13 Health Benefits of Green Tea
by Arina Nikitina
Copyright 2005 Arina Nikitina
Green tea has been enjoyed by people in
China and Japan for thousands of years. Over the time it has
become widely known in the West.
A lot of people nowadays have heard that green tea benefits the
overall health, but not a lot know why exactly. And believe me
after I've learned all the health benefits of green tea, I get
completely different feeling every time I drink it. I not only
enjoy the taste of it but I also get the moral satisfaction
knowing that I am doing something right and extremely healthy
for my body. I want you to have exactly the same feeling I
have, so here are the benefits that you get while sipping
delicious cup of tea.
Green tea contains anti-oxidants that:
1. Helps to prevent cancer.
The is some strong evidence that green tea included in you
every day diet can reduce bladder, colon, esophageal, pancreas,
rectum, and stomach cancer up to 60%. An antioxidant known as
"epigallocatechin gallate" (EGCG for short) is at least 100
more times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more
effective than vitamin E at protecting cells from harmful
influence.
The amazing thing about it that EGCG it not only inhibits the
growth of new cancer cells it also kills some of the existing
cancer sells without harming the healthy ones.
2. Lowers "bad" cholesterol (known as LDL) and improves the
ratio of "good" cholesterol (known as HDL). It explains why
tea-drinkers can eat almost twice the foods containing
cholesterol as those who don't drink green tea, but still have
an equal cholesterol count.
3. Stops the unnatural formation of blood cloth which if not
taken care of will cause thrombosis. It takes on added
importance if you consider that thrombosis is one of the main
causes of strokes and heart attacks.
4. Reduces high blood pressure by repressing angiotensin II
which causes constriction of the blood vessels causing high
blood pressure.
5. Lowers blood sugar (polyphenols and polysaccharides are the
two main antioxidants are especially effective in lowering
blood sugar). That helps prevent and relieve type-two
diabetes.
6. Protects liver against toxins like alcohol and chemicals in
cigarette smoke.
7. Promotes oral health by suppress the process of plaque
formation and destroys the bacteria that forms plaque. It also
destroys bacteria that causes bad breath, so after eating
something sweet I suggest you drink a cup of green tea.
8. Destroys free radicals that cause aging.
9. Boosts your immune system function (because of its high
concentration of polyphenols and flaveboids).
10. Possess antibacterial and antiviral properties. Recent
studies show that green tea inhibits the spread of disease,
speeds up recovery from cold and flu. It also kills seven
strains of food poisoning bacteria including clostridium,
botulus and staphylococcus (which makes it a good treatment for
diarrhea).
11. Helps your body to maintain healthy fluid balance and
relieve fatigue and stress often caused by dehydration.
12. Blocks main receptors that produce allergic reactions.
13. Stimulates metabolism, calorie burning process and is
wildly being used as an important part of a healthy diet.
It is important to know that black tea, even though it comes
from the same plant as a green tea, will not give you the same
benefits. Black tea during fermentation process loses most of
its medical benefits.
The best way to preserve all the disease-fighting nutritions is
to drink your tea freshly brewed. All the decaffeinated,
ready-to-drink bottled or instant teas will give you very
little of natural health compounds. It is better to let your
tea steep for about 4-5 minutes before drinking it.
I hope that after reading this article you will include a cup
of green tea in your daily ratio. After all it is a rare case
when something that good for our health can be also that
delicious.
About the Author
Arina Nikitina is the owner of the website http://www.GreenTeaSecrets.com,
where you'll find a lot of free information about green tea,
learn how green tea can benefit to your health and how it can
help you lose weight. Visit: http://www.greenteasecrets.com
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