At hygge panda, we are not scientists/researchers/doctors and thus make no claims to the health benefits as described below, but rather are here to point out the benefits such professionals have found. We hope highlighting these findings will assist you along your journey in tea.
This is not a deep dive into the subject, though such an exploration is most certainly possible, instead we are simply highlighting a few accredited health benefits and their attributing components to give you a starting point for where you might begin your own investigation.
Feel free to click on any of the numbers throughout the paper to lead you directly to the journal article.
The Science:
• Polyphenol molecules.
Also known as catechin, or EGCG, are broken down within the digestion track into polyphenol metabolites that enter into the bloodstream in substantial amounts.
[1]
It is these metabolites that are attributed to many of the health benefits associated with tea, as seen in the table below:
[1]
The Brain:
- Crossing the Blood-brain Barrier & Neurogenesis.
What is the blood-brain barrier? The blood-brain barrier is like a wall that protects our brain. It's made of tiny cells that tightly stick together, stopping threats like germs from getting into our brain while letting nutrients pass through. This defense helps keep our brain safe and healthy [4]
Showing that a substantial amount of metabolites do enter into the blood stream [5], this study shows that these metabolites do cross into our brain. The study goes on to show that these metabolites then interact with neurons and promote neurogenesis, which is the growth and out-branching of neurons. [3] This is pertinent, because it is the degeneration and lack of growth of these neurons that are attributed to such neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson's disease. [7] [8] [9] No substantial claims have been made by scientists that tea is a cure for such debilitating diseases, [2] but it is certainly an interesting indication in these findings that tea may assist our bodies in the prevention of such tragedies. [6]
The following studies have been shown in mice, not humans to our knowledge:
- Antioxidant. [10]
These polyphenol metabolites have also been observed to reduced lipid peroxidation [1], which is the main form of stress in cells. So the ingesting of these metabolites are found to act as a anti oxidative agent (an antioxidant) in the brain. [11] [12]
- Anti-inflammatory. [13] [14] [15]
It was also observed within mice that given L-Theanine before they were given an inflammatory injection, the mice were recorded to have much less inflammation in the brain.[16] [17] Meaning, this could be another way that tea acts as a preventative against neurodegenerative disease. [18]
Again, we could find nothing substantial in our search that indicated such benefits in drinking tea other than those trialed on mice. Now lets get back to the humans!
• Free Amino Acids. L-Theanine and L-Arginine.
-Antistress. [19]
Within tea is two Free Amino Acids called L-Theanine and L-Arginine. These bind to receptors in the brain (specifically called AMPA receptors). These are glutamate receptors, meaning they release glycine. So, L-Theanine and L-Arginine bind to these receptors and cause a release of glycine. Glycine is a main inhibitory neurotransmitter. The other main inhibitor being GABA. The release of these inhibitory neurotransmitters causes a calming effect. For instance, GABA is the what causes the sedative, calming effects in alcohol consumption. Much in the same way, glycine causes this relaxing effect in tea. [20] Additionally, glycine released into the brain also causes a release of dopamine into the brain, which we know enhances mood and makes us feel good. [21] [22]
• Alkaloids. Also known as caffeine.
There has been evidence to show that moderate daily consumption of caffeine could have neuroprotective effects against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. [23] [24] As well, caffeine improves mood and cognitive performance as well.
Digestive:
- Digestive enzyme inhibition.
Enzymes in your digestive track break down sugars and fats so that they can be absorbed into the body. This is called fat emulsification. Tea interacts with these digestive enzymes, specifically lipase, glucosidase and amylase that are involved with the breakdown of fat and sugar. [25] The tea polyphenols bind to digestive enzymes in a critical way that effects their function. This inhibits the enzyme temporarily from functioning fully, making the enzymes less able to break down fat and sugar which causes the fat and sugar to simply pass through the body without being fully absorbed. [26] [27] This can have an effect on such things as blood sugar spikes, and uncontrolled weight gain which are contributors to obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes amongst other diseases. [28] [29]
- Gut Microbiome Modulation.
The gut microbiome is a massive collection of microbes that span from the mouth all the way to the rectum. We have roughly 10x as many microbes along this track than we have cells in our body. This very complex ecosystem of diverse microbiology happening in our digestive system is heavily involved in digestion, immune system activity, as well as mental health. These microbes are essential to our health. [30] What is believed to keep a healthy microbe population in your gut is consuming a variety of colorful vegetation. It’s really in the diversity of colors that the microbes are kept healthy. Lucky for us, tea comes in a variety of colors! From green tea, to the orange hues of black tea, to yellow tea and the deep reds of a good dark tea like Liu Bao tea—a range of colorful pant polyphenols are certainly present in tea, which aids in cultivating and maintaining a healthy microbiome. [31] [32] By drinking a variety of different types of tea, we are providing as many different types of polyphenol pigments and bioactive tea compounds as we can. Which contribute directly to immune health, cognitive performance, balanced mental health, more energy, and so on. [33] [34] [35] [36] [37]
So have a cup with us, and enjoy!
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