Drink White Tea For A Flatter Tummy
White tea is grown in the Fujian province of China and is made from the delicate buds and younger leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, similar to black and green tea. The buds and leaves are allowed to wilt in the sun and are then lightly processed to prevent oxidation that stops the tea processing further. This results in its characteristic flavour.
It is called white tea because of the fine silvery-white hairs on the unopened buds, which makes it look white. Only the plucking of young tea leaves with a lot of fine hair can produce good quality white tea with lots of pekoe.
White tea contains high levels of catechins, which have many health benefits. They reduce atherosclerotic plaques, reduce the risk of stroke, heart failure and cancer and also protect the skin from sun damage. Catechins lower cholesterol, decrease blood pressure and improve the functioning of blood vessels so decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. The tea has high anti-inflammatory, anti-collagenase and anti-elastase properties and so slows down the breakdown of collagen and elastin which occurs during aging and makes the skin saggy.
White tea has been shown to protect animals from some pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella tryphimurium. It also contains antioxidants which help the immune system in animals and humans. A study has revealed that white tea can help slow viral and bacterial growth especially of Staphylococcus infections, pneumonia, fungal growth and dental plaque.
Unlike green tea that is dried using high temperatures, white tea is dried naturally using sunlight or low temperatures. This preserves the antioxidants, which allows white tea to contain three times as many polyphenols as green tea, according to the Bodybuilding.com website. A study published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism in 2009 showed that white tea increases lipolysis or the breakdown of your stored fat. This helps to reduce belly fat. White tea can also prevent adipogenesis, or the formation of fat cells. Therefore, drinking white tea can not only reduce belly fat but can also prevent it from forming and so produce a slimmer waistline.
