Black tea may be as good as green
Good news for tea drinkers: Black tea, the type consumed by most North Americans, appears to pack roughly the same amount
of disease-fighting antioxidants as green tea, despite green’s reputation as the healthier brew. Both teas are made from the
same plant, but black is oxidized, which darkens the leaves, before it’s processed. When Consumer Reports last measured the two teas’ ability to neutralize damaging molecules called free radicals--a standard test of antioxidant
power--green and black teas scored comparably high. While it’s not clear whether the body absorbs the antioxidants from black
tea as readily as those from green, observational studies of tea drinkers suggest comparable reductions in the risk of disease
for both brews. Presumably the same is true for oolong tea, which is oxidized less than black tea.
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