My first thought with was, RA strikes most of us long before we reach the post-menopausal stage, often in our mid to late 20’s; so just how important is this study to the onset of RA? But for those of you do not have RA and have reached the post-menopausal age you may want to cut out or cut back your black tea consumption or at least investigate this claim a bit further.
I searched the net to see if I could find any information on the effects these teas had on RA patients.
This is what I found.
Black Tea
- Contains an anti-oxidant called quercelin which fights inflammation and helps with a healthy immune function.
- Reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks.
- Reduces the production of LDL – bad cholesterol
- Has less caffeine than coffee
- Slows the absorption of blood sugar
Green Tea
There is almost nothing but positive information about green tea.
- Has antioxidant called EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) may decrease inflammation by blocking the chemical chain reaction and help prevent joint damage in RA
- Has less caffeine than coffee and black tea
- Contains amino acid L-theanine which helps to relieve stress
- Helps avoid tooth decay and helps create healthy gums
- Reduces the risk of stroke and heart attacks
- Helps prevent cognitive damage
- Promotes weight loss
- Increases energy levels
- Helps promote a healthy bowel function (I did find one site where someone became constipated after increasing her use)
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| Tea Plantation |
It’s interesting that both teas claim different health benefits (mostly). I love my cups of tea, usually black, but after looking at all these results I plan to switch some of those cups to green tea. I want the best of both worlds.
I also recently read about drinking 1 cup of red wine a day reducing the onset of RA by 50%. I wish I’d known that in my early 20’s, lol. I will say, on a personal note, one glass of wine or alcoholic beverage does reduce my stress level and takes the edge off my pain.
Please note:
1) Alcohol abuse is linked to liver cirrhosis, cardiovascular disease, fetal abnormalities, various cancers, chronic inflammation, etc. and increases the risks of hemorrhagic strokes due to its anti-clotting effects.
2) Caution must always be taken when mixing alcohol with any prescription medications.
Interesting stuff. It reminds me of something I've thought when I saw similar studies though - that is that sometimes I wish they'd spend more time studying what people can do *after* they've been diagnosed with RA. Because really, do people actively think "how can I prevent RA?" Not likely. In reality, it's such an obscure disease that people don't even know about it until they get diagnosed. Then they just want to figure out what to do about it. Either that, or make an effort to increase knowledge about RA - then the prevention efforts would have more of an impact.
ReplyDeleteFor now, though, I guess we'll just have to take what we can - and drink up on our red wine & green tea!
My husband was quick to forward that 2010 study to me, as I am now diagnosed with RA and drink about four cups of black tea a day. I responded to him by forwarding multiple links (including one from the National Institutes of Health) reporting the results of studies which showed that drinking three-plus cups of tea a day REDUCED the risk of developing RA and was helpful in reducing the inflammation from RA. Who you gonna believe? Since I love my tea, I'll pick the studies that say it helps.
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