Do you know of anything on the market that can be consumed that has as many health benefits as green tea?  For centuries, the Chinese have used green tea for its medicinal benefits.  Traditional uses of the tea include the ability to fight everything from diarrhea to depression to headaches and more.  The Chinese have used green tea for medicinal purposes for over 4,000 years. 

Over the past few years, there has been a great deal of research performed both in Asia and in the West that show many health benefits associated with the consumption of green tea.  This includes many different types of cancers such as esophageal cancer, breast cancer, stomach cancer, and more.  Studies have been published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute which shows a positive link between various cancers and a reduced risk of cancer. 

Recently it was shown that a compound in green tea is responsible for inhibiting the growth of cancer cells.  This study was performed by the University of Purdue.  Research also shows that green tea consumption can help to lower the bad levels of cholesterol – LDL in the body, and to raise the good cholesterol in the body. 

There are so many conditions which green tea is linked to help with or prevent, which includes a few of the following:

            Impaired immune function

            Infection

            Cardiovascular disease

            High cholesterol levels

            Rheumatoid arthritis

            Cancer

What is responsible for making green tea so special?

Green tea is special and the reason for this is because it holds a special anti-oxidant called catechin polyphenols which there are plenty of- particular epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).  These anti-oxidants not only inhibit the growth of cancer cells, they are also responsible for killing cancer cells, while keeping healthy tissue healthy.  The anti-oxidants also help to lower bad cholesterol and help to inhibit the abnormal formation of blood clots.  While blood clots are not always something we consider, they should be as they are the leading cause of strokes and heart attacks. 

There have been many studies performed on the relationship between green tea consumption and the “French Paradox.”  For many years researchers were puzzled that the French had a fat rich diet yet less heart disease incidences than Americans.  The conclusion was that this was a result of red wine consumption which contains resveratrol.  Resveratrol is a polyphenol that helps to inhibit a fatty diet and smoking. 

In a 1999 study, the University of Kansas found that, when compared to resveratrol, EGCG is twice as powerful.  Researchers believe that this may be the reason that heart disease rate in Japanese men is very low, even though 75% of Japanese men smoke. 

While there are three basic types of tea- green tea, Oolong tea, and black tea, and all come from the Camellia sinensis plant leaves, green tea is more special than the others due to the way it is processed.  With green tea the leaves are steamed and dried.  In its process EGCG is not oxidized.  

Other Benefits

The media hype lately has been about green tea and its effects on dieters.  A study performed at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1999 found that of men who were given a combination of green tea extract and caffeine more calories were burned than among participants that consumed caffeine with a placebo.

Green tea is also shown to help keep the teeth healthy- tooth decay can be prevented with the consumption of green tea. Bacteria that are responsible for dental plaque can also be killed.   Food poisoning can also be prevented. 

Are there harmful effects of green tea?

To date, the reports are good!  In fact, insomnia is the only known negative side effect associated with drinking green tea due to the caffeine content in the tea.  (There’s no need to worry about that with Green Tea Hawaii, however!)  The good news is that there is not as much caffeine in green tea than in coffee. 

As research continues, we learn more and more positive effects of green tea fighting everything from cancer to heart disease to headaches and more. 

Polyphenols are a miracle in themselves.  The cancer preventative qualities of green tea were studied at the University of California and it was found that the desired levels can likely be attained by drinking two cups of green daily.  Some studies, however, suggest larger dosages