If you answered yes, then look out, because that answer’s now!

Today’s medical science has led to several wondrous discoveries about our health and the food we eat. You might be familiar with the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” And it’s true because recent studies show that there are certain substances found in fresh fruits and vegetables that can be very beneficial to our health. Such substances are called super antioxidants.

When you slice an apple and leave it on the table, you will notice that the flesh turns brown after some time. This is caused by oxidation – when the oxygen in the air reacts with the substances found in the apple. Oxidation is a natural process that occurs in the human body as well. Our cells need oxidation in order to undergo metabolism of fats and glucose so they can turn into heat and energy. Oxidation is a vital part of life. But as vital as oxidation is, it can also have some negative effects on the body.

During the process of oxidation, highly unstable substances called free radicals are produced. These free radicals react with other molecules in the cell by stealing their electrons and turning them into free radicals like themselves. When this happens, a chain reaction is created, one that when accumulated could result in massive cell damage.

The Benefits of Super Antioxidants

The job of super antioxidants is to hunt down free radicals but not to eliminate them. No. But to neutralize them so they’ll stop their disease-causing rampaging. Literary tools aside, super antioxidants do indeed react against the harmful effects of free radicals by stopping them from reacting with the molecules in the first place.

Some super antioxidants may also act primarily to break off the chain reaction of free radicals. Others act by repairing damages caused by the accumulation of free radicals in tissues. Countless studies have been devoted to determining the extent of the health benefits super antioxidants may have. Super antioxidants have been the subject of various cancer research studies and even research on how to reverse aging. And though for the most part, the findings are inconsistent only as far as super antioxidant supplements are concerned, the old saying still stands: An apple a day does indeed keep the doctor away.

Speaking of Chinese teapots, I guess nothing is more suitable for a wonderful tea experience than the original Chinese teapot – the Yixing. Usually pronounced “E-ching”, these collectible pots are so charming and can be starkly simple with designs that are thousands of years old. Many people even claimed that these teapots are whimsical, being shaped like lotus flowers and with Buddhas and pre-Majolica subjects like vegetables, fruits or animals.

The contemporary Yixing Chinese teapots come in different shapes. The most common shapes are chairs, wheelbarrows, and other unusual styles that never fail to bring smile to one’s face.

What’s interesting to know about Yixing teapots is that its primary importance lies in its special, red clay, which is only found in the Yunnan province of mainland China. As noted, this Chinese teapot is porous and absorbs odors easily. It is even unglazed. I think this is the main reason that people are suggested to only use one variety of tea in the pot. But, after a time, the Yixing teapot will take on the character of your favorite Chinese tea.

The Yixing Chinese teapots are now everywhere and I think this is due to their “collectibility”. However, it is somewhat critical to deal with a vendor who really knows their merchandise to avoid machine-made Chinese teapots or perhaps poorly made knockoffs of traditional shapes. Like ay other product, a finely made Yixing teapot holds the heat longer and will pour better.

Now, if you are thinking of buying a Yixing Chinese teapot, then you should read on for I have mentioned below few qualities that a finely-made Yixing teapot should possess:

1. The cap of the pot must be firm and should not move around easily.

2. The body must not feel grainy.

3. The knob on the cap must be in sync with the rest of the body. It must be ergonomic.

4. It should be able to hold substantial water.

5. The Chinese teapot which is artistic and valuable usually but not always contains enough tea to serve 2 to 3 persons and not masses.

6. When water is poured out of the teapot, it should come out in a beautiful stream.

7. The handle should enable one to handle the teapot firmly.

8. Look for Chinese teapots with net on the mouth to catch unwanted tea leaves.

9. The hardness of the body should be just right.

10. The color should not be dyed.

11. The shape should be flowing and there should not be awkward proportions.

12. The pot should have unusual shapes for it indicate craftsmanship.

13. A good Chinese teapot should be made of purple clay or zhu in clay.

14. The bottom of the teapot must have a name of the artist engraved onto it.

15. Good Chinese teapots tend to have skin that feel brittle. Its walls are thinner than the inferior teapots.

Just note that Yixing Chinese teapots possessing the qualities I have mentioned above can be very expensive, so you may want to experiment first with one of the machine-made ones. If, however, you just want to buy these pots for their aesthetic appeal, then buy what really attracts you.

Recently, scientists have discovered the substance responsible for many of the health benefits we’ve been receiving from plants. Fruits and vegetables it seemed contain chemical substances that act on specific, harmful molecules inside our bodies to stop them from damaging our cells. Because these substances work on oxygen by-products called free radicals, they have since come to be known as natural antioxidants.

A natural antioxidant protects the body against free radicals. One of the many functions of natural antioxidants is to work against the formation of cellular damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are highly reactive chemical substances which are produced whenever our body undergoes the process of oxidation, e.g. breathing.

When free radicals are released, they immediately latch unto other molecules, stealing their electrons and in so doing, turning them into unstable molecules like themselves. The result is a rapid chain reaction which when left unattended can lead to various degenerative diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, memory loss, etc.

Natural antioxidants are primarily derived from plants. The human body cannot produce its own supply of natural antioxidants; that is why we have to depend solely on our diet to get the amount of antioxidants our body needs.

Groups of well-known natural antioxidants include catechins, coumarins, indoles, and carotenoids. All these are complex compounds found in almost every plant. Carotenoids are the largest group of naturally occurring antioxidants, followed closely by indoles and coumarins. Catechins are the natural antioxidants found in the Camellia sinensis plant where we get our green tea, oolong tea, and black tea.

In the carotenoid group, beta-carotene is the most common natural antioxidant. Another name for beta-carotene is vitamin A, that essential vitamin that helps prevent eye damage. This natural antioxidant supports the immune system, might reduce the skin’s risk to sun damage and DNA damage, supports healthy cholesterol levels and increases lung capacity. Some studies show that this natural antioxidant supports a healthy heart.

Catechins on the other hand are great weight loss inducers. But more than that, the natural antioxidants they contain help promote health by boosting the immune system in order to reduce the risk of infection.

There are actually thousand of Chinese tea varieties. These are usually classified by procedure, quality, and preparation methods and so on. However, if we will consider tea in terms of quality, there are actually eight classes of Chinese tea. These include green tea, oolong, black, red, white, yellow, flower, and compressed tea.

Now, let’s take a look at these classes one by one.

Green Tea

Green tea is said to be the most natural type of Chinese tea. It is usually picked, naturally dried and fried briefly to get rid of its grassy smell. Unlike the other types, green tea skipped fermentation process.

According to some experts, green tea has the most medicinal value and the least caffeine content of all Chinese tea classes. The aroma of this type of Chinese type range from medium to high, while the flavor is usually light to medium. Today, about 50% of China’s tea is green tea.

Oolong Tea

This type of Chinese tea is halfway between green tea and black tea in a sense that it is half fermented. Chinese also call it “Qing Cha” and its typical leaves are green in the middle and red on the edges as a result of the process to soften tea leaves.

Oolong tea leaves are basically withered and spread before undergoing a brief fermentation process. Then, it is fried, rolled and roasted.

Black Tea

The Chinese black tea produces full-bodied amber when brewed. Also, this type of Chinese tea undergoes withering, then left to ferment for a long while, and then roasted. The leaves of this variety become completely oxidized after processing.

Red Tea

As the name implies, this type of Chinese tea has red leaves and red tea color. This color is strongly highlighted during the fermentation process. It is also considered that red tea has low aroma and medium flavor and it is now divided into three subclasses: Kung Fu Red Tea, Ted Tea Bits, and Small Species Red Tea.

White Tea

This type of Chinese tea is sometimes considered as subclass of green tea. Perhaps it is for the fact that it is only withered and then roasted. Just like green tea, white tea escaped fermentation process. And, it has low caffeine content.

Yellow Tea

Apparently, yellow tea has yellow leaves and yellow tea color. According to some experts, this type of Chinese tea is an uncommon class of Chinese tea. The flavor of yellow tea is usually mild and refreshing.

Flower Tea

Here is a unique type of Chinese tea – the Flower tea. It actually subdivides into Flower Tea and Scented Tea. Well, the Flower Tea is just based on a simple concept that dried flowers are used, without much processing, to make tea. The Scented Tea, on the other hand, uses green tea and red tea as base and mix with scent of flowers. Generally, this class has light to medium flavor and medium to strong aroma.

Compressed Tea

The final type of Chinese tea is the compressed tea. This class uses black tea as base tea. It is steamed and compressed into bricks, cakes, columns, and other shapes. Also, compressed tea has all the characteristics of black tea. It can be stored for years and decades.

It’s normal and it is a part of life. Certainly, it can’t be completely dispelled. It can however be controlled. Now, by “control”, we don’t mean controlling the process of oxidation itself, but controlling the outcome of it.

The oxidation process is what makes a cut apple turn brown and causes the surface of butter to turn dark yellow. Our bodies will always be vulnerable to oxidation and it is something that is beyond our hands to control. During oxidation, certain chemical substances are produced and among them are those that are highly reactive and chemically unstable. These substances are called free radicals.

Free radicals can be harmful to the body, especially if there is an excess of them. They may cause damage to the cell membranes, causing them to weaken. Because free radicals are chemically unstable, they have this bad habit of stealing electrons from stable molecules and in so doing, turn these molecules into free radicals themselves. The result is a chain reaction which can only be stopped with the entrance of antioxidants.

Herbal antioxidants are the body’s natural defenses against harmful radicals. Their function is to stop free radicals from “attacking” other healthy molecules and causing a chain reaction. Because of this function, herbal antioxidants are said to play a role in the prevention and potential cure of various degenerative diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, and several others.

If there is one other thing you need to know about herbal antioxidants, it is that they are not naturally found in the body. Human beings are one of the few organisms that cannot produce their own herbal antioxidants for the body’s use. That is why we have to depend on our diet in order to get our dose of herbal antioxidants.

Herbal antioxidants are of course found in fresh produce, fruits, and vegetables. A large number of members of the berry family are excellent sources of herbal antioxidants. In fact, most herbal antioxidants you find sold in health food stores today are comprised mainly of berry extracts. Studies have shown that berries are rich in certain herbal antioxidants that help reduce atherosclerosis by acting on the agents that causes the clogging and the hardening of the arteries.

Triple Leaf Tea Background

Triple Leaf is in the first place a Chinese-American family owned business. They blend Chinese dieters’ teas using a combination of the ancient Chinese herbal formulas with the input of modern day Chinese herbalists who are trained in traditional healing herbalism. With this kind of approach, Triple Leaf is able to produce a result that is the creation of delicious healing teas that meet the modern-day needs.

As claimed, the herbs you find in their formulas are those that used in China by the Chinese herbalists. You may recognize some of the herbs as the renowned Chinese herbs, while others are less well-known in the West but prized in the Orient.

The Three Popular Chinese Dieters’ Teas

As mentioned earlier, Triple Leaf currently offers three of its well-known products. These include:

Dieter’s Green Herbal Tea – This is one of the very popular Chinese dieters’ teas in the market nowadays. As noted, this has been used traditionally for generations to help promote cleansing as well as healthy digestion. According to its proponents, this tea is best when used along with a detox tea which is best in cleansing and detoxification.

Super Slimming Tea – This product was formulated with a blend of powerful Chinese herbs. Traditionally, the herbs in this blend were used to help promote detoxification, cleansing, as well as healthy digestion. Also, it has long been considered as the potent Chinese dieters’ tea. Licorice root, which is considered as the “Great Detoxifier” in Chinas is included in the formula, and orange peel was used as well to help promote healthy digestion. Perhaps what’s nice about this product is that the combination of herbs yields a robust taste.

Ultra Slim – Just like the above mentioned products, this Chinese dieters’ tea is composed of blended herbs that help to promote cleansing and healthy digestion. According to some claims, the herbs used in the formula were believed to help move stagnant Chi (energy). They even help to relieve indigestion and abdominal bloating. What’s more, this Chinese dieters’ tea was traditionally used to help support harmony and balance in the body’s systems. As commonly suggested, you can use this Chinese dieters’ tea along with detox tea for additional support in cleaning and detoxification.

Note that although these above mentioned products are considered potent for cleansing and aid healthy digestion, experts still recommend you to follow a balanced weight loss diet. Also consider the advice of your healthcare professional for better results. If possible, try to include plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, juices, and pure water when dieting.

And, note that these Chinese dieters’ teas are not recommended for children, elderly or sick people, and even to those pregnant and nursing mothers.

Like a previous University of Illinois study in 1999, researchers found in both studies that dark-colored honey, especially buckwheat, provide more protective dietary antioxidant punch than lighter-colored honeys. This proves that while it is still early to say that honey can be a dietary antioxidant, it does point out its vast potential in terms of antioxidant properties. Principal researcher Nicki Engeseth, a professor of food chemistry in the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmenal Sciences, agrees with this.

Published online on April 6 in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, the newest study on dietary antioxidants was the first to look at honey’s effect on human blood. With the use of a much more precise method than the one used in 1999, the study found that the dietary antioxidants found in honey are equal to those in many fruits and vegetables in their ability to counter the degenerating activity of highly reactive molecules known as free radicals.

“It’s still too early to say definitely, but honey seems to have potential to serve as a dietary antioxidant,” Engeseth said.

In January, Engeseth and Jason McKibben, a researcher with Anheuser Busch in Santa Monica, CA, reported in the same journal that the dietary antioxidants in honey were more effective compared to traditional preservatives, such as butylated hydroxytoluene and tocopherol in slowing oxidation in cooked, refrigerated ground turkey. It was observed in both studies that while the meat browned during cooking more extensively than traditionally preserved products, taste was not negatively affected.

For the other study, Engeseth worked with yet another colleague, Nele Gheldof, a doctoral student in the department of food science and human nutrition. They measured the dietary antioxidant and phenolic contents in honey taken from sevel floral sources, such as acacia, buckwheat, clover, firewood, Hawaiian Christmas berry, soybean, and tupelo. Using the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity or ORAC assay, they discovered that darker honeys have the highest values of dietary antioxidants. ORAC is a tool that has been used for the past decade as a way to analyze the same components in fruits and vegetables.

Actually, the health benefits of Chinese green tea have been known throughout the world. The Chinese have known about these medicinal benefits since ancient times, as they have been using green tea to treat everything from headaches to depression. A writer named Nadine Taylor in her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life mentioned that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

These days, numerous scientific researches conducted both in Asia and the West is providing hard evidences for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. To mention, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study in 1994, indicating that drinking Chinese green tea lowers the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly 60 percent. Also, it was reported by the researches of the University of Purdue just recently that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

There are other medical conditions to which drinking green tea is reputed to be beneficial. To sum up, these conditions include cancer, cardiovascular disease, infection, rheumatoid arthritis, impaired immune function, and even high cholesterol levels.

What Makes Green Tea Special?

The top secret of Chinese green tea lies in the fact that it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly the said epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is basically an anti-oxidant that has the power to fight and kill cancer cells without harming healthy tissue in the body. Studies also revealed that this anti-oxidant has been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and hampering the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter benefit takes on added importance for the fact that the formation of abnormal blood clots, medically known as thrombosis, is the main factor that causes stroke and heart attacks.

Furthermore, the effects of Chinese green tea and the “French Paradox” were highly associated. Researches were in the first place puzzled by the fact that despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French have a less incidence of heart disease than Americans. The primary answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol. Resveratrol is as polyphenol that restricts the negative effects of smoking as well as a fatty diet. However, in 1997, a certain study reported that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol. And, this somehow explains the lower rate of heart disease among Chinese men even though approximately 70 percent are smokers.

Other Benefits

New evidences that reveal the other benefits of Chinese green tea are now emerging. One of those is the claim that Chinese green tea can help dieters. Researches found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more fats than those given only a placebo and caffeine.

Chinese green tea is also said to prevent tooth decay. Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also fight the bacteria that cause dental plague.

Today, several skin preparations containing green tea, from deodorants to creams, are also starting to appear on the market. This is for the reason that Chinese green tea is found out to be powerful in fighting bacteria that cause skin imperfections.

In biological systems, the normal processes of oxidation are what lead to aging. Oxidation causes the production of substances called free radicals which are highly reactive. These free radicals can readily react with and damage other molecules. Note that it says “molecules” so that means free radicals don’t make the distinction between foreign bodies and healthy cells. And when free radicals start attacking the body’s own cells, you can guess what the results are – Aging.

If only there was a way to get rid of those harmful free radicals…

Well, have we got good news for you? Free radicals are natural enemies of antioxidants. The function of antioxidants is to destroy harmful free radicals, counteracting the damaging of tissues and in effect, treating aging or causing its retardation.

Antioxidants are commonplace in nature. In fact, antioxidants are abundant in more common vitamins such as retinol or Vitamin A, ascorbic acid or Vitamin C, tocopherol or Vitamin E, and selenium. They can be nutrients (vitamins and minerals) as well as enzymes (proteins in your body that assist in chemical reactions). Antioxidants are believed to play an important role in preventing the development of such chronic illnesses as heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Rheumatoid arthritis, and cataracts.

Although antioxidants cannot completely rid our bodies of free radicals, they can however work to retard or minimize the damage caused. Antioxidants block the process of oxidation by neutralizing free radicals. By neutralizing, they themselves become oxidized. For this reason, our bodies are always in need of a constant source of antioxidants.

How antioxidants work is a two-way process. First is the chain-breaking. This is where the antioxidant comes in to break the chain reaction of free radicals turning other molecules into free radicals like them. Chain-breaking is also called Stabilization.

The other aspect is more on the preventive side. Antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase prevent oxidation by reducing the rate of chain initiation. This time, instead of waiting for the free radicals to make a long chain of free radicals, antioxidants scavenge initiating radicals and destroy them before oxidation is set in motion.

Thus, aging is delayed and not only that, diseases and other illnesses caused by harmful free radicals are avoided.

The Chinese wedding tea ceremony is usually considered when the bride arrive the groom’s home. The bride and the groom will gather before the parents and the immediate relatives and the bride will serve tea for his in-laws.

The type of tea that can be used during the Chinese wedding tea ceremony usually range from oolong tea to jasmine tea. This ceremony takes place on the day of the wedding itself. After the serving of the tea, the guests (usually the parents first) would then give their approval to the couple and they would respond by giving them red packets. These red packets contain money to wish the couple a blissful life ahead.

Importance of the Tea

Probably, tea is served during the Chinese wedding because it is the national drink of China and serving it is a sign of respect. Well, using tea is somewhat practical as not everyone can drink alcohol.

During the Chinese wedding tea ceremony, lotus seeds and two red dates are used in the tea for two main reasons. The first reason lies on the fact that the words “lotus” and “year”, “seed” and “child” and “date” and “early” are homophones, that is, they have the same sound but different meanings in Chinese. Secondly, it is an ancient Chinese belief that placing lotus seeds and two red dates in the tea would help the newly weds produce children early in their marriage and every year, which would ensure many grandchildren for their parents. Also, the sweetness of the special tea used in the Chinese wedding tea ceremony is a wish for sweet relations between the bride and her new family.

Serving of the Tea

On the wedding day, the bride serves the tea by holding the tea cup with both hands. The tea is served to her parents at home before the groom arrives. According to Chinese belief, this is done out of respect and to thank the bride’s parents for raising her. The tea at this time does not need to have the lotus seeds or dates, and there’s no need for the bride to ask for an assistance of a “lucky woman”. She serves the tea by herself without the groom.

After the wedding ceremony, it is a tradition in China that the newlyweds serve tea by holding the tea cups with both hands. This is what signals the Chinese wedding tea ceremony. During this event, the newlywed will invite the groom’s elders to drink tea by way of addressing them by formal title. For example, first uncle and third aunt.

There is one general rule applied during the Chinese wedding tea ceremony, that is, to have the woman on the left side and the man on the right side. The people being served will sit in chairs, while the newlyweds kneel. For instance, when they serve tea to the groom’s parents, the bride would kneel in front of her father in-law, while the groom would kneel in front of his mother.

It is further worth noting that the newlyweds serve tea in order. The serving will start with the groom’s parents then proceeding from the oldest members of the family to the youngest. In return, the newlyweds welcome lucky red envelopes that are stuffed with jewelry or money. The helpers, who are usually women, are the ones who blessed with a happy marriage or wealth. They are also chosen by the fortune teller or the bride’s mother, and they also get lucky red envelopes stuffed with money from those being served. The envelopes are usually placed on the platter which holds the tea cups.