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It's easy to get answers about health and nutrition! Just send your question by email to [email protected] and Dr. Harlan will respond to selected questions of general interest. Answers will be posted in the Ask Dr. Gourmet newsletter (sign up now!) and archived in the Ask Dr. Gourmet section of the website.

Please note that the Ask Dr. Gourmet feature is restricted to questions regarding food and nutrition. Due to the many questions we receive, not all questions may be answered. For more specific questions about your individual health, please contact your doctor. About Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

 


 

Ask Dr. Gourmet

Does tea have as many antioxidants as a serving of vegetables?

Does decaffeinated tea have as much antioxidants as a serving of vegetables?

Dr. Gourmet Says...

a cup of tea with a teabag alongside it

No and yes.

While tea is really good for you, and there's a ton of good scientific evidence now to support you drinking tea, it's not all that easy to compare a drink brewed from the leaves of a plant with a bunch of fresh broccoli. Tea is very high in flavonoids which have been shown to have powerful antioxidant powers. Even so, there's a ton of other antioxidant vitamins in fresh veggies that tea can only dream of. There's no Vitamin C, Vitamin E or Vitamin A to speak of in tea, for instance.

The key is to have both as part of what you eat. Drink tea and not soda. Have fresh veggies and not potato chips.

Thanks for writing,

Timothy S. Harlan, MD, FACP, CCMS
Dr. Gourmet