White Tea Antioxidants

All teas contain a high level of antioxidants, however white tea antioxidants are higher than in other types of teas. The high antioxidant level in white tea is caused by sunlight.  Green plants get energy to grow from sunlight and chlorophyll, but sunlight can also be damaging to them. Ultraviolet (UV) radiation can be especially harmful to plants and antioxidants basically help protect plants from this.

Sunlight protection

Where do antioxidants come from? Living cells of plants can be destroyed as the plants are trying to protect themselves from the harmful sunlight rays. Free radicals are created in leaf cells by the UV radiation in direct sunlight. Animals are born with advanced immune systems that protect them from these free radicals, but plants are not. Plants instead produce chemicals (called phytonutrients) to protect themselves, antioxidants being the most important ones.

There is more to the process of antioxidant activity, such as searching for free radicals (chemicals created by sunlight hitting the plant leaves). The antioxidants attack the free radical cells and may kill them, causing the plants to age and sometimes catch diseases. Free radical activity is limited by the antioxidants. Since antioxidants are present in high amounts in white tea plants, it takes a lot of balance to keep the plants alive as this battle is always going on.

EGCG

There are many antioxidants in white tea, most from the catechin family, including epicatechin, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin. EGCG, or epigallocatechin gallate, is the most prominent white tea antioxidant. Nearly half of the antioxidant content in white tea is comprised of EGCG and it is a very potent ingredient. Laboratory tests have determined that EGCG is able to be 100 times more active than vitamins A & C. A cup of white tea is believed to have more antioxidants in it than a serving of broccoli, spinach, strawberries and other healthy vegetables and fruits. This is a perfect example of white tea antioxidants at work.

Health benefits

EGCG contributes to most of the health related benefits of white tea. Some of the proclaimed health benefits are that EGCG:

    * Reduces the risk of skin cancer by neutralizing UV radiation’s harmful effects
    * Lowers the chance of developing other cancers, such as lung and breast cancers
    * Lowers the chance of having a stroke
    * Lowers the chance of developing heart diseases
    * Lowers the chance of developing diabetes
    * Causes the aging process to slow down

White tea plants and other tea plants are evergreens, so they need to always have a lot of antioxidants present in their leaves in order to stay green and healthy. Antioxidants remain after leaves are harvested, however when the tea is processed some of the antioxidants are lost. White tea is the least processed of all teas, therefore nearly all of the antioxidants that are present in the young leaves it is made from remain inside the leaves after it is processed.

Many of the antioxidants produced throughout the winter months by tea plants is transferred to the new buds that get harvested for white tea in early spring. More than 30 percent of the dry weight of white tea leaves is comprised of antioxidants, which is more than any other type of tea. This is why white tea antioxidants are more potent than in other types of tea and why white tea is especially good for your body and peace of mind.