You may have a supercar to fly around the Fifth Ring Road every day, but Pu'er Tea boasts of its Health benefits; you may own a grand mansion overlooking the city's prosperity, but Pu'er tea still boasts of its health benefits; you may travel the world and see all its sights, but Pu'er tea still boasts of its health benefits. Oh my, this Pu'er tea is truly remarkable.

In an era where health is considered the ultimate luxury, people advocate for healthy eating and seek a lifestyle that promotes longevity. As such, Pu'er tea, with its “remarkable” qualities, has gained increasing popularity. Although not a health supplement, a simple cup of tea made from leaves and hot water can provide a degree of health and longevity benefits while drinking it. Why miss out on such a good thing? It's said that Pu'er tea is beneficial for health, but we should understand both the what and the why. Let's zoom into microscopic detail and explore the health secrets behind several key components in Pu'er tea.

1. Tea Polyphenols: The Main Force for Health Maintenance

Tea polyphenols are a collective term for about 30 types of phenolic substances hidden in Pu'er tea. They are a major chemical component of Pu'er tea and one of the primary sources of its color, aroma, and flavor. In terms of health benefits, tea polyphenols play a leading role, acting like a main force in helping maintain our body's health.

With outstanding fighting power and strong physiological activity, tea polyphenols can efficiently eliminate “free radicals” within the body. Free radicals are harmful substances produced during human respiration of oxygen and are a result of excessive oxidative reactions. If not promptly cleared, their powerful oxidizing properties can damage tissues and cells, causing chronic diseases and accelerating aging. For beauty-conscious women, eliminating free radicals is crucial for maintaining youthful looks.

Additionally, tea polyphenols can lower cholesterol levels in the body, prevent the oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids, and promote the transformation and circulation of cholesterol, reducing its deposition in blood vessel linings. The tea pigments in tea polyphenols also have potential lipid-lowering functions, reducing plasma viscosity, which can help combat arteriosclerosis and play a certain preventive and therapeutic role in cardiovascular diseases.

The tea polyphenol forces can both attack and defend. With today's food safety and air pollution issues often troubling us, the presence of tea polyphenols in Pu'er tea gives us some peace of mind. This is because tea polyphenols have a strong adsorption effect on heavy metals and excellent radiation protection capabilities, absorbing radioactive substances and effectively preventing them from invading bone marrow and spreading throughout the body.

2. Alkaloids: A Shot of Vitality for Health

Modern lifestyles often involve late nights and sleep deprivation, leaving our spirits down due to disrupted circadian rhythms. We've all experienced these “frightening moments.” At such times, we often need a “shot of vitality” to boost ourselves. However, this “vitality shot” must be healthy. Here, another substance in Pu'er tea – alkaloids – comes into play.

The primary alkaloids in Pu'er tea are purine alkaloids, mainly Caffeine, with content significantly higher than in other tea types. After steeping, over 80% of the caffeine dissolves in boiling water. These special alkaloids have pharmacological effects such as stimulating the central nervous system, alleviating fatigue, and reducing the toxicity of alcohol and nicotine in the body.

Caffeine in Pu'er tea is also beneficial for our often abused digestive systems. Caffeine can neutralize stomach acid, improve digestion, enhance fat breakdown capabilities, and have stomach-nourishing and lipid-lowering effects.

Caffeine and theophylline also have diuretic effects and can relax smooth muscle in blood vessels, causing vasodilation. Additionally, Chinese diets tend to be high in salt, leading to excessive sodium ions in the body and increased blood volume, putting pressure on blood vessel walls. Caffeine and theophylline can decompose sodium ions in the blood, aiding in sodium excretion, and indirectly contribute to the potential function of alleviating hypertension.

3. Tea Polysaccharides: Controlling Sugar with Sugar

A life of plenty without worries about food or clothing brings its own set of problems, including “wealth-related illnesses” such as diabetes. Long-term high blood sugar can cause chronic damage and functional disorders in various tissues, particularly the eyes, kidneys, heart, blood vessels, and nerves.

In China and Japan, there has been a traditional practice of using coarse old tea to treat diabetes. The scientific basis for this lies in a unique substance found in tea called tea polysaccharides, which has certain auxiliary therapeutic effects for diabetic patients. Research shows that tea polysaccharides can restrain diabetic symptoms to a certain extent. However, it's important to note that although all teas contain tea polysaccharides, if they are not purified to remove fats and proteins, they generally do not possess blood sugar-lowering effects. Fermented Pu'er tea doesn't have this issue, as its tea polysaccharide content is much higher than that of non-fermented teas, and older Pu'er teas have even higher tea polysaccharide content.

The reason Pu'er tea performs better in lowering blood sugar is primarily due to the fermentation process, during which lipids and proteins are broken down and transformed. During this process, the content of tea polysaccharides increases. However, tea polysaccharides are also high-molecular compounds with biological activity. Through fermentation and degradation, oligosaccharides with small molecular weights are separated, and these oligosaccharides are the true “heroes” in Pu'er tea's ability to lower blood sugar.

4. Amino Acids & Vitamins: The Best Wingmen for Healthy Pu'er Tea

Beyond the major components mentioned above, amino acids and vitamins also contribute to the health benefits of Pu'er tea, making them the best “wingmen.” Amino acids and vitamins are two essential substances for the normal functioning of the human body. Their presence together in Pu'er tea enhances its already rich health benefits.

Pu'er tea contains a certain amount of amino acids, and the amino acids in tea are easily soluble in water, giving a fresh and sweet taste. Among various amino acids, Theanine is unique to tea plants and rare in other plants. Theanine is transported by the body's delivery system to the brain, producing a familiar substance – dopamine. Dopamine can make people feel excited and happy, which may be one reason why Drinking Tea can uplift one's mood. Dopamine is indispensable, as its absence can lead to conditions like Parkinson's disease and neurasthenia.

Moreover, Pu'er tea contains various vitamins, primarily vitamin C, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, folic acid, niacin, and vitamin E. These are necessary nutrients for the human body. More importantly, they work synergistically with caffeine and tea polyphenols to produce pharmacological effects, achieving greater overall benefits than what the vitamins could achieve alone.

Excerpt from Pu'er Magazine

Remarkable, Our Pu'er Tea – The Health Components of Pu'er Tea

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