Catechins

Catechins and Tea

Catechins aren’t found in all teas. What is surprising is the fact that the presence of catechins in green tea exceeded the presence of catechins in black tea and in white tea.

You may not think this is so surprising, but the fact is that all of these teas come from the same plant, the Camilla Sinensi. Because of this, it is assumed that it is the oxidation processing of the leaves from the plant that causes there to be lower levels of catechins in some teas.

The assumption could be made that it is possible that all tea leaves contain catechins, but because of the type of processing they go through, the catechins is removed from the leaves. While this is just a hypothesis, it is one that is interesting to consider.

Catechins and Human Health

As mentioned above, catechins is an antioxidant and as such, certain anti-cancer properties have been assigned to this compound. The truth is, however, that there are few studies to support this claim.

It isn’t even clear what type of antioxidants are present in catechins and there are literally thousands of different antioxidants documented in foods.

What’s interesting about catechins is that some supplement companies will claim that they will benefit the heart, prevent cancer and lower cholesterol levels. Further research reveals, however, that this information is derived from computer projection models rather than clinical research.

To be sure, there is every possibility that catechins provide a myriad of different health benefits. After all, it’s off to a good start just by being a flavonoid.

However, you do need to be careful about putting too much stock into unproven herbal medicine if you are facing an illness. Especially since the FDA doesn’t regulate these types of supplements.

Catechins in the Marketplace

You will find that there are plenty of supplements on the market that use catechins. Most of the time you will find them in green tea extract products, but there are other options as well, although not too many.

The price range for catechins based products are $20 to $80, depending on what product you purchase. You will also find that there are green tea and catechins facial masks and lotions as well, as green tea is supposed to benefit the skin.

If you want to find the lowest price for catechins, then you will need to shop around to different vendors. Fortunately, the internet makes it easy to do just that without ever having to leave your home.

One thing that you do want to make sure of is to purchase whole food product that don’t contain any fillers or chemicals. If there are benefits to catechins, additional fillers can actually lessen the benefits through interactions.

Many people don’t realize that by combining multiple ingredients into a product, a company could very well negate the benefits that are offered by each of the ingredients individually. By buying all natural whole food products, you are limiting this interaction.

Catechins Conclusions

Despite the fact that there isn’t much in the way of research for catechins, there is proof that it is a flavonoid. As a flavonoid, there is an increased chance that it will provide the benefits that are associated with it.

In addition, there are no known side effects for catechins and no known drug interactions, making it a safe substance. This alone should give you some confidence if you want to take supplements that include catechins.

Catechins are also found in chocolate, although in much smaller amounts that you would find in green tea. They are present in greater amounts in dark chocolate.  If it’s in chocolate, can it really be bad? What a great excuse to go get some!

Use the supplement finder to compare catechins products and their prices.