The Tea Detective

Uncovering and Exploring the Facts About Tea

How Tea Beats Cold & Flu Viruses

Nothing can set you on your backside faster than a cold or bout of the flu. And
nothing is more unpleasant.  I haven’t had either (knock on wood) for many
years, thank goodness.That’s partly due to a natural immunity my body has built up over the years
from immunizations and having been infected by the cold and flu virus…and
partly because I drink plenty of tea.
Have you ever noticed how much better you feel
in general after drinking a cup of tea?  If you
haven’t, pay closer attention next time, and I
guarantee you’ll notice an immediate change.That’s because tea contains a mountain of
healthy ingredients that fight off or kill a host
of different illnesses and diseases, and helps
give our

immune system a big boost.Tea kills viruses, bacteria, fungi, and microorgan-
isms you likely never even knew existed.

Inside the tiny tea leaf are some big guns in
the form of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals,
and compounds that work to fight off illness and
keep us healthy.  Among these is a group of
polyphenols called catechins that include:
  •     EC (epicatechin)
  •     ECG (epicatechin gallate)
  •     EGC (epigallocatechin)
  •     EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate)


These powerful, naturally occurring compounds found in tea, boost the
body’s immune system and seek and destroy viruses.  It’s believed that
flavonoids in tea bond with the virus, rendering it inactive.  Tests show
that EGCG in particular, attaches to the virus, forming a non-infectious
complex and preventing it from causing an infection.

It does this by bonding itself to the cell and disrupting the virus, preventing it from replicating
itself.

This is great news in the light of H1N1 influenza virus of 2009-2010, or any subsequent viruses,
for that matter.  Anything that can lessen or prevent colds and flu is a blessing, especially when
it’s as easy as drinking a delicious cup of tea.

Even gargling with tea can be effective for
preventing colds and flu.  In Japan, where
gargling is thought to be a healthy winter
time step, a study of 124 adults who gar-
gled with a green tea solution, three times
a day, versus a group gargling plain water,
showed only 1.3% of the tea group
subsequently getting the flu, while
10% of the plain water group ended
up sick with influenza.

As well as tasting different, there are
slight variations in the content of black
       tea, white, green, and oolong teas be-
cause of the different processing
methods among them.

Research shows that green and white teas contain slightly higher amounts of active
ingredients because they receive less processing.

Green tea extracts are also available and are a great source of polyphenols.  Green tea
extract is equal to approximately four cups or more of tea and is also available caffeine
free.

So even though our immunity declines as we age, by paying closer attention to our
nutritional needs, eating properly, and supplementing our diet with vitamins, minerals and
plenty of health promoting antioxidants, we can turn back the clock to that of our
younger years.

And being able to boost our immune system and ward off colds and flu by enjoying a few
cups of nutritious, delicious tea, sounds just dandy to me.  Hope you agree.  Enjoy.
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