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Green Tea
Report
How do you
fit a miracle in a cup?
Dating back more than 4,000 years, Chinese diet green tea has
been long revered as a tasty drink that can ward off diseases
and improve one’s well-being. Since its first recorded use
during the time of Emperor Shen Nung, the link between Chinese
diet green tea and good health has never been severed. It’s
been used as treatment for everything from headaches to
depression. Today, various health benefits of green tea are
constantly being reported and many scientists are now focusing
their attention on the simple, yet elegantly profound beverage
that is green tea.
Where It Comes From
Like all three of the major Asian teas in the market, green tea
comes from the plant called Carmellia sinensis. Much of the
health benefits of green tea diets owe to the steaming method
of making it. As opposed to black and oolong tea which
undergoes full oxidization, green tea diet is only gently
steamed, preserving the natural antioxidants in its original
form.
The antioxidants in green tea helps fight away free radicals.
These free radicals are the major contributing factors to aging
as well as the ensuing degeneration of cells as a result of it.
Scientists have reason to believe that free radicals also play
a role in various degenerative diseases such as arthritis,
rheumatism, Alzheimer’s disease, and even cancer.
A Drink Steeped With Tradition
According to tradition, Chinese diet green tea could cure
anything from headaches, body aches, and pains to constipation
and depression. Over the centuries, further more health claims
are made on account of Chinese diet green tea.
Chinese diet green tea is said to increase the blood flow
throughout the body. Because Chinese diet green tea contains a
little caffeine, ingesting this drink stimulates the heart and
allows the blood to flow more freely through the blood vessels.
For the same reason that Chinese diet green tea stimulates
blood flow, it also stimulates mental clarity.
Chinese diet green tea detoxifies the body. The presence of
polyphenols, a naturally occurring antioxidant in Chinese diet
green tea, the beverage is said to combat harmful free radicals
and help keep the body free from diseases. In this regard,
Chinese diet green tea helps maintain the overall well-being of
the body. Antioxidants in Chinese diet green tea can boost
immunity, preserve young-looking skin, and brighten the
eyes.
Chinese diet green tea aids in digestion and banishes fatigue.
Chinese diet green tea is also said to prolong the
lifespan.
For many years, men of science remained skeptical about the
health claims made by Chinese diet green tea enthusiasts. Their
doubt was changed to a more positive reception when subsequent
researchers proved the disease-preventing attributes of Chinese
diet green tea and confirmed most of the health claims.
The Secret to Longevity?
That just might be.
The role of Chinese diet green tea in promoting longevity has
been investigated upon by many researchers. They found the
premise of their study on observing that Japanese women who are
greater-than-average Chinese diet green tea drinkers; have
lower mortality rates compared to others. This led the
researchers to believe that Chinese diet green tea has “a
protective factor against premature death.”
The polyphenols found in Chinese diet green tea may be held
accountable. With its high amount of polyphenols, Chinese diet
green tea seems to have a stimulating effect on the immune
system. Stronger immune system as a result of drinking Chinese
diet green tea helps reduce risks of acquiring any
illnesses.
HEALTH BENEFITS:
Fighting Cancer
There are many health benefits associated with having a green
tea diet. One of these green tea diet benefits is preventing
cancer. Certain substances present in green tea diets are said
to help in destroying cancer cells without harming any
neighboring tissues. This substance in green tea diets is
called epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG.
In the 1994 edition of the Journal of National Cancer
Institute, the results of an epidemiological study stated that
one of the health benefits of drinking green tea is that it can
reduce the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women
by up to 60%.
The University of Purdue has also recently concluded a research
on how a certain compound present in green tea can stop cancer
cells from growing.
A Healthy Drink to a Healthy Heart
Study after study has shown that drinking Chinese diet green
tea and eating polyphenol-rich foods reduces the risk of any
heart complications. Drinking Chinese diet green tea also helps
strengthen the blood vessels that provide oxygen and valuable
nutrients to the heart and brain. It has been shown that men
who drink Chinese diet green tea have 75 percent less
possibility of having a stroke than those who don’t drink
Chinese diet green tea.
Chinese diet green tea helps lower total cholesterol levels and
improve the ratio between LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol.
Study shows that men who drink nine or more cups of Chinese
diet green tea daily have lower cholesterol levels than those
who drink fewer than two cups.
Lowering Down Cholesterol
Obesity has become one of the major health issues in our
society today. In fact, more than half of the American
population is overweight or obese. As a result, diet and weight
loss plans have become increasingly popular. But not all diet
plans work. And not all of them are necessarily risk-free. A
safer alternative for people wanting to lose weight are green
tea diets.
Green tea diets can be a potential cure to obesity. The
catechin polyphenols present in green tea diets can delay the
reaction of gastric and pancreatic lipases in the body. These
enzymes are actually the ones responsible for converting
calories in the body into fats. By delaying these enzymes,
green tea diets can therefore stop fat from being stored and
prevent obesity in people.
Green tea also has the ability to lower down cholesterol levels
and improve the ratio between good (HDL) cholesterol and bad
(LDL) cholesterol. The EGCG in green tea can stop blood from
forming abnormal clots (thrombosis), a leading cause of heart
attacks and strokes.
Other Health Benefits
Green tea has always been known to have several health
benefits, but who knew that it could contribute to weight loss
as well?
A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition show that green tea extract can increase metabolism
and fat oxidation of the body. In theory, scientists believe
that the weight loss benefits of green tea extracts are due to
their caffeine content but the results of the study show
otherwise as they discovered that green tea extracts have
weight loss benefits beyond that of caffeine.
In their study, the researchers administered alone the same
amount of caffeine as that in green tea extracts but found that
it did not make any significant changes in the body’s overall
energy expenditure. This led them to conclude that green tea
extracts have ingredients in them that actively interact with
each other, promoting increased metabolism and fat oxidation
that lead to weight loss.
Further findings indicated that a certain compound found in
green tea extracts might be the ingredient that causes weight
loss. These green tea extract compounds, called Flavonoids, may
alter the way the body uses norepinephrine, a hormone that
monitors how calories are burned. When flavonoids interact with
other green tea extract ingredients, more calories are burned
thus contributing to weight loss.
Another ingredient that actively contributes to the weight loss
benefits of green tea extracts is the compound catechin
polyphenols. These compounds also interact with other green tea
extract ingredients in order to promote weight loss by fat
burning and thermogenesis (a process of losing energy by
daytime heat).
The great thing about the weight loss benefit of green tea
extracts is that it does not have any adverse side-effects.
Unlike other herbal products like ephedra and prescription
drugs for obesity, green tea extract does not increase the
speed of heart rates or raise blood pressure. Not only that,
but it also appears that green tea diets may act as a mild
appetite-suppressant because of the presence of caffeine.
Caffeine may be harmful for the body since an excess of it can
cause heart palpitations, hypertension, and insomnia. However,
because green tea diets contain only very low levels of
caffeine, there is no danger of experiencing these
side-effects.
In this regard, green tea extract is an effective and safer
alternative to other weight loss products which may cause harm
to the user.
The study conducted by the University of Geneva on the weight
loss benefit of green tea extract implicated that green tea
extract can also help thyroid patients. According to dietitian
Lynn Moss, M.S., R.D., green tea extract is a healthier choice
for people with thyroid who may be too sensitive to stimulants.
Green tea extract can promote weight loss by increasing
metabolism without over stimulating the adrenal glands.
Green Tea and Weight Loss
Green tea is a great alternative for people who are on weight
loss programs because it can help them lead a healthier
lifestyle. For instance, instead of drinking coffee and cream
which area high in calories, green tea weight loss programs can
not only save you from taking in too much calories but also let
you take in several healthful substances like polyphenols and
flavonoids. Green tea also contains a small amount of caffeine,
a key substance used in most weight loss programs because of
its appetite-suppressant properties.
Other studies show that green tea in weight loss programs can
help reduce fat by inhibiting the effects of insulin. Insulin
is responsible for converting glucose into energy for the body
to be stored into fat. By delaying insulin, green tea weight
loss programs enable sugar to be sent directly to the muscles
for instant use, thus preventing fats from forming.
Green tea in weight loss programs can also promote
thermogenesis, the process by which the body burns fat and
releases calories. This process is brought on by the
interaction of the caffeine content and catechin polyphenols
present in green tea. This is why weight loss programs based on
green tea is an effective way to stimulate metabolic rates.
No supplement or weight loss program is known to work miracles.
However, studies do indicate that green tea have many benefits
in store for those enrolled in weight loss
programs.
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