The health effects of tea have been claimed some thousand years ago in China indicating that Camellia sinensis infusions were beneficial for treating tumors, abscesses, bladder problems and lethargy. Since then numerous studies documented that drinking tea is good for health, fighting cancers, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and great for controlling cholesterol and even reducing tooth decay.
All tea varieties including white, green, black, and oolong tea are derived from the same tea plant, Camellia sinensis. They contain numerous compounds including polyphenols (catechins), tocopherol, vitamin C, as well as other antioxidants. Green tea has been documented to be helpful for artherosclerosis, LDL cholesterol, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, liver disease, weight loss, neuro-degenerative diseases, and halitosis.
Making your own tea at home guarantees the perfection of your taste preferences and the absence of artificial ingredients or high fructose corn syrup. A brewed tea at home ensures the use of an ideal combination of organic and local ingredients such as organic tea, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, no sugar, and your sweetener of choice (honey, agave or stevia).
The tea with powerful health-promoting properties would be made at home with green tea, honey, and fresh-squeezed lemon juice.
Recently, scientific research has shown that drinking green tea with lemon juice is best to bring out its health benefits. A study from Purdue University found that most catechins are not absorbed into the bloodstream when tea is drunk by itself, but adding lemon juice to the tea lowers the pH in the small intestine and allows a better absorption of the catechins. Green tea is up to 5 times as healthy when citrus is adedd.