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Forget Chai, Drink Green Tea!
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 An ancient (think 4000 years ago) Chinese proverb goes, "Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one."
If that sounds strange, consider that the ancient Chinese used green tea for its medicinal properties to treat everything from headaches to depression.
Evidently, even in the absence of modern-day research, the Chinese recognized that the catechin polyphenols in green tea have immense benefits. So what are catechin polyphenols? These are powerful antioxidants that destroy free radicals, fight viruses and slow aging. No wonder then that traditionally, the Chinese / Japanese lived long lives and boasted of a younger-looking countenance (black hair!) even in their senior years.
Swap red wine for green tea
In fact, so potent is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant found in green tea, that it is considered to be at least a hundred times more effective than vitamin C and twenty-five times more effective than vitamin E. If you're new to this term, antioxidants are substances that protect cells and DNA from free radicals that cause the cellular damage that is associated with cancer, heart disease and other degenerative diseases.
Perhaps you've had friends hand you a glass of red wine and advise you to drink up to make the most of its resveratrol (an antioxidant) content. Incidentally, the catechins in green tea are twice as effective as resveratrol!
Fortunately, today we have access to ample scientific research that conclusively proves the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea.
Health benefits of green tea
Speaking of its cancer prevention and fighting properties, consider that thanks to their high per capita green tea consumption, residents of Uji and Shizuoka where most of Japan's green tea is harvested have among the lowest rates of cancer in the world. Numerous scientific studies connect the consumption of green tea and a reduced risk of cancers of the skin, breast, lung, colon, esophagus and bladder. Further, green tea both reduces risk as well as inhibits the growth of cancer cells.
Other health conditions that are prevented or mitigated by green tea are:
- Lowers blood sugar
- Reduce risk of high blood pressure
- Boosts the immune system
- Lowers LDL (bad) and thus total cholesterol levels
- Reduces risk of heart attacks and strokes by inhibiting the formation of abnormal blood clots (thrombosis)
- Helps dieters burn more calories
- Prevent tooth decay by killing dental plaque causing bacteria
- Prevents or reduce symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
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