Can Drinking Green Tea Prevent The Flu?
Posted on Aug 27, 2009 under Best Tomatoes |Best way to preserve 5 gallons of green tomatoes- salsa, relish, or canning recipes?
Best way to preserve 5 gallons of green tomatoes- salsa, relish, or canning recipes?
August 27th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Does drinking green tea really slow or prevent cellular destruction?
if so, then why don’t I drink tea everyday?
do you?
August 28th, 2009 at 5:01 am
I do…
The Health Benefits of Green Tea
There is plenty of research to date that indicates green tea possesses a variety of benefits to human health as well. Although many of these benefits have been widely known for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is only in the last few decades that green tea has come under the scrutiny of scientists in the western world.
The claims that it really is an elixir of life and preventative cure for many ailments are slowly being validated through indepth research. For over 4,000 years Chinese Medicine has recommended the Camellia Sinensis as a preventative to headaches, body aches, pains, depression and to generally assist in detoxifying, energising and prolonging good health long into old age.
The majority of this research has been centred on the health giving properties of the polyphenols found in the green tea leaf. The polyphenol referred to as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) has recently been isolated in many seperate studies and has been found to have significant antioxidant, anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory properties as well as having a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system.
EGCG, the most abundant of all the tea catechins, is just one of a variety of compounds and amino acids that are stored within the leaf itself. This cocktail of vitamins, minerals and amino acids is also thought to assist the body in warding of the effects of premature ageing, maintaining the chemistry of the body so it’s an inhospitable place for food poisoning pathogens like Salmonella, alleviating certain allergies, balancing out cholesterol levels and creating a flora in the mouth that promotes healthy teeth and gums.
Green Tea and Ageing
Probably the most talked about property of green tea is its apparent ability to slow down the ageing process. This Polyphenol rich beverage packs an almighty antioxidant punch by helping to neutralise free radicals in the body which left to their own devices can cause untold damage to healthy cells. Oxidative stress like this is one of a combination of mechanisms that can eventually lead to chronic or degenerative diseases.
It is also thought that the tea catechins are effective in reducing the build up of LDL cholesterol (the bad type), while maintaining the good HDL cholesterol (the good type). It seems catechins also have one other remarkable trick up their sleeve in that they have the ability to impede the production of Angiotensin II, which is one of the predominant causes of high blood pressure.
References :
http://www.green-tea.co.uk