Better than Green Tea?

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The antioxidant content of a number of popular beverages is compared: black tea, coffee, Coke, espresso, grape juice, green tea, hibiscus (Jamaica flower) tea, milk, Pepsi, Red Bull, red tea, red wine, and white wine. Which beats out even powdered (matcha) green tea?

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This new data on the antioxidant content of thousands of foods revolutionized the way my family eats. For example, you’ve known me as a veritable green tea fanatic—not because I particularly like it, but because that’s what the science said was the best thing to drink. But that was before 283 beverages were tested. I don’t think I could even name 283 beverages. They tested everything from Red Bull, to crowberry liquor.

Let me pull out a few. Water has zero antioxidants, as does Red Bull. At this scale, Pepsi, Coke, and cow’s milk get a 1; glass of white wine; a cup of red tea; black tea, green tea, red wine—seven times the antioxidant power of white, but neither as good as grape juice. Here’s a shot of espresso, a cup of coffee, and matcha tea—tea made out of powdered green tea leaves, which is what I’ve been drinking.

But what is this? What beverage could possibly be better than actually eating green tea leaves? Matcha has met its match. In terms of antioxidant power, the healthiest thing to drink on the planet Earth may be hibiscus tea! So, like Red Zinger blows everything else out of the water.

Here’s my latest recipe. Half-gallon of water—8 cups; 4 bags of tea in which hibiscus is the first ingredient (I like Wild Berry Zinger), the juice of one lemon, and 3 tablespoons of erythritol, or you could blend in some dates. I just put it in the fridge overnight. No need to heat it; it can just cold brew. In the morning, take out the tea bags, shake it up, and drink it throughout the day, every day, all day long. 

And, as always, extra credit for green foam: pour a cup of tea into a blender with a bunch of fresh mint leaves, blend on high, and then pour it back. So you have dark green leafies blended into what may be the highest antioxidant beverage in the world, and it tastes like fruit punch. Your kids will love it!

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by MaryAnn Allison.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Custom tea photography thanks to Alicia! Other images thanks to TheCrimsonMonkey, mycola, temmuzcan via istockphoto; FotoJagodka via shutterstock; Renee Comet at the National Cancer Institute; André Karwath aka Aka, KENPEI, Ultratomio, MASA, Sissi Lin, Berthold Werner via Wikimedia Commons; Julius Schorzman via assembleme.com; Leandroid, 抹茶とお菓子 via flickr; Dr. Williams via foodsforlonglife and Katie from dishindishes.com. Images have been modified.

This new data on the antioxidant content of thousands of foods revolutionized the way my family eats. For example, you’ve known me as a veritable green tea fanatic—not because I particularly like it, but because that’s what the science said was the best thing to drink. But that was before 283 beverages were tested. I don’t think I could even name 283 beverages. They tested everything from Red Bull, to crowberry liquor.

Let me pull out a few. Water has zero antioxidants, as does Red Bull. At this scale, Pepsi, Coke, and cow’s milk get a 1; glass of white wine; a cup of red tea; black tea, green tea, red wine—seven times the antioxidant power of white, but neither as good as grape juice. Here’s a shot of espresso, a cup of coffee, and matcha tea—tea made out of powdered green tea leaves, which is what I’ve been drinking.

But what is this? What beverage could possibly be better than actually eating green tea leaves? Matcha has met its match. In terms of antioxidant power, the healthiest thing to drink on the planet Earth may be hibiscus tea! So, like Red Zinger blows everything else out of the water.

Here’s my latest recipe. Half-gallon of water—8 cups; 4 bags of tea in which hibiscus is the first ingredient (I like Wild Berry Zinger), the juice of one lemon, and 3 tablespoons of erythritol, or you could blend in some dates. I just put it in the fridge overnight. No need to heat it; it can just cold brew. In the morning, take out the tea bags, shake it up, and drink it throughout the day, every day, all day long. 

And, as always, extra credit for green foam: pour a cup of tea into a blender with a bunch of fresh mint leaves, blend on high, and then pour it back. So you have dark green leafies blended into what may be the highest antioxidant beverage in the world, and it tastes like fruit punch. Your kids will love it!

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by MaryAnn Allison.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Custom tea photography thanks to Alicia! Other images thanks to TheCrimsonMonkey, mycola, temmuzcan via istockphoto; FotoJagodka via shutterstock; Renee Comet at the National Cancer Institute; André Karwath aka Aka, KENPEI, Ultratomio, MASA, Sissi Lin, Berthold Werner via Wikimedia Commons; Julius Schorzman via assembleme.com; Leandroid, 抹茶とお菓子 via flickr; Dr. Williams via foodsforlonglife and Katie from dishindishes.com. Images have been modified.

Doctor's Note

IMPORTANT NOTE: Though the observational data on erythritol does appear rife with reverse causation, a new study published interventional data in mice and in vitro on 2/27/23 that suggests erythritol may indeed be harmful, and so I urge everyone to stop consuming it until we know more.

Note that the impressive manganese content of hibiscus tea may exceed recommended limits at high intakes, though, so we probably shouldn’t drink more than those four tea bags a day’s worth.

Check out my other videos on beverages.

For all our videos on the latest research on green tea, visit our Green Tea topic page.

For more context see my blog posts: Hibiscus tea: flower power; Açaí to Zucchini: antioxidant food rankings; Amla: Indian gooseberries vs. cancer, diabetes, and cholesterol; Is Caffeinated Tea Really Dehydrating?; Top 10 Most Popular Videos of the Year; Treating PMS with Saffron; Hibiscus Tea: The Best Beverage? and Which Common Fruit Fights Cancer Better?

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