Posts Tagged ‘cancer’
» posted on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 2:12 am by Sam Neilson
Green Tea Is Why Chinese Are Healthier Than Americans
As an oasis is to the dessert, or a cool breeze to a hot summer night, so is green tea to cholesterol.
For the millions and millions of people suffering from high cholesterol green tea may be that light. You can browse and search the Internet for topics on green tea and cholesterol and come up with hundred of hits.
Cholesterol, triglycerides, the protein apoB in LDLs, are words dreaded by humans of the modern age. This new century is expected to become the century of medical miracles, the green tea, lowly as it may sound looks very promising as several studies have shown. This could be the decade of green tea and cholesterol.
Green tea goes beyond just being helpful in lowering cholesterol. New research suggests that green tea can also be helpful in preventing cancer. The reason is that green tea has a very high concentration of antioxidants. A research report released by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed a positive correlation between cancer avoidance and green tea. In fact, the research showed that green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese by over 55 percent! In another study by the University of Purdue, scientists found that green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells! Another study by the University of Kansas has determined that EGCG, a natural ingredient in tea, may explain why the Japanese have a lower level of heart disease even though 70 percent are smokers!
And more good news! It is not just green tea and cholesterol or green tea and cancer; it is also green tea and high blood pressure. Habitually drinking 5 to 10 cups a day of green tea lowers high blood pressure.
For more that 4,000 years the Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. So it is not just green tea and cholesterol or green tea and cancer; it is also green tea and depression!
There are more studies underway to determine if green tea is helpful for treating or preventing cardiovascular disease, infection, impaired immune function, and even rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers have found that catechin polyphenols, especially epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is what lowers the risk of cancer. Polyphenols have also been found to limit the negative effects of a fatty diet and of smoking.
There’s more! It is not just green tea and cholesterol or cancer; it is also green tea and weight loss. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a report that found out that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine.
How about green tea and tooth decay? Its bacteria-destroying abilities kill the bacteria that cause dental decay. So it is not just green tea and cholesterol, it is also green tea and bacteria.
Now keep in mind that all teas are not created equal when it comes to health benefits. Green tea is what you want to drink to get the maximum health benefits. Even though all tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, the difference is in how the tea leaves are prepared. Green tea leaves are steamed which keeps more of the EGCG compound. Black tea and Oolong tea are made from dried or fermented leaves which causes a loss of EGCG.
The Chinese have certainly contributed to our understanding of the health benefits of drinking green tea.
Do not stop your research into the health benefits of drinking green tea. Search the web for many more fascinating articles on this subject and let me know what you find.
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post a comment | filed under Food and drink | tags: alternative medicine, cancer, disease, Food, Food and drink, Green Tea, health, tea, weight loss
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