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Drink More Green Tea
All teas are made from the leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant. Tea is a drink
made by steeping processed leaves, buds, or twigs of Camellia sinensis in hot water for
a few minutes. Processing can include oxidation, heating, drying, and the addition of
other herbs, flowers, spices, and fruits.
There is archeological evidence that benefits of green tea have been enjoyed for thousands of years. It
has helped fuel the rise of civilizations in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea,
and the Middle East. Green tea has recently become more popular in the West, where
traditionally black tea and coffee is the fuel of choice.
Tea Bush
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Tea plants can grow into trees of 30 feet if left at peace, but on tea plantations tea plants
are pruned to about 3 feet. Tea plants grow only in warm climates at altitudes ranging from
sea level to 7,000 feet. The best teas, grow at higher altitudes where the leaves mature
more slowly. A tea plant may take from 2 to 5 years to be ready for picking, but once
productive, it can provide tea leaves for close to a century. Only the smallest and
youngest leaves are picked for tea, the two leaves and bud at the top of each young shoot.
Kinds of tea
Kinds of tea differ only in the amount of fermentation. Green tea leaves are steamed,
black tea is fermented, oolong is partially fermented. Unfermented leaves contain
the highest concentration of polyphenols, chemicals that act as powerful antioxidants.
Steaming prevents the loss of polyphenols, which is why there are so many more benefits
to green tea.
Growing conditions like altitude, climate and soils vary, this results in a multitude
of distinctive teas. The way the leaves are processed, is also important in developing
the individual characteristics of a tea.
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Green Tea caffeine
Green tea caffeine is one half or a third as much as in coffee. That means you
can drink twice to three times as much. The most caffeine is found in black tea.
Caffeine is stronger the smaller the tea leaf. A higher caffeine content is in the
tea leaves that are fermented longer. Fresh tea leaves contain about 4% caffeine.
If you do not want green tea caffeine, you can try decaffeinated green tea, but it still has some
caffeine. Not all of the green tea caffeine can be taken out by the decaffeinating process only
most of it. There is debate about how much of the benefits are lost by the decaffeinating
process. Some say the health benefits are ruined.
Green Tea health benefits
There are a wide variety of green tea health benefits.
Some of these claims have not been validated by scientific evidence but some claims
have been validated. One example is the Ohsaki study.
the Ohsaki study.
The study looked at green tea consumption and mortality due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes in Japan:
The Ohsaki National Health Insurance Cohort Study, a population-based, prospective cohort
study initiated in 1994 among 40,530 Japanese adults aged 40 to 79 years without history
of stroke, coronary heart disease, or cancer at baseline. Participants were followed up
for up to 11 years (1995-2005) for all-cause mortality and for up to 7 years (1995-2001)
for cause-specific mortality.
CONCLUSION: Green tea consumption is associated with reduced mortality due to all causes
and due to cardiovascular disease but not with reduced mortality due to cancer.
Green Tea and weight loss
The combination of green tea's anti-oxidants (polyphenols) with caffeine appears to have
an effect that neither substance can have on its own. Green tea's caffeine does not appear
to raise the heart rate or blood pressure the way that other forms of caffeine do, but it
does seem to raise the metabolic rate. Polyphenols seem to work with the body to intensify
fat burning.
Green Tea and cancer
There have been several studies that suggest that green tea helps protect against
a range of cancers, including lung, prostate and breast cancer.
This has been attributed to flavonoid phytochemicals called polyphenols.
The polyphenols in tea mainly belong to the type called catechins.
The major catechins in green tea leaves are epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG),
epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC) and epicatechin (EC).
Of the catechins, EGCG is the most abundant one in green tea leaves.
White tea is almost as rich in catechins as green tea but is different in composition
and less well studied.
Black tea leaves have a much lower content of these catechins.
EGCG is brain permeable.
EGCG inhibits tumour cell
growth by binding to a receptor on cells.
A paper in the April, 2004 issue
of
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology by
researchers at Kyushu University in Japan led by Hirofumi Tachibana,
has shown that EGCG inhibits tumour cell
growth by binding to a receptor on cells called 67 LR, a cell surface protein.
Several tumours produce abnormally high levels of 67 LR, and the receptor is thought
to be involved in the spread of cancers through the body.
The team showed that the growth of human lung cancer cells that
have the receptor slows significantly when they are exposed to EGCG at the concentrations
equivalent to those
in the body after drinking only two or three cups of green tea.
Many other chemicals in green
tea, including caffeine, did not influence cancer cell growth.
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 11, 380 - 381 (01 Apr 2004)
Lifelong tea drinkers have lower incidences of heart disease, high cholesterol
and some forms of cancer, they are less likely to suffer from diabetes
or be overweight.
Fluoride in green tea is great for your teeth and gums.
Green tea may even have potential to
prevent diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s
Seed bearing fruits of Camellia sinensis
by Shizhao
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Green Tea for the Skin
Green tea has positive effects on the skin.
Acne and eczema are two specific areas it can help.
Olive oil can be added to green tea to make a treatment for eczema.
Some notice a decrease in the presence of acne by simply drinking green tea, even though
adding caffeine to your diet can case an increase in acne breakouts.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Theaceae
Genus: Camellia
Species: C. sinensis
Binomial name
Camellia sinensis
By Harvey Robinson
Nothing in this essay is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Green tea has not been approved by the Food & Drug Administration for the treatment of any disease.
If you are not a tea drinker, you can still get the nutritional benefits
in the convenience of a capsule form.
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Green Tea Extract
100 mg. Softgels - 60 softgels
plus natural vitamin E.
60% polyphenols.
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