Tea Leaves for Better Health

According to Chinese legend, the leaves of the tea plant were first brewed as a hot beverage in the third millennium by the Chinese emperor Shen Nung, when they fell into water he had been boiling.

As the story goes, "Shen Nung, part man part god, roamed China compiling the first collection of herbs and their medicinal effects. When he would happen upon a new plant, he would make an infusion of its leaves, roots, berries or other parts, drink it, and then document the resulting effects. It is said that while he was in Southwestern China, wandering in present day Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, he ingested an herb that caused him to feel faint and uncomfortable in his stomach. Sitting back to rest on a tree trunk, he noticed a leaf, which he had never seen before, fall into his pot of boiling water. Risking further illness, his curiosity led him to drink the resulting brew. Shortly thereafter, he noticed his head clearing and that the pains in his abdomen had vanished. He added the leaf to his collection of herbs with the description that it has detoxifying effects as well as its ability to sharpen the awareness." (1)

In the centuries since Shen Nung's first recording of the medicinal effects from drinking an infusion of water with the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis tree research has shown that a cup of tea does have medicinal qualities that shouldn't be ignored.

About 65 million Americans suffer from halitosis, or bad breath, at some point in their lives, according to the National Institute of Dental Research. Anaerobic bacteria, hiding at the back of the tongue and in gum pockets, emit a sulfur compound that causes the offensive smell.

Black tea's polyphenols, which are chemical components found in tea, have been shown to suppress the growth of the anaerobic bacteria resulting in fewer smelly sulfur compounds being produced according to research carried out at the University of Illinois, Chicago. (2)