You’re trying to get more antioxidants in your diet, but you don’t want to take supplements. So you find yourself drinking more tea. You’re not alone. Sales of bottled tea drinks have been skyrocketing the past few years.

But when it comes to antioxidants, these ready-to-drink products can’t stand up to brewed tea.

“The tea that’s in bottles tends to be weaker; it’s not as strong,” says David Schardt, a senior nutritionist with the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

“Some of the antioxidants that are found in [these bottled products] come from the additives they put in,” Schardt says. “It’s not a comparable amount of antioxidants that you would get in a freshly brewed cup of hot tea or even iced tea made from real tea.”

Schardt says research conducted at Oregon State University found that freshly brewed green or black teas contain 10 to 100 times more antioxidants than bottled teas.

In the March 2007 issue of the Nutrition Action Healthletter, Rod Dashwood, an Oregon State researcher, tells the Center For Science in the Public Interest, “Many of the currently available cold bottled teas sold in the United State are more like diluted sugar water than something that may help protect your health.”

“If you want more antioxidants from tea,” Schardt says, “you’re best off brewing your own tea and drinking freshly brewed tea.” Visit Teas.com.au to brew your fresh and healthy tea

(By Herb Weisbaum, KOMO TV, Feb 2007)
Article URL: http://www.komotv.com/news/consumer/6161811.html