NutritionDoc

Over the last 10 years, sales of ready to drink bottled teas like Arizona, Nestea, Snapple, Lipton, and Sobe have grown almost tenfold. While that is good news for the companies, it may not be so good for people who think they are getting real tea.

 

Oregon state University researchers have found that freshly brewed green or black teas contain 10 to 100 times more antioxidants than bottled teas.

 

The US Dept. of Agriculture found much the same. According to its analyses, an 8 oz. cup of freshly brewed green tea contains 196 mg of the antioxidant EGCG, while a cup of bottled green tea contains just 9 mg.

 

And a cup of freshly brewed black tea contains 27 mg of EGCG, says the USDA while a cup of bottled black tea has 1 mg." Many of the currently available cold bottled teas sold in the US are more like diluted sugar water than something that may help protect your health" says Oregon State researcher Rod Dashwood.