Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as antioxidant green tea? The antioxidant have known about the medicinal benefits of antioxidant green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book antioxidant green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that antioxidant green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.
Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking antioxidant green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking antioxidant green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in antioxidant men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in antioxidant green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking antioxidant green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.
What makes antioxidant green tea so special? Well the secret of antioxidant green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming antioxidant tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.
Links are being made between the effects of drinking antioxidant green tea and the "French Paradox." For years, researchers were puzzled by the fact that, despite consuming a diet rich in fat, the French 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 and a fatty diet. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers.
Why don't other antioxidant teas have similar health-giving properties? antioxidant green, oolong, and black teas all come from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. What sets antioxidant green tea apart is the way it is processed. antioxidant 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 results in the EGCG being converted into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing and fighting various diseases.
As for other Benefits, well new evidence is emerging that antioxidant green tea can even help dieters. In November, 1999, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the results of a study at the University of Geneva in Switzerland. Researchers found that men who were given a combination of caffeine and antioxidant green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.
antioxidant green tea can even help prevent tooth decay! Just as its bacteria-destroying abilities can help prevent food poisoning, it can also kill the bacteria that causes dental plaque. Meanwhile, skin preparations containing antioxidant green tea - from deodorants to creams - are starting to appear on the market.
And as for harmful Effects? Well, to date, the only negative side effect reported from drinking antioxidant green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, antioxidant green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six - eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.
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