Go Three Days Without Food But Never A Day Without Green Tea

Author: Steve P Smith

Article:
Green tea became well known in China during the period of the
Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) and was quickly prized as a promoter
of health and vitality. There's good evidence, however, that its
many benefits had already been known to the elite for thousands
of years by then. In fact legend tells of a stray camellia
blossom, drifting on the breeze one day in 2737 BC, which found
its way into the Emperor Shen Nung's steaming drinking water and
quickly infused it with all the characteristic refreshment and
invigoration we associate with green tea.

So renowned did the benefits of green tea become that detailed
rules of etiquette for its correct consumption emerged,
culminating in the publication of Lu Yu's "The Classic Art of
Tea". This famous poet and Buddhist priest laid down strict
procedures for the preparation and serving of the perfect cup of
tea. The water had to come from a gently flowing stream and be
combined with leaves in a fine porcelain cup. And the resulting
brew of green tea was ideally to be drunk next to a lily pond in
the company of a beautiful woman.

Not surprisingly, given this kind of marketing, the popularity
of green tea spread rapidly throughout China in the centuries
following the publication of Lu Yu's work. "Rather three days
without food than a day without tea" became the saying, as news
reached the remotest corners of the vast empire. Books and poems
were composed in green tea's honour; Emperors gave particularly
prized samples as gifts, and the teahouse became a familiar
feature of countless cities, towns and villages.

So just what are the health benefits of drinking green tea? The
Chinese knew it from earliest times as an aid to good digestion
when consumed after a meal, stimulating the absorption of
nutrients from food; and it's since also become known as a
powerful anti-oxidant and detoxifying agent which can speed the
flushing of toxins from the body. But there's far more to green
tea than this.

Most importantly, leaves for green tea are steamed rather than
fermented, preserving the vital Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG)
compound. EGCG is just one of a number of catechin polyphenols
found in tea, but research suggests that it's a particularly
powerful anti-oxidant, the presence of which makes green tea
anything up to ten times more powerful than the more common
fermented (black) teas.

In fact, today's Western science is increasingly confirming the
health benefits long claimed for the consumption of green tea.
And as amazing as it may seem, EGCG and related compounds in
green tea appear directly to target the most common killer
diseases often attributed to western affluence and diet. Some
research, for example, has credited EGCG with the ability to
reduce total levels of cholesterol whilst at the same time
improving the ratio of "good" (HDL) cholesterol to "bad" (LDL)
cholesterol; thereby helping to protect against both heart
attacks and strokes - still two of the most frequent premature
killers in the Western world.

Some exciting Swiss research published by the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition in November 1999 also suggests that green
tea may help with the increasing problem of obesity by prompting
the body to burn fat at a significantly increased rate.

But perhaps most excitingly, there's now evidence that green tea
may even help in tackling cancer. For example, in 1994 the
Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results
of a study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk
of oesophageal cancer in Chinese people by almost sixty percent.
And University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that as
few as four or five cups of green tea a day may provide enough
EGCG to help retard the growth of tumours - and this without
apparent damage to surrounding healthy tissue.

Now if after reading all of the above you're just raring to add
green tea to your daily dietary regime I wouldn't blame you at
all. In fact I'd actively encourage you. But it's only fair to
give you the whole picture. And that means pointing out that the
consumption of large amounts of green tea could risk adding some
caffeine to your normal intake.

Let me put this in perspective though. A standard six to eight
ounce cup of green tea will contain between 30 and 60 milligrams
of caffeine. A similar size cup of coffee will likely contain
more than 100 milligrams. So just replace a couple of cups of
your normal coffee intake with your recommended four to five
cups of green tea and your caffeine intake's going to stay
level. But if you want to eliminate caffeine entirely then
caffeine-free green teas are now becoming readily available.

So you can enjoy all the benefits cited above without any of the
possible side-effects of caffeine, and with ever increasing
interest in the health promoting properties of green tea, new
benefits are coming to light all the time. Already for example,
the anti-oxidant (ie anti-ageing) qualities of the tea are being
applied to the manufacture of skin care products.

These applications may still seem a little far-fetched to you
right now, but in terms of your internal organism there's no
longer any doubt that green tea is truly one of nature's great
gifts - a very inexpensive but extremely valuable health
booster.

About the author:
Steve Smith is a freelance copywriter specialising in direct
marketing and with a particular interest in health products.
Find out more at
http://www.sisyphuspublicationsonline.com/LiquidNutrition/GreenTe
a.htm