In Leslie Beck's Longevity Diet, the latest of 10 books she's written on nutrition, the nutritionist includes tea as one of 25 "longevity" foods. That is, if you want a longer life, drink tea.

Beck says there's clear evidence that tea (from the Camellia sinensis plant) is incredibly rich in phytochemicals called catechins, a class of flavonoids with potent antioxidant properties.

Tea is one of the best sources for antioxidants in the North American diet, she says -- more than fruits and vegetables (which, of course, have a lot of other healthy things going on). Antioxidant activity in two cups of black tea is equal to that in one glass of red wine, seven glasses of orange juice or 20 glasses of apple juice, she says. And, she adds, the catechins in tea have more clout than vitamins C and E.

According to the Tea Association of Canada, green tea "is the first food to be sanctioned by Health Canada" for its antioxidant properties.

Beck says many studies show benefits associated with drinking tea and these are some of them: A 15-year study of 61,057 Swedish women, 40 to 76 years old, drinking at least two cups of tea per day, compared with less than one cup per month, was associated with 46 per cent lower risk of ovarian cancer. Another linked four studies examining the association between green tea and breast cancer and concluded green tea protects against it. In another study, green tea showed a reduced risk of hypertension of 46 per cent among those who drank a half cup to two-and-a-half cups a day.

So if the health benefits of tea are so great, why aren't there more tea shops in Vancouver? Why are we such a coffee city? I put that question to Garrett Chan, one of the owners of T, a retail and wholesale tea company based in Vancouver. The retail shop is closing at the end of the month after 17 years because its lease is expiring. Whether they reopen in Vancouver or another city has not yet been decided.

Meanwhile, T has evolved as the largest supplier of high-quality teas to all but three of the luxury hotel groups in the world and 99 per cent of the company's sales are outside of Canada.

"A tea-drinking culture here is difficult because of the economics," Chan says. "Coffee shops do well because they have a takeout market and are making $5 on double lattes. Tea is perceived as more Zen. It's not about go-go-go and it's going to be tough to change that perception."

mstainsby@vancouversun.com

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