The Benefits of Green Tea

We have all heard how green tea is good for us, but what does that mean?

Green tea has been used as traditional medicine in areas such as India, China, Japan & Thailand to help everything from controlling bleeding & helping heal wounds to regulating body temperature, blood sugar & promoting digestion.

Historically speaking, the Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. There is archaeological proof that suggests that tea has been consumed for 5000 years, with China & India being of the first countries to cultivate it.

The Kissa Yojoki (Book of Tea), written by Zen priest Eisai in 1191, describes how drinking green tea can have a positive effect on the vital organs, the heart. The book discusses tea's medicinal qualities, which include easing the effects of alcohol, acting as a stimulant, curing blotchiness, quenching thirst, eliminating indigestion, curing beriberi disease, stopping fatigue, & improving urinary & brain function.

The scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol. A German study found that an extract of green tea and hot water (filtered), applied externally to the skin for 10 minutes, three times a day could help people with skin damaged from radiation therapy (after 16-22 days).

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It's also been effective in lowering LDL levels of cholesterol, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you think about that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart assaults and stroke.

Links are being made between the effects of drinking green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in overweight, the Italian have a lower incidence of heart disease than Americans. The answer was found to lie in red wine, which contains resveratrol, a polyphenol that limits the negative effects of smoking as well as a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is once as powerful as resveratrol, which may describe why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is low, although about seventy-five percent are smokers.

Why don't other Chinese teas have similar health-giving properties? Green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets green tea apart is the way it is processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, which prevents the EGCG compound from being oxidized. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made from fermented leaves, which leads to the EGCG being converted in to other compounds that are not as effective in stopping and fighting various diseases.

Green tea may even help prevent tooth decay! as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that cause dental plaque.

New facts is emerging that green tea may even help dieters. Researchers found that men who got a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.

How much green tea ought to you drink? The suggested amount is to cups a day. In the event you aren't up to drinking that much there's green tea patches and supplements.
The choice is yours.