About Green Tea
Green tea is a legendary drink obtained from the leaves of Camellia sinensis.Other types include black and oolong tea. The leaves undergo slight oxidation during processing. It owes its origin in China before spreading to the rest Asia. Today, Green tea is a ubiquitous drink, consumed globally due to its medicinal value, though not consumed as much as black tea. This article will highlight the various health benefits of green tea and alter the preference people have for black tea over the green one.
Health Benefit 1: Anti-Oxidant
Green tea contains plenty of anti-oxidants, more than other types of tea. The polyphenols in the green tea contain anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties. In particular isEpigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) which has been found to be effective in eliminating free radicals.
Health Benefit 2: Anti-Cancer Properties
Cancer research has shown that polyphenols in green tea assist in hindering tumor growth. It has been observed that countries where consumption of green tree is highest have lowest rates of cancer related cases. The active components in green tea upset the metabolism of cancer cells. The study showed positive co-relation between high green tea drinking and reduction in cancers such as pancreatic cancers in non-smokers, stomach, bladder, lung and ovarian cancer.
Health Benefit 3: Heart Disease:
There is a link between green tea consumption and reduced deaths caused by cardiovascular diseases. Consumption of up to 10 cups of green tea can reduce cholesterol levels in the body.
Health Benefit 4: Prevents Type 2 Diabetes:
A co-relation has been found in a study, showing that green tea drinking reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The polyphenols in green tea stops starch digesting enzyme amylase from raising blood sugar. This enzyme breaks down starch into simple sugars, hence increasing blood sugar.
Health Benefit 5: Weight Loss
Green tea plays an important role in losing weight by a small margin. When incorporated in diet and exercise plan, green tea can assist in fat metabolism. In particular, green tea with higher concentration catechins and caffeine assist in weight loss, compared to the common green tea.
Health Benefit 6: Treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
the anti-oxidants in green tea have been found to halt the nerve cell death in animal cells. This has shown a positive link with dementia as well as Alzheimer’s disease whether these lab results can be reproduced in human trials remains to be seen. As such, the findings do not conclusively show that green tea combats Alzheimer’s disease.
Health Benefit 7: Prevents Blood Pressure
Green tea hinders Angiotension-Converting Enzyme (ACE) which is produced in the kidneys. This enzyme is responsible for high blood pressure in the body.
Health Benefit 8: Fights Arthritis
The anti-oxidants in green tea have been found in a research to reverse the severity of rheumatoid .They hinder the Cox-2 gene that that causes inflammation, much the same way that other anti-inflammatory drugs work.
Health Benefit 9: Combats Hepatitis
Green tea reduces the level of iron in the body, hence causing assisting in warding off some strains of hepatitis. Viral hepatitis is usually caused by high levels of iron in the liver.
Image Credit : Jean file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
