post-fermented tea. There are many types of black tea, and the tea-making process generally includes withering, rolling, fermentation, and drying. Black tea has significant effects in lowering blood lipids, blood pressure, blood sugar, weight loss, preventing cardiovascular diseases, and fighting against cancer. Let's take a closer look at the benefits of black tea.
1. Dietary Nutrition
Black tea contains abundant nutritional elements, mainly vitamins and minerals. It also contains protein, amino acids, and carbohydrates. For residents in the northwest region of China who consume mainly beef, mutton, and cheese and lack vegetables and fruits in their diet, long-term consumption of black tea from Hunan is an important source of essential minerals and various vitamins, making it a "life tea."
2. Digestion and Oil Decomposition
The caffeine, vitamins, amino acids, and phospholipids in black tea help with digestion, regulate fat metabolism, and stimulate gastric acid secretion to improve appetite and aid digestion. Scientific studies have shown that black tea has strong functions in decomposing oil and aiding digestion, which is why meat-eating ethnic groups particularly enjoy this tea. In addition, black tea can improve the intestinal microenvironment and promote gastrointestinal health. Traditional Chinese medicine has used old black tea to treat bloating, dysentery, and indigestion.
3. Lowering Blood Lipids and Weight Loss
High blood lipid levels can lead to lipid deposition on blood vessel walls, causing atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Black tea has good effects in breaking down fats, preventing blood clotting, promoting fibrinolysis, and significantly inhibiting platelet aggregation. It can also relax blood vessel walls, increase blood vessel diameter, and inhibit the formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the aorta and coronary arteries. This helps to lower blood pressure, relax blood vessels, and prevent cardiovascular diseases. Studies have shown that black tea polysaccharides in particular can reduce blood lipids and the activity of peroxide in the blood. Observations on 55 patients with hyperlipidemia who consumed black tea for 180 days (3 grams per day) showed a significant decrease in blood lipid levels and peroxide activity.
4. Antioxidant
According to the free radical theory of aging, under normal physiological conditions, free radicals are constantly produced and cleared in the human body, maintaining a balance. Black tea contains abundant antioxidants such as catechins, theaflavins, flavonoids, vitamin C, vitamin E, and carotenoids, as well as trace elements with antioxidant properties such as zinc, manganese, copper (constituents of SOD), and selenium (constituents of GSHPX). The catechins, theaflavins, theanine, and polysaccharides in black tea, especially the complex flavonoids, have the ability to scavenge free radicals and delay cell aging.
5. Anti-cancer
Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world. Since the late 1970s, scientists from various countries have found that tea or tea extracts have inhibitory effects on various types of cancer. High-throughput screening studies conducted by Hunan Agricultural University using modern drug screening techniques have proven that black tea has a significant inhibitory effect on tumor cells.
6. Lowering Blood Pressure
It has been reported that tea has the ability to lower blood pressure. Tea amino acids, such as theanine, can activate dopamine neurons, which helps to inhibit high blood pressure. In addition, caffeine and catechins in tea can relax blood vessel walls, increase their effective diameter, and lower blood pressure through vasodilation. Tea pigments have significant anticoagulant effects, promote fibrinolysis, prevent platelet adhesion and aggregation, and inhibit the proliferation of arterial smooth muscle cells. They can significantly reduce triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein in the serum of hyperlipidemic animals, increase high-density lipoprotein, and have a significant inhibitory effect on ACE enzyme, resulting in a blood pressure-lowering effect.
7. Lowering Blood Sugar
The main component of black tea that lowers blood sugar is tea polysaccharide complex. Tests on various types of tea have shown that black tea has the highest tea polysaccharide content and the strongest activity compared to other teas. This is because during fermentation, the action of glycosidases, proteases, and hydrolases leads to the formation of shorter sugar chains and peptide chains. Shorter peptide chains are more easily absorbed and have stronger biological activity. This may be one of the reasons why fermented teas, especially black tea, have better effects in lowering blood sugar compared to other teas.
8. Anti-bacterial and Anti-inflammatory
The main components of black tea infusion are theaflavins and thearubigins. Studies have shown that theaflavins not only act as effective free radical scavengers and antioxidants but also have significant antibacterial effects against Clostridium botulinum, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus subtilis. In addition, theaflavins have inhibitory effects on influenza viruses and rotaviruses and can reduce the infection caused by these viruses.
9. Diuresis and Detoxification
The diuretic function of black tea is achieved by promoting the filtration rate of water in the urine through the kidneys. At the same time, the stimulant effect of caffeine on the bladder can assist in diuresis and help relieve alcohol intoxication. The tea polyphenols in black tea not only precipitate nicotine in tobacco but also excrete it through urine. They can also remove free radicals from cigarette smoke and reduce the harmful effects of smoke on the human body. Tea polyphenols have strong adsorption capacity for heavy metal toxins, so drinking tea can alleviate the toxicity of heavy metals.
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