White tea is a slightly Fermented tea and a traditional famous tea created by Chinese Tea farmers, one of the six major types of Chinese teas. It is characterized by intact buds covered in fine hair, a fresh aroma of fine hair, a yellow-green clear broth, and a taste that is lightly sweet and refreshing. It has effects such as promoting blood Sugar balance, improving vision, and protecting the liver.
What are the Health benefits of white tea?
1. Promoting Blood Sugar Balance
White tea contains not only the usual nutrients found in other teas but also essential active enzymes. Long-term consumption of white tea can increase the activity of lipase in the body, promoting the metabolism of fat and effectively controlling insulin secretion. It helps to break down excess sugar in the blood, contributing to balanced blood sugar levels.
2. Improving Vision
The longer white tea is stored, the higher its medicinal value becomes. White tea contains abundant vitamin A precursors, which, when absorbed by the body, can synthesize rhodopsin, preventing night blindness and dry eye syndrome.
3. Protecting the Liver
White tea is rich in dihydromyricetin and other flavonoids, which can protect the liver by accelerating the breakdown of acetaldehyde, a metabolite of ethanol, into harmless substances, thus reducing damage to liver cells.
Who is white tea suitable for?
White tea is suitable for people with a hot constitution. Due to various reasons leading to heat within the body, whether from actual or virtual heat, individuals can benefit from drinking white tea. As a slightly fermented tea with a slightly cool nature, white tea has some heat-clearing and fire-reducing properties, making it suitable for those with a hot constitution. People with a cold constitution or those with insufficient yang qi (yang deficiency) according to Traditional Chinese medicine should generally avoid drinking white tea, as it may cause abdominal coldness or diarrhea.
Constitution is a term used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, referring to the overall physical structure, physiological functions, and psychological state formed under the influence of both innate and environmental factors during growth, development, and aging. Insufficient yang qi, or a cold constitution, is a manifestation in TCM. Given the cool nature of white tea, it is unsuitable for people with a cold constitution. For those with a hot constitution, drinking white tea can help clear heat and fire, removing heat from the body and restoring balance between yin and yang in the body.