WELLINGTON, Feb 17: It’s true what many people have said for ages — “Have a nice cup of tea, you’ll feel better.”

And the stronger and hotter it is, the better you’ll feel, according to a researcher at New Zealand’s University of Auckland, who has studied the beneficial effects of certain varieties of Chinese tea.

A strong, hot brew contains more antioxidants — which health experts say slow down or halt oxidising damage that can cause cancer and heart disease — than a weak one, said Joy Hsu.

She investigated the (polyphenol) antioxidants in 33 types of green, oolong and black teas during research for her master’s degree.

Hsu found that green tea had the highest average levels of antioxidants - though oolong and black teas were not far behind - and they increased with temperature and dropped markedly in reused tea.

“In Asian countries the first brew of oolong tea is usually discarded as being too bitter,” she said. “However, our testing has shown that this first brew contains the most benefits.”

Hsu said research into antioxidant properties, and consequently the health benefits, of foods was a hot topic and her studies on tea had been stimulated by similar investigations into antioxidants present in red wine.

She said tea had traditionally been identified with having health benefits, and now her research was proving it.

Her research supervisor at Auckland University, Dr Paul Kilmartin, said other research had shown that antioxidant levels in the blood increased shortly after consuming substances such as correctly brewed green tea.

“However, only about one per cent of the individual antioxidants consumed and known to be present in the tea can be detected in the blood stream,” he said.

“We just don’t know enough about them to explain why this is. We don’t know where the rest go or what they turn into. Perhaps they link with other compounds in the blood stream and we don’t know where to look or how to find them.”

He said this was the fascinating next step for research into antioxidants, as well as determining the amount of tea required to be drunk each day to gain the maximum benefit.—dpa