Health benefits of drinking purple tea

Purple Tea

 

Purple tea is the latest tea variety grown in Kenya. It was first discovered as a wild mutant in India and China. Extensive research on this plant has been done by the Tea Research Institute of Kenya. What makes purple tea different from its counterparts is because it has a high content of Anthocyanins which gives this tea its unique purple colour. Purple tea has a sweet, pleasant flavor and its astringency is considerably less than green and black tea because of the lower amount of tannins.

 

Health benefits of drinking purple tea.

 

·         Helps to fight cancer

Purple tea is very rich in antioxidants that fight free radicals. Recent studies have shown that purple tea has a free-radical scavenging capacity of 51% as compared to 34.3% for green tea. Anthocyanins present plus other tea polyphenols present makes purple tea a superior cultivar than others. These compounds kill cancer cells at their early stages by destroying their cell membranes and prevent them from multiplying.

·         Assists in weight control

The high levels of catechins like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in purple tea are responsible for increasing the rate of metabolism in the body which results in speedy calorie burning, thus aiding in weight loss. Research has shown that purple tea contains a special type of polyphenol called 1,2-di-Galloyl-4,6-Hexahydroxydiphenoyl--D-Glucose (GHG). It acts on the lipase enzyme that helps in breaking down fats in the body.

·         Purple tea for Diabetes Management

Drinking a cup of purple tea between meals will help in regulating blood sugar levels. This property helps in the prevention of type 2 diabetes. It is essential also for diabetic patients as it prevents excess glucose absorption in the gut.

·         A Calmative Agent

Purple tea extracts contain mild anti-depressive effects. These properties would help to relieve all mental and physical exhaustion. Purple tea also contains a lower caffeine content compared to black and green counterparts which makes it a good calmative agent without affecting the individual’s heart rate and blood pressure.

·         Possesses antibacterial properties

According to research done by Yong Ma et.al (2019) on Food Control, anthocyanins and catechins significantly reduce the number of pathogenic bacteria in the body like Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. These phytochemicals can control the composition of the gut microbes to improve and enhance intestinal immunity and health, hence preventing food-borne pathogens from proliferating.