The Health Benefits of Green Tea (Green Teas - in general)

Member Name: samantha

Product:	Green Teas - in general
Date:	25/05/01 (1090 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see above

Disadvantages: loo roll

mmmmmmmmm tea. I do love a good cup of tea. Lemon tea has always been my tipple, but when I was struck down by a pain that could not be identified by the doctors or the hospital (in my...cough.. bowel) and has been attributed to IBS, stress and women’s things (?). I decided to search for myself and lo and behold the Internet suggested green tea for a variety of internal complaints due to its 'soothing' qualities and it will apparently help me live for ever (exaggerating).

I was warned that it had a bit of a strange taste, but I can drink pretty much anything and by this time I was prepared to drink elephant wee if I thought it would do me any good!

I visited my local health food shop and bought the cheapest bags I could find (green tea and lemon grass) and it tasted wonderful. Since them I've been on green tea and lemon, green tea and jasmine (very weird, takes some getting used to) and just green tea.

I don't know whether this is responsible but my pain has improved so much now that (cross fingers) its actually not been present for about 2 months.
………………R 30;…………. .

General Info on Green Tea

Tea is derived from the plant, Camellia sinensis. Green tea is not fermented, so the active constituents remain unchanged. Chinese legend states that tea was discovered accidentally by an emperor 4,000 years ago (it fell in his water). Chinese medicine recommends green tea for a variety of ailments including headaches, digestion and detoxification.

Tea and cancer

‘Scientists at Purdue University may have uncovered one way in which tea inhibits cancer growth. At the American Society of Cell Biology 12/21/98, they announced that when they tested black and green teas, they found that EGCs inhibit tNOX activity. They also noted that because the EGC content is higher in green teas vs. black teas (10 times higher), they would
recommend drinking green tea over black teas. When presenting their paper they indicated that cancer cells whose tNOX is inhibited by EGC can divide but not grow after dividing, and therefore they die. They still can not say what amount of green tea you should drink, only that drinking it is good for you’.
(from foodandlife.com/cancer)

And from the Green Tea week campaign in Scotland

'Research suggests that green tea possesses cancer preventive properties. It contains antioxidants which protect cells from oxidation damage, and polyphenolic compounds which are thought to block the formation of some carcinogenic compounds in the body'.


Food poisoning

Green tea has been shown to control bacteria and has been used to treat diarrhoea.

Anti Oxidants

Green Tea is a powerful anti-oxidant that provides twenty to thirty times the biological activity of other individual anti-oxidants. Current beauty products are packed full of anti oxidants promising to help in the fight against ageing, so taking them from the inside will clearly provide a benefit.

Oral health

A natural source of fluoride and research shows that an increase of just one cup per day may help fight tooth decay. Probably just stops you guzzling the coke.




Weight loss

This was one thing that I did not know about but researching on the web seems to confirm that this is how a lot of companies are pushing green tea to consumers

‘According to a recent article in the AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NUTRITION, the consumption of green tea seems to speed up calorie burning. What's more, green tea works without relying on significant amounts of caffeine as found in many of today's diet pills. The authors of the study even suggest that green tea may actually "play a role in the control of body composition."’

(www.emazing.com)

Claims like this
make me a little uneasy, although I’d like to believe them. A word of warning, you may loose weight if you drink vast amounts of green tea but only because it’s a diuretic, like black tea and can speed up digestion meaning frequent visits to the toilet if you drink too much.

And here’s an interesting suggestion from a unusual lady.. (Rachel Stearns)

I tape a fresh tea bag to the vent on the dashboard of my car. That way, when I turn on the heat or AC, I can smell the sweet aroma. The smell also lingers for a long time after the tea bag comes off. So far, I have only used black tea, but I am sure the fruit teas would be great to use!


………………R 30;….

So there you go, its cheap, its has the benefits outlined above and it’s worth a try. The minimum requirement for health benefits is 3 cup a day, brewed for 3 minutes, although some scientists have recommended 10 cups – so maybe you should splash out (ha ha) on some extra loo role before you embark on your journey into the world of green tea.

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