Health Benefits: Whats true and whats not?

[fracol]

Ok, so based on a post from an earlier topic. I was doing some heavy research on what exactly are the health benefits of tea.

In the end I felt I had not acquired one solid answer. Almost every lead, every scrap of information I found resulted in one of these two answers.

1. In order to achieve these benefits you would need to drink a very large portion of tea.

2. These benefits are only hypothetical and will require more experimentation, because we have had so much contridicting information, or we don't have the technology to answer these questions.

So what exactly are the health benefits of tea?
Let me compose just a couple of the most pesky points of research I found.

L-Theanine-
A. Fantastic thing! Guaranteed to moderate the intake of caffeine. Gives you a type of "quiet alertness." In tea you can get up to 50mg per cup of high quality green tea.

B. Fantastic thing! Unfortunately most tea has only about 10mg per cup, and in order to take effect the body needs 50-200 mg.

Antioxidents-
A. They help by bonding to free radicals which reduces the chance of cancer.

B. We believe we have found a possiable way to reduce the risk of cancer. However since humans know little about cancer and antioxidents, we don't know if antioxidents are even a way to fix it, or even what they really do. Plus you would have to drink many cups of tea a day for the effects to even occure.



Now there are tons of little contridicting pieces of junk all over the place. My question to you is what is true and what is not.

[fracol]

Yeah, and don't comment on the misspelling of benefits. I didn't realize i put that i in for an e

[chamomileteaguy]

I've read that the oils in chamomile have antibacterial properties, so this might help with disinfection of burns and scrapes. Maybe even getting rid of bad bacteria in the gut? Even just the simple fact that people don't regulate how much fluids they should be taking in every day, drinking tea helps you get to those levels!

[tortoise]

For me, the only health benefit I can confirm from tea, what I KNOW is the truth, is that brewing it and drinking it contribute to my sanity. I think all information else, especially when employed to sell a product, should be taken with a grain of salt.

I know I speak for the vast majority of people here when I say that I drink tea because I love to drink tea. That is the sum total. If I read or heard tomorrow that tea causes cancer, I would probably still drink it.

[Chimpie]

For me, the only health benefit I can confirm from tea, what I KNOW is the truth, is that brewing it and drinking it contribute to my sanity. I think all information else, especially when employed to sell a product, should be taken with a grain of salt.

I know I speak for the vast majority of people here when I say that I drink tea because I love to drink tea. That is the sum total. If I read or heard tomorrow that tea causes cancer, I would probably still drink it.

I second that, for me tea is a pleasure that I could never give up, I don't care about health benefits, I just love the stuff. I find the whole process relaxing. Nothing in this world comes close to a big comfy archair and a fantastic tea after a hard day at work.