Oolong tea bad for health?

[silverneedles]

polyphenols are heat stable
they dont degrade with heat

except theaflavin (gives tea an astringent feel), it will polymerize and form thearubigins.

[chrl42]

polyphenols are heat stable
they dont degrade with heat

except theaflavin (gives tea an astringent feel), it will polymerize and form thearubigins.

Thnx for info.

I've said that cos I've read somewhere Silver Needle contains most polyphenol cos it didn't undergo much of heat procedure.
So I should understand this line as it's due to specific Fujian Big Bud Tree?

[silverneedles]

so it says... that white tea contains more catechins/polyphenols etc
how much of that ends up in your body ? dont know...
but...i think
the content of the leaf will depend on various conditions the plant had while it was growing the leaves: sun, wind, fertilizer, water, bugs, etc
so you dont really know unless you test the leaf in front of you

some japanese tea has a more controlled production (shade etc) so maybe its product is more constant in composition.

[JadeKitsune]

Grubby -- Thank you for the interesting note about cooking and chemical breakdown of meats. I'd not heard that before.

PolyhymnianMuse -- Loved hearing about the process Oolong tea goes through! Fascinating.

I wish someone would devote a lab to research the effects of Oolong. It rates among my top favorite teas.

*considers drinking a bit more mint and green tea*

Then again, wise people have enjoyed this tea for centuries. I guess there are drawbacks to anything in excess.

I still love my Oolong

~Jess

[PolyhymnianMuse]

I wish someone would devote a lab to research the effects of Oolong. It rates among my top favorite teas.

I am currently accepting funds for such an operation. Donations of loose leaf tea are also welcome

[Grubby]

"It did not prove that burnt meat causes cancer"
Are you totally ignorant or what?

"Current research tells us that the well done or charred meats pose the highest risk. The problem that cooking at very high temperatures break down the amino acid, creatine, in meats. When this occurs, chemical is formed, heterocyclic amines (HAs). HAs are carcinogenic and are linked to cancer."

Maybe it's not proven, but when scientist agree on it its a pretty good clue!

" It did not prove that burnt meat causes cancer."

^ are you joking?

It really doesn't. Scientific method was not really used in such a survey.

Geekgirl you sound smart, but in reality you are ignorant, since this has nothing to do with a useless survey, and everything with scientific method.
As you can read a chemical which is carcinogenic and LINKED TO CANCER is formed during the charring.

When i can't even get you people to agree on something that is considered fact in the scientific community, i give up all hope on discussing something like tea.

hop_goblin >> You are right im a little paranoid, but instead of stop to drink Oolong tea i will probably just stop thinking about it.

[Geekgirl]

Geekgirl you sound smart, but in reality you are ignorant, since this has nothing to do with a useless survey, and everything with scientific method.
As you can read a chemical which is carcinogenic and LINKED TO CANCER is formed during the charring.

Thank you. Let's not get nasty, because I guarantee you I can surpass anything you can dish out.

Regarding the survey and its relationship to tea, I would like to remind you that tea is not charred. Tea roasting is vastly different from what happens when you throw a piece of meat on a barbeque. Furthermore, the chemical reactions that are created when meat is charred are also vastly different than the chemicals produced when vegetation is charred; and even with vegetation, you have tremendous variance depending upon which particular vegetation you are charring.

And lest we have forgotten since the beginning of the last paragraph, tea is not charred.

[shogun89]

I dont know if anyone else caught this in the forum but, Grubby, The only tea that is fermented is puerh, all the others are oxidized.

[edkrueger]

I'm was almost sure my post would be viciously attacked, not defended. Do I get a drink?

[Smells_Familiar]

See this link about foods that contain Acrylamide, a known carcinogen. Acrylamide tends to form when foods that are high in carbohydrates and/or an amino acid called asparagine are cooked at high temperatures. This link lists the top 20 acrylamide rich foods as listed by the FDA. This info seems more revelant to roasted tea than the cooked meat thingy. Something tells me they didn't evaluate wuyi oolongs...

[Geekgirl]

See this link about foods that contain Acrylamide, a known carcinogen. Acrylamide tends to form when foods that are high in carbohydrates and/or an amino acid called asparagine are cooked at high temperatures. This link lists the top 20 acrylamide rich foods as listed by the FDA. This info seems more revelant to roasted tea than the cooked meat thingy. Something tells me they didn't evaluate wuyi oolongs...

Interesting link, but unfortunately, without data points collected regarding TEA, this is irrelevant to the idea of tea being unhealthy. At best. At worst, listing it here as a potential danger is fear-mongering.

The thing is, perhaps there are legitimate health concerns surrounding quantity consumption of tea. There have been documented instances of fluoride poisoning from certain teas. Traditional chinese medicine has long held that green teas should only be consumed by certain constitutions, and oxidized teas by other constitutions.

A case could be made for accumulation of pesticide chemicals in the body due to high consumption of tea. A case could also be made that drinking tea in lieu of water is detrimental to health.

But putting up false correlations, bad or irrelevant statistics, "might have" and "could be"s... what is the point of that?

Okay, so to return to the original question: Could oolong be bad for health? The only thing we know for sure is that there seems to be a correlation between oxidized foods and free radical damage to cells in the body. Oolong teas are oxidized. Also, we know that anything that is cooked with smoke, or fired to a char is carcinogenic to some degree. So a case could be made that certain teas might also be carcinogenic.

However, we also know that tea, even oolongs and blacks, are very high in things that health researchers generally consider to help the body with cellular repair- antioxidants, polyphenols, and chemical components that may have positive effects on brain chemistry and hormones.

As a consumer, we have to develop the ability to think critically about these insinuations - look for the real research (if there is any,) and examine whether the information really fits and provides an answer, or if it's just information... kind of like the dog "statistic."

[Proinsias]

In my understanding everything we consume will have properties we consider bad for us and properties we consider good for us. So yes oolong is bad for our health, I believe the good out ways the bad. Scientists experimenting with steaks on the barbie is unlikely to change my opinion anytime soon.

As soon as science has spent a few lifetimes or so looking into the properties of tea I'll stick with what the Chinese have to say, much of which I understand was gathered via taoist methods which may not be be as quick as the current scientific methods but were certainly thorough.

Currently drinking some tie guan yin that for the first time ever I just roasted over the hob, sat down, opened teachat and discovered this. Synchronisity?

[PolyhymnianMuse]

Grubby, you seem to have a very strong feeling and believe in the ideas that you present, or at the heart of this thread at least, that oolong tea is specifically bad for you. I just would like to know why?

Some people worry too much...

Remember, at one time everyone knew the world was flat, and at another everyone knew it was the center of the world. Perhaps in the future we will know that tea is bad for you...

[silverneedles]

heh, and if that day comes, i'll be prepared to buy all the 1950s Puer Cakes and 1970s(best year no? ) Wuyi Rock Tea Special Grade at dirt cheap prices.... aaah... truck loads of unwanted tea.....
probability is very high... that it wont happen. eh. dreams.