Health Benefits of Ceylon Tea
Ceylon Tea Is a Powerful Antioxidant
Oxidative stress is considered to be harmful because reactive oxygen species can damage biological molecules such as fat, proteins, and DNA. Ceylon tea’s components are powerful antioxidants that can help protect against oxidative stress.
EGCG’s antioxidant properties also help treat nerve pain
Ceylon Tea Protects the Heart
The flavonoids from Ceylon tea can help prevent heart disease
Two meta-analyses (of 30 RCTs in total) showed that black and green tea consumption lowered blood levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol, especially in people with higher heart disease risk. However, it did not have a significant effect on total and good (HDL) cholesterol
In a study (RCT) of 263 subjects, consuming 9 g (around 3 cups) of black tea for 12 weeks, heart disease risk markers were decreased (blood uric acid and C-reactive protein levels). Black tea can benefit humans who have a high risk of heart disease.
Consumption of green or black tea also reduced blood pressure in individuals in a meta-analysis (10 trials and 834 participants).
Green tea catechins also reduced hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis) in animal models and clinical studies.
Tea flavonoids also had protective effects against heart disease in a study of 3,454 subjects.
Ceylon Tea Fights Cancer
Ceylon tea and its compounds lack sufficient potency to serve as the primary cure for cancer. However, they can help prevent the start of cancer and cancer recurrence.
A review of 9 cohort studies (of 465,000 people) showed that green tea consumption reduced liver cancer risk. Green tea had a preventive effect in the female Asian population, but not in males.
Also, an increase in consumption of green tea may be related to reduced lung cancer risk, according to a meta-analysis of 22 studies.
Additionally, daily supplementation with 600 mg of green tea catechins (EGCG) for 1 year significantly reduced prostate cancer progression.
Green tea also had protective effects on esophageal cancer in a meta-analysis of 24 studies with 7,376 subjects.
In mice, drinking green or black tea inhibited:
Skin tumors.
Bladder cancer
Breast tumors (both hormone-dependent and independent)
Intestinal and colon cancers
Theaflavin-gallate, a pigment of tea, has an inhibitory effect on ovarian cancer cells. It induces cell death (apoptosis) and stops the cell growth cycle
Green and black tea are also toxic to cancer cells. They cause programmed cell death (apoptosis) in leukemia cells (by activating caspase 3 and caspase 8 and altering apoptosis-related genes)
Ceylon Tea Benefits Brain Function
Flavonoids from ceylon tea can also help protect the brain and improve its function
In 2 studies (DB-RCT), drinking black tea improved the subjects’ attention and alertness
In a study of 10 seniors, daily ingestion of low-caffeine green tea helped reduce their stress and improved their quality of sleep
A review also showed that green tea reduced anxiety, boosted cognitive function, and helped with memory and attention. The effect of green tea cannot be attributed to a single compound, but caffeine and L-theanine are the top 2 contributors.
EGCG increases iron-export protein ferroportin production, which helps reduce the stress in the brain. It helped prevent nerve cell degeneration in a mouse model of Parkinson’s.
Ceylon Tea Is Anti-Diabetic
Green tea extract ingestion before moderate to intense exercise improved insulin sensitivity and tolerance in a study of 23 men.
In a 5-year study of 17,413 middle-aged Japanese subjects, consumption of green tea reduced the risk for type 2 diabetes.
Another 11-year cohort study of 5,823 British participants reported a decrease in diabetes incidence in people who drank both tea and coffee.
However, there were no relationships between drinking tea and diabetes risk in a cohort study of 46,906 African-American women.
In rats, consumption of ceylon black tea helped lower blood sugar. Its anti-diabetic activity also improved insulin sensitivity.
Ceylon Tea Benefits Weight Loss
Green tea extract ingestion before moderate to intense exercise increased fat breakdown in a study of 23 men.
Green tea polyphenols activate AMP-activated protein kinase, which helped to reduce the fat formation and stimulate fat breakdown in chickens.
Additionally, green tea extract induced genes to change white fat tissue into a less harmful form and limited weight-gain in high energy diet-fed rats.
Green tea also reduced obesity in mice.
There are only a few weight loss studies that included black tea. Black tea theaflavins inhibited pancreatic lipase, which helps weight loss.
Ceylon Tea Has Antibacterial and Antiviral Activity
Green tea and black tea had antibacterial effects (against Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacillus acidophilus) in cell studies.
EGCG and theaflavin digallate (from green and black tea) inhibited the influenza A and influenza B virus in cells.
Additionally, tea catechins had protective activity against bacteria (Vibrio cholerae 01) in mice and rabbits.
Ceylon Tea Protects Skin
UV radiation plays an important role in aging and skin cancer. Green tea has anti-wrinkle, antioxidant, and immunosuppressive actions. Tea’s polyphenols protect against UV-irradiation, delaying skin aging.
Tea also has a high potential for wound healing activity. Topical application of tea extract helped heal wounds faster in mice. The wounds had less scarring, and the skin contained less inflammatory cells and more collagen.
Ceylon Tea Improves Bone Health
A meta-analysis of 17 studies showed that tea consumption can reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
In a survey of 1,937 adults, drinking tea for more than 10 years had a beneficial effect on bone strength and bone mineral density.
EGCG is a potent natural compound for protecting against inflammatory bone loss. In mice, EGCG acted on bone cells and suppressed prostaglandin E production, preventing inflammatory bone loss.
Ceylon Tea May Help Gut Function
Thearubigin, a black tea polyphenol, accelerates gut flow, which helps with gut function.
Theasaponin E1 from ceylon tea seeds have protective effects on stomach wounds in rats.
Ceylon Tea May Protect the Kidneys
Green tea polyphenols have a protective role in rats fed a high-fat diet. The polyphenols increased production of mitochondrial sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) (which improves ketogenesis). This contributes to the antioxidative protection in the kidneys.
Green tea also helps get rid of toxins, thus exerting a protective effect on the kidneys.
EGCG also improved kidney function in rats by decreasing TGF-β. This also helped ameliorate diabetic nephropathy (kidney disease).
However, in a cohort study of 12,428 subjects, there was not a clear relationship between kidney function and tea consumption.
