12 Jul Green tea, what can it do for you?
Green tea, native to China and India, has been consumed and hailed for its health benefits for centuries globally. Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world behind water. 78 per cent of the tea consumed worldwide is black and only about 20 per cent is green.
All teas except herbal tea, are brewed from the dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis bush. The level of oxidation of the leaves determines the type of tea. Green tea is made from un-oxidized leaves and is one of the less processed types of tea. It therefore contains the most antioxidants and beneficial polyphenols.
Green tea health benefits
Green tea is becoming increasingly popular around the world for it’s health benefits. It was used in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine to control bleeding and heal wounds. This tea helps to aid digestion, improve heart and mental health, and regulate body temperature. Recent studies indicates that green tea is helps in weightloss to liver problems and type 2 diabetes. Even in cases of Alzheimer’s disease.
Green tea and cancer prevention:-
The National Cancer Institute explains in a studies that green tea decreases tumour growth. In countries where green tea consumption is high, cancer rates tend to be lower. But it is impossible to know for sure whether it is the green tea that prevents cancer in these particular populations or other lifestyle factors.
Recent studies have also shown the positive impacts of green tea on the following types of cancer:-
- breast
- bladder
- ovarian
- colorectal (bowel)
- oesophageal (throat)
- lung
- prostate
- skin
- stomach
It is believed that it is the high level of polyphenols found in tea that can help to kill cancerous cells and stop them from growing. However, the exact mechanisms by which tea interacts with cancerous cells is unknown and the frequency.
The Tea Health benefits on the heart
A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that green tea consumption is associated with reduced mortality.
In a research, over 40,000 Japanese participants between the ages of 40 and 79 for 11 years, starting in 1994. Those who drank at least 5 cups of green tea per day had a significantly lower risk of dying than those who drank less than one cup of tea per day.
Green tea contains catechins, polyphenolic compounds that are thought to exert numerous protective effects.
Green tea lowers cholesterol:-
An analysis of published studies in 2011 found that consuming green tea, either as a beverage or in capsule form, was linked to significant but modest reductions in total and LDL or “bad” cholesterol.
Green tea for type 2 diabetes:-
Studies concerning the relationship between green tea and diabetes have been inconsistent. Some have shown a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes for green tea drinkers than for those who consumed no tea, while other studies have found no association between tea consumption and diabetes at all.
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