The earliest discovery and use of tea began with its medicinal properties. "Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs and encountered seventy-two poisons in a single day, but was detoxified by tea." Similarly, Zhang Hua's "Bowu Zhi" from the Jin Dynasty states, "Drinking real tea makes one sleep less." Tao Hongjing's "Miscellaneous Records" mentions, "Ming tea lightens the body and transforms the bones; once, Danqiu Zi and Huang Jun consumed it." In fact, records of Danqiu Zi drinking tea can be traced even further back to the "Shen Yi Ji" from the Han Dynasty: Yu Hong from Yuyao went into the mountains to pick tea. He met a Daoist leading three blue oxen, who led Hong to the Waterfall Mountain and said, "I am Danqiu Zi. I have heard you are skilled in preparing beverages and have often wished to partake of your hospitality. There is great tea in these mountains that I can give you. I pray that on a future day, when you have a surplus in your cup, you will offer some to me." Yu Hong then established an altar for offerings. Later, he often sent his family into the mountains to obtain the great tea. Danqiu Zi was an "immortal" of the Han Dynasty and the earliest Daoist figure in tea culture. The historical Waterfall Mountain in Yuyao was a famous tea-producing region. Therefore, the records of "great tea" and "immortal tea" are completely consistent. The "tu" and "ming" in these records are what we know as tea today. What is even more surprising is that as early as the Jin Dynasty, when Guo Pu was annotating the "Erya," he explained: (Tea) is a small tree, similar to gardenia, with leaves that grow in winter. It is also called 'mang,' and the people of Shu call it 'kucha.' This record of the "people of Shu" can be seen as the earliest sprout of the tea-drinking custom in ancient Bashu. Also, from the "Shi Ji" by Huzhuzi of the Western Han Dynasty: "Kucha, if consumed for a long time, leads to feathered transcendence." All of this shows that tea was initially utilized for its medicinal properties.
In Britain, tea is known as: the liquid of health and the drink of the soul. In China, it is honored as the "national drink." Modern scientific research has confirmed that tea contains biochemical components closely related to human health. Tea not only has pharmacological effects such as refreshing the mind, clearing heat and relieving summer heat, aiding digestion and resolving phlegm, removing greasiness and aiding in weight loss, calming the mind and relieving vexation, detoxifying and sobering up, promoting fluid secretion and quenching thirst, reducing fire and improving eyesight, stopping diarrhea and removing dampness, but it also has certain pharmacological effects on modern diseases such as radiation sickness, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and cancer. It is evident that the numerous and wide-ranging pharmacological effects of tea are irreplaceable by other beverages. The main components responsible for tea's pharmacological effects are tea polyphenols, caffeine, and lipopolysaccharides. The specific effects are as follows:
1. Helps to delay aging
Tea polyphenols have strong antioxidant properties and physiological activity, acting as scavengers of free radicals in the human body. According to research by relevant departments, 1 milligram of tea polyphenols is equivalent to 9 micrograms of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in its ability to eliminate excessive free radicals harmful to the human body, which is much higher than other similar substances. Tea polyphenols can block lipid peroxidation reactions and clear active enzymes. According to the experimental results of Okutaku Takuo in Japan, the anti-aging effect of tea polyphenols is 18 times stronger than that of vitamin E.
2. Helps to inhibit cardiovascular diseases
Tea polyphenols play an important role in human fat metabolism. High levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and other substances in the human body can lead to cardiovascular diseases such as fat deposits on the inner walls of blood vessels and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques after the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Tea polyphenols, especially catechins ECG and EGC in tea polyphenols and their oxidized products such as theaflavins, help inhibit this plaque-like proliferation, reduce fibrinogen which increases blood clot viscosity, and clear blood clotting, thereby inhibiting atherosclerosis.
3. Helps to prevent and fight cancer
Tea polyphenols can block the synthesis of various carcinogens such as nitrosamine in the body and have the effect of directly killing cancer cells and enhancing the body's immune capabilities. According to relevant information, the tea polyphenols in tea (mainly catechin compounds) are beneficial for the prevention and adjuvant treatment of various cancers such as stomach cancer and colon cancer.
4. Helps to prevent and treat radiation damage
Tea polyphenols and their oxidized products have the ability to absorb and neutralize the toxic effects of radioactive substances strontium-90 and cobalt-60. According to clinical trials by relevant medical departments, using tea extract to treat mild radiation sickness caused by radiotherapy in cancer patients can have an effective rate of over 90%; for leukopenia, the effective rate of tea extract treatment is 81.7%; and the therapeutic effect for leukopenia caused by radiation is even better.
5. Helps to inhibit and resist viruses and bacteria
Tea polyphenols have a strong astringent effect and significantly inhibit and kill pathogenic bacteria and viruses, with obvious effects on reducing inflammation and stopping diarrhea. Many medical institutions in China use tea preparations to treat acute and chronic dysentery, amoebic dysentery, and influenza, with a cure rate of about 90%.
6. Helps to beautify and protect the skin
Tea polyphenols are water-soluble substances. Washing the face with them can remove facial oil, tighten pores, and have disinfecting, sterilizing, anti-aging, and reducing the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation in sunlight on the skin.
7. Helps to refresh the mind and awaken the spirit
The caffeine in tea can stimulate the human central nervous system, enhance the excitatory process of the cerebral cortex, and have the effect of refreshing the mind, improving thought, and clearing the mind.
8. Helps to promote urination and relieve fatigue
The caffeine in tea can stimulate the kidneys, promote the rapid excretion of urine, increase the kidney's filtration rate, and reduce the time harmful substances stay in the kidneys. Caffeine can also remove excess lactic acid from urine, helping the body to recover from fatigue more quickly.
9. Helps to lower fat and aid digestion
The "Bencao Shiyi" of the Tang Dynasty records the effect of tea as "long-term consumption makes one thin." Ethnic minorities in China's border regions have the saying, "One cannot go a day without tea." Because tea has the important effects of aiding digestion and reducing fat, in modern terms, it helps with "weight loss." This is because the caffeine in tea can increase the secretion of gastric juice, which helps digestion and enhances the ability to break down fat. This is the reason for the saying "long-term consumption makes one thin."
10. Helps to protect teeth and improve eyesight
The fluoride content in tea is relatively high, with 10-15 milligrams of fluoride per 100 grams of dry tea, and 80% of it is water-soluble. If a person drinks 10 grams of tea per day, they can absorb 1-1.5 milligrams of water-soluble fluoride. Moreover, tea is an alkaline beverage that can inhibit the reduction of calcium in the human body, which is beneficial for preventing cavities and protecting and strengthening teeth. According to relevant information, a trial of "post-drinking tea therapy mouthwash" among elementary students can reduce the rate of cavities by 80%. According to a survey by relevant medical institutions, among patients with cataracts, 28.6% had the habit of drinking tea, while 71.4% did not. This is because components such as vitamin C in tea can reduce the cloudiness of the eye lens, and regular tea consumption has a positive effect on reducing eye diseases and protecting and improving eyesight.