CHIP Tip No. 30: Enjoy Your Tea, Sip by Sip
from CHIP Clinical Manager Amy Lister, R.D.

“Sip by Sip” is the motto of The Republic of Tea company
and a mindful way of approaching both tea and life.

And there are many reasons we should sip more tea. One excellent one is that tea ranks as high or higher in its ORAC score—an antioxidant rating system that measures the antioxidant content of plant-based foods—than many fruits and vegetables. Tea contains polyphenols, strong antioxidants that play an important roll in cancer prevention. Tea also has been linked to improving cardiovascular health by inhibiting the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and reducing blood pressure.

You may wonder, what is considered tea? Is only green tea healthy? What about herbal teas? Any tea derived from the leaves of the Camellia Seinensis plant contains polyphenols and therefore health benefits. These include green, white, black and oolong teas. Herbal teas leaves do not come from this plant and therefore do not have the health benefits of polyphenols, although they may have other health properties.
It is not clear whether decaffeinated tea contains the same polyphenol content as regular tea. Some polyphenols—and their related health benefits—may be removed along with the caffeine. More research is needed in this area.

The caffeine content of tea is much lower than coffee and varies with the type of tea. For reference, drip coffee contains about 90 mg of caffeine per serving, cola about 45 mg. Black tea has about 45 mg per cup, while the same amount of green tea contains about 25 mg and white tea only 5 mg to 20 mg.

Color is another important aspect of tea. The darker the tea, the more processed the leaves and therefore the lower the antioxidant content. Green and white teas have the highest antioxidant content, making them the best ones to choose most often.

Tea isn’t just for cool weather. With the arrival of spring and warm weather, consider making some green or white sun tea to serve over ice. Then sip slowly as you enjoy the warmth of the sun on your face!