Drink Green Tea
Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, second only to water. Worldwide, per capita consumption is approximately 40 liters per year. Black tea is preferred in the Western world, and in the United States iced black tea makes up 80 percent of tea consumption. In Asian countries, green tea is the drink of choice. Green tea consumption is thought to be responsible for the so-called Asian paradox, much the way that polyphenols and red wine are responsible for the French paradox.
Cigarette consumption in Asia is the highest in the world. It is well known that smoking leads to heart attacks, strokes, peripheral vascular disease, and cancer. Paradoxically, however, Japan and other Asian countries are among the lowest in the incidence of arteriosclerosis and lung cancer. In fact, it has been shown in several studies that the lowest risk is found in people who drink approximately 1.2 liters of green tea daily:
The Chinese have known of the medicinal benefits of green tea for at least four thousand years. Just as grapes and wine were spread throughout the world initially by the Phoenicians and later by other traders, tea was introduced to countries worldwide by tradesmen and travelers. The health benefits of green tea border on the unbelievable and are very similar to those described for resveratrol and red wine. The secret of green tea is that it is extremely rich in catechin polyp henols, the same catechins found coating the seeds of grapes and in wine.
The tea plant itself has the scientific name Camellia sinensis. Although it is native to China, it has spread to and is now cultivated in many countries across the world, predominantly in the tropical and subtropical zones, Black, green, oolong, and white tea are all prepared from the same leaves. The difference is in the harvesting, drying, fermentation, and roasting. Black tea roasting takes place after the harvested leaves are crushed and undergo browning (also called fermentation or Oxidation). Oolong tea is allowed to undergo moderate drying and fermentation.
Green tea’s antioxidants, called catechins, scavenge for free radicals that can damage DNA and contribute to cancer, blood clots, and atherosclerosis. Grapes and berries, red wine, and dark chocolate also have potent antioxidants.
Because of green tea’s minimal processing — its leaves are withered and steamed, not fermented like black and oolong teas — green tea’s unique catechins, especially epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are more concentrated.
But there’s still a question of how much green tea you need to drink to reap its health benefits. EGCG is not readily “available” to the body; in other words, EGCG is not always fully used by the body.
Green tea is created when the tea leaves are steamed or heated immediately after harvesting. White tea is made from young tea buds and does not undergo fermentation. The fermentation and oxidation process naturally reduces the polyphenol content of black tea. Green tea and white tea have the highest concentrations of the active catechins because they do not go through this process. Therefore they are the best dietary source of this compound. Catechins represent 80 percent of polyphenol flavonoids in green tea, whereas in black tea they represent approximately 20 percent to 30 percent.
There are now thousands of scientific articles detailing the wealth of health benefits provided by catechins found in green tea.
• Antioxidative and antiaging effects; The catechins found in tea are twenty-five to one hundred times as potent as vitamins C and E. One cup of green tea provides more antioxidant activity than a serving of broccoli, spinach, carrots, or strawberries. This activity reduces the damaging effects of free radicals,
• Anticlotting effect: Green tea catechins act on blood platelets to prevent stickiness and clotting, reducing the number of strokes and heart attacks.
• Antiviral and cold prevention effects: Green tea catechins attach themselves firmly to the surface of the flu virus and prevent it from infecting the human oral and nasal mucous membranes. Red wine and tea also protect against hepatitis C.
• Control of high blood pressure: Green tea catechins suppress the enzyme that contracts blood vessels, easing high blood pressure.
• Cancer prevention: Catechins in green tea interfere with cancer development in all three stages.
• Green tea catechins control cholesterol by blocking’enzymes in the intestine that contribute to the absorption of cholesterol. They suppress LDL and elevate HDL.
• They control high blood sugar levels by suppressing the enzymes that break down sugar into glucose.
• They maintain healthy intestinal flora by decreasing the number of harmful bacteria and fostering the growth of “good” bacteria.
• They contribute to weight loss: Together with the caffeine in tea, catechins accelerate the burning of fat. Men given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories and lost more weight than those given only caffeine or a placebo.
• They prevent bad breath: Catechins neutralize unpleasant oral odors by reducing oral bacteria.
• They prevent tooth decay: Catechins have a strong antibacterial effect and prevent the buildup of dental plaque.
• They inhibit osteoarthritis: Studies using human cartilage cells demonstrated that a catechin known as ECCC protects against inflammatory degeneration and arthritis.
To obtain these dramatic health benefits from green tea, relatively large amounts must be consumed. A minimum of three to ten cups a day is recommended. Larger amounts, up to ten cups a day, have been used for cancer’prevention, and in Japan these are supplemented with additional green tea tablets for the treatment of cancer. Also, not all green tea is equal in its content of catechins. Premium green teas contain at least 100 milligrams of the catechin EGCG, whereas some green tea bags from commercial food giants can contain one-third or even less. Brewing is a major factor, too. Unless you are drinking a fusion, in which the green tea is already dissolved in water, the tea bag should be placed into boiling water for approximately three minutes to get the maximal diffusion of polyphenols.
Caffeine content also is a factor. Green tea usually contains about 20 percent of the caffeine found in a cup of regular coffee. High consumption may cause agitation, anxiety, and irritability in those susceptible to caffeine. Lemon and milk are frequent additives to various teas. The citric acid in lemons appears to enhance the absorbability of the catechins in green tea. Milk, on the other hand, may negate some of the health benefits, particularly in black tea. (The casein proteins in milk are thought to adhere to the catechins and offset some of their health.)
Despite extremely high consumption in some countries, the only negative effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia secondary to the caffeine content. These observations parallel the absence of side effects seen in similar studies using resveratrol.Other green tea benefits include: lowering your risk of suffering from Alzheimer and Parkinson’s disease as well as preventing rheumatism. Your immune system will become enhanced when you drink green tea regularly which is one of the green tea benefits that you can gain.
Another benefit that you get when you include green tea in your diet is that your chances of having tooth decay is greatly reduced. It also helps fight off bad breath by eliminating bad bacteria in your mouth. Although there are cases where people experience insomnia, the caffeine levels in this tea is far lower than those found in coffee and other types of tea so you don’t have to worry too much about it.
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