Several myths related to tea-drinking were busted at a workshop organised by the Tea Board of India. The one-day workshop, held on Friday, unveiled the findings of research carried out in institutions across the country.

“In India, we do not allow children to drink tea even though they are free to guzzle cola. But in other cultures, even toddlers are given tea. What we do not consider is cola has a huge amount of caffeine, of which barely one-third is present in tea. In contrast, tea has a lot of benefits,” said Tea Board chairman Basudeb Banerjee.

Given the propensity of people to smoke and drink tea, a research conducted by Calcutta University College of Science has come up with a welcome defence.

Since black tea has strong anti-oxidant properties, the researchers investigated its beneficial effects on cigarette-smoke induced oxidative damage of proteins as well as apoptosis (programmed cell death) and emphysema (a progressive lung disease that causes shortness of breath because of over-inflation of the alveoli or air sacs in the lung).

“From the findings, we can claim that tea alleviates the negative effects of cigarette smoking,” said Banerjee.

A related research has investigated how tea affects cell proliferation and alters the metabolism of carcinogens. “We found that black tea decreases the number of tumours and delays the onset of cancer,” said G.B. Maru of Tata Memorial Centre.

Those who have given up tea because of gastric ulcer can also take heart. “India is the second highest user of tea as a beverage but a popular notion is that it causes gastritis,” said T.C. Chaudhuri, the secretary of National Tea Research Foundation.

“Twenty to 30 per cent of the ulcers are caused by random popping of pain-killers and paracetamols. A research on the effects of tea on drug-induced ulcers has shown the ulcer-healing potential of black tea,” said Biplab Adhikari, a research associate.

For diabetics, tea consumption has been found to be healthy as it may give rise to better control of fasting hyperglycaemia and raise the level of HDL (protective cholesterol), the report claimed.

Map of gardens

The Tea Board has commissioned Isro to undertake satellite mapping of the tea-producing areas in Bengal and Assam. “This will be a vital technological tool for the industry. The map will give us an idea about the kind of pruning, the extent of pest attacks and of watershed and drainage in a garden,” said Banerjee.