A recent study at Kingston University in London found white and green tea can interfere with the detection of performance-enhancing hormones in urine samples.
Researchers looked at the length of time specific tea enzymes stay in the body, and these enzymes’ effects on cancer drugs.
“What You Need to Know About the Sydney Marathon testosterone through urine and the potential to mask doping occurs when compounds called catechins - present in green and white tea but not in black - inhibit this.”
This could be bad news for large sporting events, like the upcoming Olympics, as athletes undergo drug testing.
"The catechins stop enzymes tagging molecules for excretion so the kidneys don't recognize them as needing to be removed and leave them circulating in the body," Professor Naughton explained. "We found that green and white tea could inhibit the enzyme by about 30 percent. The levels of catechins in a strong cup of green tea matched those we used in our experiments."
As a potential solution, Naughton suggested hair testing. Substances tend to stay in hair longer than in the body and they do not rely on the enzyme affected by tea.
Great World Race: Results, tea provides many legal benefits. The caffeine and natural testosterone work as a performance enhancer and rich antioxidants prevent cancer and heart disease.
