Jasmine Tea Benefits 5 Reasons Why It Is a Healthy Beverage

Jasmine Tea Benefits
5 Reasons Why It Is a Healthy Beverage

Five recently discovered jasmine tea benefits that you can't ignore.

Jasmine Tea Benefits #1:  Powerful Antioxidants

 

Want to slow down the effects of aging and stay young? The antioxidants in jasmine tea can help protect your body against damage from free radicals.Free radicals are oxidized molecules that have unpaired electrons. As they circulate through your body, they steal electrons from other molecules to replace the ones they are missing. This process can damage your body's cells. It is associated with the aging process.

Drinking jasmine green tea can help prevent damage from free radicals.A 1997 study by The Chinese University of Hong Kong found that drinking jasmine green tea could protect red blood blood cells from cell death caused by free radicals.

 

Jasmine Tea Benefits #2: Promotes Weight Loss

Drinking green tea can help you lose weight. This benefit has been attributed to green tea's synergistic combination of caffeine and antioxidants, especially EGCG.A high quality jasmine contains the same blend of antioxidants and caffeine as high quality green tea.It is especially good for dieters because of its naturally sweet taste. Even people who would normally add sugar or honey to their tea often find that they enjoy jasmine tea without it. 

However, the key word here is "quality". How can you spot a quality jasmine?

You should be looking at two things:

• The flower scent should be durable and pleasant, not over-powering. It should be natural and not artificially spiked.
• The green tea leaves should be made from young tea buds. These high grade leaves contain the highest concentration of nutrition.

Jasmine Tea Benefits #3: Reduces Fat and Cholesterol Absorption

Jasmine tea may help you lose fat by helping your body absorb less fat and cholesterol. A 1999 study conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong fed hamsters a diet that included large amounts of lard and cholesterol. Some hamsters were given tap water to drink, some were given jasmine tea extract, and some were given green tea antioxidants isolated from jasmine green tea. At the end of the experiment, hamsters ingesting green tea were excreting more fatty acids and cholesterol in their droppings and had lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood.The researchers concluded that jasmine green tea antioxidants reduced the amount of dietary fat and cholesterol absorbed by the body. 

Jasmine Tea Benefits #4:Helps Prevent Cancer

One of the great things about drinking jasmine tea is that you get the benefit of both the green tea and jasmine.Now, the anti-cancer benefits of green tea are well documented: Green Tea Cancer Benefit - Unproven And Yet Valuable?

But did you know that the invaluable jasmine tea benefits can also be found in the scent itself, which has anti-cancer properties? A 2005 study published in the Fundamentals of Clinical Pharmacology exposed rats to an agent called DMBA, which is a carcinogen that causes breast cancer. 

Then, they were given jasmine.The study concluded that "jasmine has potent chemopreventive efficacy in experimental mammary carcinogenesis and further studies are warranted to isolate and characterize the bio active principle from jasmine." 

Another evidence of its anti-cancer properties comes from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University. There, Professor Eliezer Flescher has synthesized an anti-cancer drug from methyl jasmonate, one of the key chemical constituents of jasmine. The drug is in the preliminary testing stages at the moment, but is showing a lot of promise. 

A study published in the November 2008 edition of Cancer Investigations found that methyl jasmonate and cis-jasmone, a related compound, were both effective against prostate cancer cells. Finally, a 1990 study by the Chinese Academy of Preventative Medicine found that out of five different types of tea, jasmine tea was best able to prevent cancer of the esophagus in rats exposed to N-nitrosomethylbenzylamine. 

However, all types of tea that were used showed some effect, with only 42 to 67% of the tea-drinking mice getting tumors after exposure versus 90% of the control group. 

Jasmine Tea Benefits #5:Calms Your Nerves

Nerves on edge? Try drinking some jasmine tea!In aromatherapy, jasmine essential oil is believed have a tranquilizing effect. Now, scientific research has confirmed that the smell of jasmine does indeed act as a mild sedative. A 2005 study conducted by Kyoto University found that the smell of jasmine reduced study participants' heart rates and produced "calm and vigorous mood states." After further experimentation, the researchers attributed this effect to one of the aromatic components of jasmine: (R)-(-)-linalool.So, the next time you're stressed out or you've had a bad day, try sipping a cup of jasmine tea to relieve the tension!

Sources: http://www.amazing-green-tea.com/jasmine-tea-benefits.html