Tea: The Ultimate anti-aging food.
While your DNA can have an effect on your biological age (i.e. how old you are compared to your actual age), it has been found the diet and lifestyle plays the biggest role in how old you look and how long you live.
How some societies naturally eat anti aging foods
How you age is dependent on many controllable factors. High risk behavior often leads to premature aging. Even modern medicine may cause more problems than it solves, known as iatrogenic. This would be a drug that "cures" one symptom but causes side effects that may be even worse than the disease.
According to Blue Zones, areas of the world that have long lives share a common overall theme. We recommend visiting the site, which lists many anti-aging foods. But in their research, most of the people studied drink tea.
Tea as an-antioxidant source
Your body is constantly being exposed to damage from the sun, pollution, stress and other factors. Eating a diet rich an anti-oxidants is an effective way to mitigate this. Antioxidants in the body act much like lightning rods do on the top of tall buildings; they give the reactive oxygen a safe place to offload it's charge onto. By essentially taking the hit for your body, antioxidant compounds can mitigate the damage your DNA is taking, assuming you have enough of them available and you aren't taking on more damage than can be absorbed.
Luckily, tea has been known for quite some time as a food that is high in antioxidants. But not all teas are the same. While ALL tea contains certain benefits, there you'll want to focus on the ones that contain the highest concentration of the most powerful fight aging class of antioxidants - EGCG.
- Green tea & White tea: Because they are minimally processed, they retain much of their natural antioxidant composition. While the caffeine content is low, the antioxidant content is high. Drinking a few cups a day is all you need to ensure you're getting the protective properties of these teas.
- Oolong tea: Oolong, also known as semi-oxidized tea are also a good choice. Look for lightly oxidized oolongs, (those that appear green).
- AVOID green tea extract! It is not the same as green tea, the source of the extract is usually from LOWER END teas that are potentially contaminated, and there are serious side effects if you overdo it.
Herbal tea is also an anti aging food
Many herbs are loaded with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Including herbal teas in your rotation is a great idea to fight aging. Herbs and flowers like hibiscus, lemongrass, sage, Tulsi are among the many different varieties of herbs found in many blends. Greek mountain tea is also a great choice and was one of the teas analyzed by the Blue Zone tea indicating large amounts of antioxidants.
Anti-aging food: Our tea recommendations
If you're not sure where to start, we assembled our top 6 picks for anti-aging below!
White Eagle Long Life
High altitude grown and exceptionally high in antioxidants. All green tea is high in antioxidants, but White Eagle Long Life has an impressive polyphenol content, the type of antioxidant that is especially good for longevity and anti-aging.
Sharp Mind
A mixture of various teas designed to benefit cognitive function. Yerba Mate provides the raw caffeine punch, but not in overwhelming amounts. Pu-erh tea is lower in caffeine but keeps you feeling fresh. Purple tea is grown in the Nandi hills of Kenya, and provide a potent amount of high grown anti-oxidants.
Greek Mountain Tea
Light scent and flavor, with a naturally sweet finish and top notes of lemon. Greek Mountain tea grows wild in the Mediterranean region, and is consumed for its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
King of Silver Needles
Crisp, refreshing in flavor, and filled with healthy antioxidants. One of the highest-grade organic teas in the world, King of Silver Needles is soft and elegant.
Seaside Chaga
Oceanic aloe vera as well as woodland chaga mushrooms and sweet blackberry leaves. This healing herbal tea is full of both oceanic ingredients and woodland wonders. A sip of Seaside Chaga tea will reconnect you to the magic of nature.
Total Body
Relaxing chamomile, sweet peppermint, and soothing rose petals with a hint of tart hibiscus. Whether you sip it in the morning to replenish and hydrate or at night to wind down, this tea will keep you feeling your best.
TEA AND ANTI-AGING CONCLUSION
Many teas in general are a good source of anti-oxidants. By drinking tea on a regular basis, it's the equivalent of a low dose of anti-aging medicine that is constantly present in your bloodstream. The doses are low enough as to have little to no-side effects, and the results are clinically proven. Drinking premium quality tea is always your best bet, and avoid adding sugar to tea.
