Green Tea Health Benefits
Derived from the Camellia sinensis plant, prepared from unfermented leaves, originated in China and Japan, green tea has been consumed for many centuries with a lot more benefits than any other food or drink in the world.
Green Tea Facts:
• The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression.
• It comes from the same plant as all other teas- Camellia sinensis bush.
• Green tea is green because it is not fermented.
• It has many different flavors from light and sweet to smoky or nutty flavor.
• The shape of the leaves and the age are determines the quality of green tea. Best quality teas have the newest leaves.
• Green tea contains more fluoride than fluoridated water.
• Brewed loose green tea tastes much better than a tea bag.
• Contrary to common belief, black tea does not offer that much less health benefits than green tea. Antioxidant levels are higher in green tea but there is not a huge difference.
Green Tea Health Benefits:
• The secret of green tea lies in the fact that it is rich in catechin polyphenols, especially epigallocatechin gallate- EGCG, which is a very powerful anti-oxidant: at least 100 times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more than vitamin E in protecting cells from harmful effects.
• One cup of green tea has about three times more antioxidants than an apple.
• It is the favorite drink in Japan. Japanese drink green tea in the morning and after meals to help ease digestion.
• Green tea extract may boost metabolism and help with weight loss by burning fat. Catechin polyphenols are responsible for the herb’s fat-burning effect. It even became a favourite drink for supermodels.
• Polysaccharides and polyphenols in green tea may help lower your blood sugar, which is also a factor in preventing and relieving type-2 diabetes.
• Green tea’s cancer-preventive effects have been supported by clinical studies over the last decade. It is claimed that green tea included in your every day diet can reduce bladder, colon, esophageal, pancreas, rectum and stomach cancer by up to 60%. National Cancer Institute has even initiated a plan for developing tea compounds as cancer-chemopreventive agents in human trials.
• A 2006 study showed that elderly Japanese people who consumed more than 2 cups of green tea a day had a 50 percent lower chance of havingcognitive impairment, in comparison to those who drank fewer than 2 cups a day, or who consumed other tested beverages.
• Green tea can promote oral health by suppressing the process of plaque formation and destroying the bacteria that forms plaque. It is also believed to destroy bacteria that causes bad breath.
• A new Japanese study claims that drinking five cups of green tea per day may reduce the incidence of psychological distress by 20 per cent.
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Green Tea Side Effects:
• Green tea is safe for most adults when used in moderate amounts.
• A cup of green tea contains about 30 mg of caffeine. However green tea is much gentler on your body than coffee or black tea. It does not increase your heart rate as drastically as does coffee.
• If you are sensitive to caffeine, watch out for insomnia, anxiety, irritability, loss of appetite, upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, skin rash or frequent urination, although green tea contains half the caffeine found in coffee.
• You should use green tea cautiously if you have a weak heart, tendency to anxiety or panic attacks, kidney disease or a sensitive stomach.
• Drinking large amounts of green tea during pregnancy can be risky as it contains caffeine, catechins and tannic acids and these are linked to risks such as neural tube birth defect.
• Green tea contains small amounts of vitamin K, which can make anticoagulant drugs such as warfarin less effective.
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Green Tea Health Benefits- References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_tea: Green Tea Health Benefits .
Green Tea: from the University of Maryland Medical Center Alternative/Complementary Medicine library.
Yi Lu, Wen-Fei Guo, and Xian-Qiang Yang (2004). “Fluoride Content in Tea and Its Relationship with Tea Quality”. J. Agric. Food Chem. 52 (14): 4472–4476.
Chen D, Daniel KG, Kuhn DJ, Kazi A, Bhuiyan M, Li L, Wang Z, Wan SB, Lam WH, Chan TH, Dou QP. Green tea and tea polyphenols in cancer prevention. Front Biosci. 2004 Sep 01;9:2618-31. 2004.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php? tname=foodspice&dbid=146.
http://www.green-tea-expert.com : Green Tea Health Benefits .
