Teas for Digestion
On Saturday November 22 Stuart and I conducted our monthly Many Rivers tea tasting on the topic of “Tea for Digestion.” We had a great crowd, an excellent discussion of a lot of research on the topic, and we tasted what may have been the most diverse flight of teas we’ve ever done in over five years of conducting tea tastings. Here is the list:
- White: Silver Needle
- Green: Emerald Sencha & Kukicha
- Oolong: Cold Summit Tung Ting
- Pu-erh: Silver Needle Beencha & Imperial Pu-erh
- Herbal: Tulsi Ginger
Several interesting principles emerged from the research that we did in preparation for this tasting. Following is an outline of the subjects discussed, which can be summarized in two points:
- Camellia sinenis (tea) is recognized both at a general level as an aid to the digestive processes of the body
- Specific types of tea have been recognized as having special properties that support and enhance digestion
Although we didn’t structure the actual discussion this way, in preparing for the event I had organized the research on tea and digestion into three more or less distinct perspectives, followed by an outline of the topics covered in the discussion on each perspective:
- Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
- Alternative Western Medicine
- Western Scientific Studies
Traditional Chinese Medicine
In TCM, food and drink are understood to be medicinal in nature. Proper digestion is key because the body has to be able to absorb the beneficial substances that we ingest. As a widely appreciated remedy in the context of TCM, tea is understood to have the following properties:- Tea helps to regulate & promote healthy movement of qi (chi), i.e., life-force energies
- Tea helps with the digestion of fatty foods
- Tea is often taken immediately after meals as a digestive aid
- Pu-erh tea invigorates the Spleen, disinhibits dampness, reduces stomach heat, moves stomach qi downwards, counteracts & flushes alcohol toxins – in fact, pu-erh is widely used as a remedy after drinking too much alcohol
Alternative/Holistic Western medicine
Alkalinity/Acidity
In alternative Western medicine, our research identified three principal assertions related to tea and digestion: Acid/Alkaline balance of body tissues; Diuretic properties of tea; “Adaptogens” in tea. Here are the summarized points:
- Tea assists digestion by neutralizing excess acidity and preventing fermentation and putrefaction in the stomach; moreover, more acid body tissues are less healthy than more alkaline tissues, so ingesting more alkaline substances is beneficial for the body. Example: Alkalization of mouth, throat and stomach reduces halitosis
- Tea leaves freshly picked are maximally alkaline. Processing increases acidity, so whites are more alkaline than greens, greens are more alkaline than oolongs, and black teas may well be acidic rather than alkaline.The acidity/alkalinity of tea may be due in large part to the pH of the water used to brew the tea – ideal water for tea should be slightly alkaline
- Overbrewing tea, whether from too long an infusion, or using water that exceeds the ideal temperature for the kind of leaf (esp. green teas), can make the brew more acid because more tannic compounds are incorporated in overbrewed teas
- Since blood and tissue acidity promotes calcium loss from bones & teeth, daily consumption of alkaline teas reduces osteoporosisTea is a diuretic that flushes toxins from the body antioxidant and alkaline properties of tea remove toxins from tissues that are then excreted
Tea contains “Blood Adaptogens”
- Adaptogens are medicinal compounds alleged to regulate blood pressure, balance blood sugar, and prevent thickening of the blood
Scientific Studies
Results of new scientific studies of the benefits of tea for the body are regularly reported in the scientific and popular media. Many of these studies are relevant to the subject of tea and digestion. As Stuart pointed out at the tasting, it is important to recognize that the nature of scientific inquiry and investigation means that studies are generally constructed to answer more narrow questions than those addressed in TCM and alternative, holistically-oriented western medicine. None is “better” than the others; each approach simply has its own different strengths.Here are some points that emerge from a cursory look at currently available studies on tea and digestion:
- Thermogenic (heat-producing) effects of tea on the body:
- Higher metabolism rate produced by regular tea drinking (which is the basis of claims for tea promoting weight loss)
- Higher metabolism of fats in particular produced by drinking tea
- One of the most important antioxidant compounds in tea, EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) also has an anti-inflammatory effect within the gastrointestinal tract
- EGCG blocks absorption of cholesterol by the body, in addition to the action of tea in removal of cholesterol & sticky plaques from walls of blood ; plus it promotes excretion of cholesterol-containing compounds
- Black tea has been demonstrated to have anti-ulcerative effects in animal studies
- Black teas have been shown in animal studies to assist in regulation of serum blood sugar levels; although as yet unproven in humans, black tea consumption may thus help prevent diabetes
This is just the briefest of outlines of material on the benefits of tea for digestion. We welcome comments on and questions about this posting. Please join the ongoing discussion!
- EGCG blocks absorption of cholesterol by the body, in addition to the action of tea in removal of cholesterol & sticky plaques from walls of blood ; plus it promotes excretion of cholesterol-containing compounds
- Overbrewing tea, whether from too long an infusion, or using water that exceeds the ideal temperature for the kind of leaf (esp. green teas), can make the brew more acid because more tannic compounds are incorporated in overbrewed teas
- Western Scientific Studies