I've gathered professional tea health knowledge to explain in detail why tea drinkers tend to look younger.
To discuss youthfulness, let's start with aging. Aging, translated as "Aging" in English, is a natural phenomenon. The definition of aging is a comprehensive and complex physiological and pathological process of functional decline in molecules, cells, organs, and the entire organism, collectively referred to as changes in old age.
Aging is an inevitable law of any life process and cannot be resisted. Even emperors who dreamed of living forever couldn't stay young. While aging is daunting and unavoidable, it can be delayed. Among the currently over 300 theories or explanations of aging mechanisms, the free radical theory is the most widely accepted.
What exactly are free radicals?
Free radicals are produced during human metabolism and are essential for life. Under normal circumstances, the production and clearance of free radicals in the body are balanced and harmless.
As age increases, the body's ability to clear free radicals declines. Excessive free radicals in the body can cause lipid peroxidation, damage biological membranes, affect cell function, lead to metabolic disorders, and accelerate aging. Therefore, clearing excess free radicals can delay aging and preserve youth.
So, what can preserve youth and clear harmful free radicals? It's antioxidants. These are substances that can scavenge oxygen free radicals, inhibit or eliminate, and slow down oxidation reactions. Tea polyphenols in tea are one such antioxidant.
As early as the 1960s, Japanese scientists discovered that tea contains large amounts of tea polyphenols, which have strong antioxidant activity.
How do antioxidants clear harmful free radicals?
Scientific research shows that it mainly manifests in the following aspects:
① Antioxidants undergo chemical reactions to reduce oxygen content in the reaction;
② They can stop or weaken the activity of oxidative enzymes;
③ They can interrupt the chain reaction in the oxidation process, disrupting oxidation;
④ They can sequester metal ions and substances that catalyze oxidation, extending the induction period of oxidation and slowing the reaction rate.
Why can tea polyphenols become stars in antioxidation and free radical scavenging?
Tea polyphenols are a complex mixture of polyphenolic derivatives with different molecular weights and varying polarities and structures. Tea polyphenols have a phenyl carbon skeleton of 2-benzopyran and contain two or more ortho-hydroxyl polyphenols, hence they share the general properties of phenolic compounds.
Tea polyphenols can be divided into four categories: flavanols (catechins), anthocyanins (leucoanthocyanins and anthocyanidins), flavones (flavonoids and flavonols), and condensed tannins and phenolic acids.
These polyphenolic substances have strong hydrogen-donating abilities. For example, the phenolic hydroxyl groups in the catechin structure can donate hydrogen, generating ortho-quinones and diphenoquinones during oxidation, making them ideal natural antioxidants that undertake the task of antioxidation and free radical scavenging in the body.
What changes can regular tea drinking bring?
Years of tea drinking can delay aging, whereas for those who don't drink tea regularly, aging progresses normally. Thus, regular tea drinkers naturally appear younger!
Numerous studies have shown that tea polyphenols are not only natural, non-toxic antioxidants but also ideal natural medicines with biological activities such as scavenging free radicals and antioxidation. They have good efficacy in inhibiting bacteria and viruses, preventing cancer and tumors, and treating cardiovascular diseases.
How can tea drinking effectively make one appear younger?
Drinking 2-3 cups of tea daily maintains sufficient levels of tea polyphenols in the body. You may not notice the process of antioxidation and free radical scavenging, but maintaining a daily tea habit will subtly slow aging.
What's the best secret to appearing young? A balanced diet with adequate intake of antioxidants to maintain the balance of oxidation and antioxidation in the body is crucial. For example, various fresh fruits and vegetables.
A youthful mindset is key—no matter where or when, strive to live a vibrant life. Being full of energy daily can make one appear lively. Stay away from harmful environments and reduce stress and burdens.
Drinking 3 cups of tea daily fosters a good habit and is the simplest practice.