Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Green Tea Benefits For Health


Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.

The simple fact that green tea has been used to treat a wide range of ailments for more than four thousand years indicates that this natural ingredient is indeed special. Even though green tea has been a traditional medicine among the Asians for all of the past four thousand years, it is only in the past few years that scientific research into the medicinal properties of green tea has been carried out.

Today, 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.What are the key benefits associated with green tea diet? Firstly,it’s a possible cure for cancer.

Based on some studies which have been carried out in the past, some specific substances in green tea diet can wipe out cancer cells with no harm to other healthy tissues in the body.The secret of 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 healthy 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.

The very essential substance in green tea diets which gives it these healing properties is called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Green tea is rich in these EGCG anti-oxidants. EGCG slows down and stops the growth of new cancer cells in the body. It also kills some existing cancer cells without harming normal cells. Additionally, EGCG is also apparently effective at stopping blood clots formation which has been known to cause thrombosis, which in turn causes stokes and heart attacks.

New evidence is emerging that 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 green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine or a placebo.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 green tea - from deodorants to creams - are starting to appear on the market.

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