|  Green
Tea: Miracle Tea Leaves?
There are many known health benefits or green tea. But can this
miracle tea also help you to lose weight and speed up your metabolism?
By Del Millers, Ph.D.
Green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000
years. In fact, many Chinese people have been drinking green tea
for centuries for all the reported positive aspects that it brings
to their health. This practice has spread to people worldwide and
green tea is now the second most popular beverage in the world.
Green tea is said to have numerous health benefits, including lowering
your cholesterol, boosting your immune system, increasing your metabolism
and helping in the fat-loss process. But can it really do all that?
Let’s find out.
What is green tea?
Green tea came from China between 4,000- 5,000 years ago, and is
made from the dried leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. The leaves
of Camellia Sinensis plant contain powerful antioxidants called
catechins that have been shown in recent studies to fight viruses,
slow aging, and have a many beneficial effects on health. Clinical
tests have shown that catechins destroy free radicals and have far-reaching
positive effects on the entire body.
If you’ve been reading this column regularly, by now you know
that free radicals are highly reactive unstable molecules that can
damage the body at the cellular level, leaving the body susceptible
to cancer, heart disease, and many other degenerative diseases.
There are really only three categories of teas: green, oolong, and
black. Each of these is the leaf of Camellia sinensis and differs
only in duration of fermentation: "black" is fully fermented,
"oolong" is partially fermented, and "green"
is not fermented at all, only steamed. Types of tea such as Ceylon
and Darjeeling refer to the region in which they are grown.
Because the green tea leaves are only steamed, researchers believe
that this prevents the antioxidant compounds from being oxidized
or destroyed. By contrast, black and oolong tea leaves are made
from fermented leaves, which results in the catechins being converted
into other compounds that are not nearly as effective in preventing
and fighting various diseases.
The proof is in the leaves
As I was doing my research for this article, I came across numerous
scientific studies published in some of the top nutrition and medical
journals, providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated
with drinking green tea.
For example, recently, researchers at the University of Purdue concluded
that the catechin (antioxidants) in green tea inhibits the growth
of cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. There is also research
indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels,
as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad
(LDL) cholesterol. Furthermore, in 1994 the Journal of the National
Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study
indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal
cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. This is
very impressive data.
To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking
green tea is reputed to be helpful:
* cancer
* rheumatoid arthritis
* high cholesterol levels
* cariovascular disease
* infection
* impaired immune functionGreen tea and weight loss
I mentioned before that green tea contains high concentrations of
antioxidants called catechin. Researchers believe that these compounds
work with other chemicals to intensify the levels of fat oxidation
and thermogenesis (the rate at which your body burns calories).
Results of a study done at the University of Geneva in Switzerland
were published in the November, 1999 issue of the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers found that men who were given
a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories
than those given only caffeine or a placebo. This led the researchers
to conclude that "green tea has thermogenic properties and
promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content
per se. The green tea extract may play a role in the control of
body composition via sympathetic activation of thermogenesis, fat
oxidation, or both."
Are there any side effects?
To date, the only negative side-effect known from drinking green
tea is insomnia, due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However,
one eight-ounce cup of green tea contains only 30mg of caffeine,
compared to 135mg of caffeine per eight-ounce cup of coffee.
Because caffeine acts as a stimulant, people with irregular heartbeats
or who have anxiety attacks should not drink more than 2 cups a
day. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding should not drink green
tea in large amounts.
Enjoying the benefits of Green Tea:
∑ Green tea should not be steeped in boiling water, but hot
water (around 160-200 degrees).
∑ Use 1 Teaspoon of loose tea per cup or 1 tea bag, and a
little more than 1 cup of water.
∑ Decaffeinated green tea does not show the same benefits
as green tea left in its natural state.
∑ Adding milk negates green tea's beneficial properties.
The bottom line
The benefits of green tea have been well documented in numerous
scientific studies. This is one powerful tea with potent antioxidant
properties that can block the development of cancer cells, reduce
your bad cholesterol and increase your good cholesterol, and has
the potential to accelerate your metabolism -- which can help with
weight loss. If you’re concerned about your health or trying
to lose weight, I would highly recommend that you get rid of the
coffee and have at least one cup of green tea per day. It really
is a miracle tea. Keep in mind that the power of green tea lies
in the fact that it is minimally processed. So go with the tea instead
of the extracts. Enjoy.
— Del Millers, Ph.D. is a fitness and nutrition consultant
and author of three books. Visit his website at delmillers.com
to sign up for his e-mail nutrition newsletter.
DID YOU KNOW:
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