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Tea Part II. Is Bottled Lipton® Green Tea Healthy?

May 8, 2012 By Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN

You may notice the registered mark – ® – that I included in the title – Is Bottled Lipton® Green Tea Healthy?

I will be more conscious about the registered trademarks, thanks to Coca Cola, owners of the vitaminwater® brand. Apparently, this website is now popular enough to draw attention to a post I wrote almost a year ago. They have requested that in the future I refer to the trademarked brand.

To clear the air, I want you all to know that vitaminwater® indeed is a trademarked brand of Coca Cola®. And no, I do not think it’s healthy. And Yes, you can make your own healthy water that is much cheaper! For more info, read the original article:

Is Vitamin Water Healthy? Plus a Recipe to Make Your Own!

Tea: Brewed vs. Bottled

Tea Inventory

Tea Inventory (Photo credit: euphbass)

Anyway, back to our topic of discussion today: Tea. If you missed my last article where I discuss the cancer fighting health benefits of tea, you will want to read it:

Tea – One of the 12 Cancer Fighting Foods

Today, I review information about whether the bottled Green Tea is as healthy as brewing your own.

Back in 2005, Oregon State University released information on green tea. One of the key points they make about bottled tea is that they “have levels of polyphenols and antioxidant activity 10 to 100 times lower than conventionally brewed tea, regardless of whether they are based on green teas or the white teas.”

That’s not good! Remember that polyphenols are potent antioxidants that make green tea so good for you.

In addition, some of the bottled teas are actually not brewed, but rather made from a tea powder. And just about 99% of the bottled tea on the market is sweetened. (FYI – that is not a statistic that is confirmed by research, but rather my own personal estimate!).

Sweeteners used in the bottled teas are either simple sugars, or artificial sweeteners. Most “diet” teas are actually sweetened and it’s very difficult to find a plain, unsweet tea drink in a bottle.

Are Bottled Tea Drinks Healthy?

Bottom line: Bottled tea does not have the same health benefits as brewed tea. For maximum benefit, make your own tea at home. This can include tea from bags or loose leaves. You can even make it iced, or cool by pouring brewed tea over ice or placing in the fridge. By choosing the brewed tea, you get more polyphenols and you can control the amount of sweetener that you might choose to put in it.

This image shows three different tea bags.

This image shows three different tea bags. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Another benefit to brewing it yourself? Your wallet! It is much cheaper to make your own. In addition, the environment benefits if you put it in a reusable bottle.

My suggestion: Brew away! Want to know some reader favorites? Here are the ones that Cancer Dietitian Facebook fans recommend:

  • Jasmine Green Tea from Trader Joe’s is my current favorite (this was mine!)
  • I am addicted to soy chai tea. The kind of organic chai in the bottle.
  • Tulsi Tea…great for dry mouth from radiation.
  • Good Earth tea! Love it :). Oh yeah, and Ginger tea too!
  • Genmaicha Green
  • peach
  • Chai Spice

For more on tea, check out this article from a cancer survivor and health advocate.

Upcoming Topics

Here are some topics I am planning for the next few articles:

  • Healthy Grilling
  • Jicama
  • Bok Choi
  • Reader Recipes

Feel free to email me with other suggestions!

– Julie

 This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means if you click on a link and purchase a product on Amazon, Cancer Services, Inc. will receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. We use these proceeds to support cancer patient direct services and community education in the Triad area of North Carolina. For more information, view our disclosure policy.
Easy Bok Choi Recipe to Try This Weekend!
Tea - One of the 12 Cancer Fighting Foods

Filed Under: Cancer Prevention, Education, Myth Busting

This post may contain affiliate links for products I recommend. This means if you click on a link and purchase a product, Cancer Services, Inc. will receive a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. We use these proceeds to support cancer patient direct services and community education in the Triad area of North Carolina. For more information, view our disclosure policy.

Comments

  1. Anita says

    August 28, 2015 at 12:34 pm

    Thanks for the info I brew Lipton and drink it instead of soda and it’s less expensive then other brands glad to know it is still healthy

    • Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN says

      August 31, 2015 at 9:02 am

      Perfect! 🙂

  2. Max says

    March 24, 2016 at 2:29 pm

    Hello!
    I was wondering how unsweetened bottled teas such as Pure Leaf fair in the healthy tea spectrum. They claim to be brewed with real tea leaves and there is no added sugar. Is it generally as good as a tea I would brew at home or is it more of a marketing ploy?

    • Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN says

      March 30, 2016 at 10:41 am

      I would say it’s probably close to the kind you brew at home. I’d say it’s a good option for a bottled drink purchase if you can’t make it at home for whatever reason. No added sugars and brewed tea. Take it! 🙂

  3. Brent says

    November 7, 2016 at 7:56 pm

    What is your opinion on VitaCoCo pure coconut water?

  4. Tonia says

    January 7, 2017 at 9:54 am

    What about bottled Lipton green tea!

  5. Kim P says

    January 7, 2017 at 11:09 am

    I finally broke the habit of drinking diet soda and have been drinking Arizona Decaf Diet Green Tea. I am worried about the artificial sweetener in that beverage, but have been told it is okay because it is not at the same chemical concentration level. Is that true?

  6. Lisa H says

    July 3, 2019 at 5:02 pm

    Aspartame is poison…period. Stay away from it. It’s in many soft drinks (diet), as well as the Lipton Green (Diet) bottled tea.

    • Julie Lanford MPH, RD, CSO, LDN says

      August 15, 2019 at 3:01 pm

      I don’t think poison is the most accurate word to use. However, if you prefer not to have it, I don’t have any problem with that.

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