TPV Podcast Episode 348: The Benefits of Drinking Tea Part 2

In this week’s episode, Stacy and Sarah revisit the many questions they received in response to Episode 328: The Amazing Health Benefits of Drinking Tea. Learn more about the science behind tea as a health-promoting tool, why Stacy and Sarah are such huge fans of Pique Tea, and how you can incorporate tea into your healthy habits for maximum results. Tune in below!

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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 348: The Benefits of Drinking Tea Part 2 Rapid Fire

A follow-up to episode 328 (Nov 30, 2018)

• • (0:00) Intro
    • Hiiiii friends, Stacy is still in Europe drinking her favorite mint tea, which they give us before bed on our European cruise.
    • Thanking this week’s sponsor Pique Tea! https://www.piquetea.life/thepaleoview
    • We received so many questions from episode 328 that we are going to do a rapid-fire Q & A today

• • (3:12) The science behind the tea!
    • Scientific studies show that regular tea consumption can decrease the risk of diabetes, liver disease, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer thanks to the high antioxidant polyphenol content of green and black tea.
    • Polyphenols in green and black tea can improve our gut microbiome
      • Polyphenols support the growth of probiotic strains like Lactobacillus and suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria like C. difficile
      • Studies show this also reverses obesity-related changes in the microbiome caused by high-fat diets!
    • Tea can add or detract from health, depending on the quality

• • (5:17) Why we partnered with Pique Tea

• • • • Pique Tea Crystals deliver up to 12x the polyphenols of regular teas and are Triple Toxin Screened to ensure you get the most health benefits from each cup!
      • Convenient tea crystals packets, no measuring, but every cup is pure perfection!
      • You can quickly mix up some tea anywhere you go because they dissolve in both cold and hot water. Each packet will let you know if they should be used for hot or cold water.
      • The kids love it too, and we love knowing it’s not a bag of BPA soaking in hot water.
      • Thanks to Pique Tea for coming back to the podcast and being a product we can recommend and use for our families. And the standards are high because Sarah is a tea snob!
        • Go to https://www.piquetea.life/thepaleoview to get up to 28% off + free shipping

• • (9:09) Q: What’s in the tea that makes it prebiotic?
    • Polyphenols!
      • They actually aren’t prebiotic, but rather influence gut microbiome composition through selective antimicrobial activity
      • Phenolic compounds from wine, tea, olives, and berries have been shown to have antimicrobial properties, such as inhibiting the growth of Bacteroides species, Clostridium species, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella typhimurium
        • The phenolic acid curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is metabolized by the gut microflora and is able to modulate the gut microflora during colitis and colon cancer, along with improving intestinal barrier function.
      • Some polyphenols can interfere with the production of small signal molecules in pathogenic bacteria, in turn preventing the exponential growth of harmful bacterial populations
  • (10:52) Q: How much tea should I drink every day and when?
    • Studies evaluate in different ways but the typical result is 3-4 cups/day and in the morning for caffeine (Green/Black tea)
  • (11:56) Q: Does it matter what kind of tea I drink?
    • Different teas have different phytochemicals and different amounts antioxidants
      • Generally, green tea is higher in antioxidants, followed by black tea
      • Steeping time has the biggest impact on maximizing the antioxidant benefit
      • Stacy loves to drink a variety of different teas to get the most benefit

TPC=total phenolic content from https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/2/3/17/pdf

• • (14:35) Q: Can I get gut health benefits if I only drink herbal (caffeine-free) teas?
    • Herbal teas haven’t been studied for their impact on the gut microbiome. However, if we postulate that the polyphenols are the reason why tea is beneficial, herbal teas should still provide a benefit, albeit one that we can’t yet quantify.
      • Herbal teas do have health benefits but not as much as your green and black. You would need to drink more than the 3-4 recommended cups, too.
      • No studies yet to quantify results of herbal teas for gut health benefits
  • (18:30) Q: If I add milk or sweetener, will I still get the gut health benefits?
    • Sweetener rant (short answer: use honey!)
      • Sugar alcohols cause gut dysbiosis issues
      • Honey is the only natural sweetener that benefits the gut
    • A1 dairy is bad for our microbiome (most grocery store dairy)
    • A2 dairy is better for our microbiome (sheep or goat milk and SOME cow milk)
    • Not many studies look at the combination of dietary factors (i.e. adding dairy, sweetener, and tea together), so it’s hard to know for sure. The same isn’t true of coffee. We know that the effect of adding milk to coffee is that the absorption of an antioxidant called chlorogenic acid, usually available in coffee, may be reduced by 23%.
      • Black tea has quite a bit of chlorogenic acid (an antioxidant) so this effect might impact tea consumption too.
  • (26:20) Q: Is there anything I should add to the tea to boost gut health benefits?
    • A healthy diet, sleep, stress management, activity and time in nature. 😛

• • (29:22) Q: Can I still drink coffee along with the tea and get gut health benefits? What about alcohol?
    • Yes, coffee is actually beneficial for the gut microbiome.
      • While tea has some unique benefits, coffee still offers more benefits
      • Coffee can be inflammatory or anti-inflammatory depending on genetics
        • Tea is good for us all!
    • Coffee contains the fibers arabinogalactans and galactomannans (approximately 0.5 g of soluble dietary fiber per one cup of filtered coffee), which are readily fermented by human intestinal bacteria to produce SCFAs and can expand levels of Bacteroides/Prevotella bacteria. In rodents, studies have found that coffee causes an increase in beneficial Bifidobacteria and inhibits the growth of E. coli and Clostridium species.
      • Likewise, a human trial in which 16 healthy adults consumed three cups of coffee daily for three weeks found that Bifidobacterium levels (and in some cases, metabolic activity) increased significantly.
      • An in vitro study of coffee and chlorogenic acids (or CGA, the major phenolic compounds found in coffee) also showed that coffee with the highest levels of CGA induced a significant increase in Bifidobacterium growth, while CGA induced significant proliferation of the Clostridium coccoides-Eubacterium rectale group.
      • This selective metabolism would likely be beneficial to the microflora composition and the health of the host. Although the research is too sparse to draw any definitive conclusions, some researchers have speculated that the anti-Parkinson’s effects of coffee may be related to its ability to regulate the gut microbiome and return microflora composition to a state that resembles that of patients without Parkinson’s disease.
    • Alcohol
      • Increases leaky gut
      • Feeds pathogenic strains
      • Transports endotoxins into the body

• • (35:24) Q: How will I know if the tea is helping my gut health?
    • Experimenting on yourself: change one thing at a time, every 3-4 weeks. For gut health, you can look at symptoms, markers of inflammation or leaky gut (serum zonulin, lactulose-mannitol test), microbiome analysis (16S rRNA like uBiome, Viome, LC science)
      • We don’t know them all, just check for the 16S ribosomal RNA buzz word), stool quality.
        • Look at your stool!(40:35) Q: Will tea help me with constipation?

• • • Nope. Old 1981 paper showing tea might be slightly constipating at 2 liters per day
      • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1504712/?page=1
    • 2014 paper showing tea can prevent constipation drinking 800mg/kg of Pu-erh tea
      • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24604453
      • 800 mg/kg of Pu-erh tea.
    • Both studies are looking at ridiculous levels of tea consumption.

• • (42:15) Q: What about the fluoride in tea?
    • The fluoride level in tea varies but can be as high as fluoridated water (1-3mm per liter or so), and is usually higher in lower quality teas.
    • High tea consumption isn’t associated with the same health issues that chronic fluoride exposure is linked to. It may offer a protective effect from the polyphenols, but more research is needed.
    • We stick with high-quality tea and always make it with filtered water.

• • • (45:25) Closing
      • Pique Tea screens their tea as part of their Triple Toxin Screen (for heavy metals, pesticides, and toxic mold ), so we feel even better about them as a podcast sponsor! Thank you, guys!!!
        • Link to use: piquetea.life/thepaleoview

• Deal: 28% off + free shipping
• • • Thanks to Sarah for an amazing rapid-fire session today!
    • Stacy will be back with us next week!