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World Tea & Coffee 2014 conference focusses on health aspects of brews
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Saturday, 13 September, 2014, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Anurag More, Mumbai
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fiogf49gjkf0d Healthy beverages was the theme for the conference, which took place at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre in Mumbai on September 12, 2014 and was co-located with the second essay of the World Tea and Coffee Expo (organised by Sentinel Exhibitions Asia Pvt Ltd).
Dr C H Asrani, chief medical consultant, HEAL Positive, gave a presentation on the health benefits of tea and coffee, stating that the latter had become decorative of late, and had a long history of being blamed for a number of adverse effects. “Recent research has revealed that coffee may not be so bad,” he added.
Evidence-based medicine
“Coffee is actually very healthy, as it is loaded with antioxidants and beneficial nutrients. In the West, coffee drinkers get their antioxidant requirement from the brew. A number of controlled trials in humans have shown that it improves memory, mood, vigilance and energy levels,” he added.
“Several studies have also shown that caffeine can increase the rate at which fat is burned in the body. It is found in almost every commercial fat-burning supplement, and can increase one’s adrenaline level and release fatty acids from the fat tissues,” Dr Asrani stated.
“Coffee has fewer risks vis-a-vis benefits. A number of observational studies have shown that people who drink coffee have a much lower risk of getting Type-II diabetes. And coffee appears to lower the risk of depression. Coffee drinkers also have a much lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease. It controls pain tolerance,” he added.
Tea
“Tea contains antioxidants. They protect the body from aging and the effects of pollution. The brew reduces the risks of heart attacks and strokes. Drinking tea could help keep the arteries smooth and clog-free. Tea contains fluoride and bolsters the immune system,” Dr Asrani added.
Coffee versus tea
Tea has less caffeine than coffee. Brewed teas are preferred to bottled ones in order to avoid extra calories and sweetness. “The Indian habit of loading tea and coffee with sugar is not good,” Dr Asrani said, concluding that one should learn to enjoy his/her tea or coffee.
Herbal tea
K Yashaswini, head, operations and marketing, Yuvan Long Life Pvt Ltd spoke about how Yuvan herbal tea could keep one young and disease-free. She mentioned the benefits of Kangra tea, which has no calories, and is low in caffeine, anti-toxifying and helpful in burning fat and preventing cardio-vascular disease.
She also mentioned the company’s offerings - antioxidant tea; anti-aging tea; anti-obesity tea; anti-diabetic tea, anti-inflammatory tea and anti-hypertension tea. The topic of the presentation by Dr Shweta Rastogi, corporate wellness trainer, was the nutritional benefits of tea and coffee from a medical perspective.
“Tea without milk and sugar has virtually no calories. Caffeine in tea depends on a number of things,” she said, adding that there were various kinds of tea - white tea, green tea, black tea and Oolong tea. “Their compositions vary according to the growing season, storage and strain or variety,” Dr Rastogi informed.
She also spoke about herbal tea. “It is not made from camelia. It is made from the seeds, fruit, flower and other parts of the plant,” she informed. She reiterated that tea is good for health if consumed without milk or sugar. She also enumerated the constituents of coffee - diterpenes, polyphenols and chlorogenic acid.
As far as caffeine consumption was concerned, experts agreed that it must be consumed in moderation. The limit is 300-400mg. “Too much can cause restlessness, anxiety, irritability, headaches and withdrawal symptoms,” Dr Rastogi stated. Factors affecting caffeine response are body mass, age, smoking habit, stress and drug/hormone use.
She mentioned that green coffee is coffee beans that have not been roasted, and it is low in caffeine content. Rajeev Baid, managing director, Evergreen Dooars Tea Pvt Ltd, spoke about the history of tea in India, and threw light on the leaf tea factors that company had bought.
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