Citrus Juice, Vitamin C Give Staying Power To Green Tea Antioxidants

(Nov. 14, 2007) — To get more out of your next cup of tea, just add juice.

A study found that citrus juices enable more of green tea's unique antioxidants to remain after simulated digestion, making the pairing even healthier than previously thought.

The study compared the effect of various beverage additives on catechins, naturally occurring antioxidants found in tea. Results suggest that complementing green tea with either citrus juices or vitamin C likely increases the amount of catechins available for the body to absorb.

"Although these results are preliminary, I think it's encouraging that a big part of the puzzle comes down to simple chemistry," said Mario Ferruzzi, assistant professor of food science at Purdue University and the study's lead author.

Catechins (pronounced KA'-teh-kins), display health-promoting qualities and may be responsible for some of green tea's reported health benefits, like reduced risk of cancer, heart attack and stroke. The problem, Ferruzzi said, is that catechins are relatively unstable in non-acidic environments, such as the intestines, and less than 20 percent of the total remains after digestion.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071113163016.htm
Neat. Lemon is a very tasty addition to green tea, IMO.:)

similar to what i've read about viC and aspirin boosting each other's efficacy. The trick is to get the level you need of viC in your bloodstream to give you the health benefit. Once it's there, the aspirin boosts the viC's potency, and the viC boost the aspirin's analgesic benefits. Very handy when fighting colds, flu, etc.

dp

keep the flow.
dp