Green Tea
Green Tea Facts
With so many false claims floating around, and information being disguised as truth only to find out it is an advertisement for some product can be entirely frustrating. It leads a person not to believe anything one hears from the television, newspapers, magazines, books, radio, etc. There are currently many, many claims on the benefits of green tea. So is any of it true? Can any of it be believed?
The truth is that the FDA has stated there needs to be more conclusive evidence in order for food products to carry certain statements on them in regards to the benefits of green tea. On the other hand of that statement is the fact the FDA has recently come under fire for many instances of lackadaisical ethics and red tape. So perhaps they, although a government agency that should be trusted, can not be. Maybe truthful information can come by way of where it comes from, what it is and research that has been done.
Okay, where does green tea come from and what is it? Green tea comes from a shrub called Camellia sinensis, native to the south and southeast of the Asian continent. Today the shrub can be grown anywhere there is warm, moist weather. When the young leaves and buds of a cultivated shrub are a required size, they are plucked from the main stem. The different ages of the leaves produce a different quality of tea. Green tea is processed differently than other teas of the same shrub, the leaves are steamed or roasted after being harvested in order to stop the natural oxidation or fermenting process that would proceed otherwise. Most popular and the majority of green teas come from China with fifty percent of the tea industry being theirs, next would be Japan who cultivates and consumes almost nothing but green tea.
Now, how about research? Traditional Chinese medicine has used green tea in treatments for asthma, artery disease, vascular disease, decreases in airway flow to or from the bronchial tubes. They must be sure about the true effects on a patient, since the Chinese culture were noted as being the first to cultivate and use the green tea.
In countries where green tea is a everyday item that is consumed, like China and Japan, an epidemiological studies revealed that a lower incidence of many different cancers were apparent. The Japanese Journal of Nutrition in 1989 reported that tea-producing areas of Japan, where green tea and green tea products are consistently used throughout a person's day was compared with those in other areas of Japan and it showed that stomach cancer mortality rates were lower in the tea-producing regions. There are many more studies regarding cancer and its link to green tea protective abilities for many types of cancers. The one area green tea did not show results in was final stage breast cancer patients.
In 1998 the Japanese Journal of Research reveals Stage III breast cancer patients were not effected by green tea. Population-based studies have shown the antioxidant compounds naturally occurring in green tea may help prevent heart diseases, most specifically coronary artery disease. Research has revealed green tea lowers the "bad" cholesterol while simultaneously raising the "good" cholesterol in human and in animals. The animal study suggests the polyphenols in the green tea blocks the intestinal absorption of cholesterol and assists in removing it from the body.
In the study by a Alic M. in 1999, green tea appeared to reduce inflammation in relation to Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Liver disease was also found to be affected by green tea intake. Population studies uncovered that drinking ten cups or more of green tea daily were less likely to develop damage to the liver and animal studies showed green tea inhibits the growth of liver tumors in mice.
For diabetics, green tea apparently can prevent the development of type 1 diabetes and slow it once started. Animal studies have shown this, by appearing to mimic the actions of insulin the body creates naturally in non-diabetics.
Coinciding with the regulations of blood sugar in the body, it also helps a person to lose weight. Aside from slowing the absorption of carbohydrates and starches, green tea studies have suggested it may boost metabolism and help burn fat.
Some other facts about green tea: green tea generally has half to one-third the caffeine of black tea. More research still is required to prove all this research and there are studies going on presently to find out. Until definite proof can be handed out, people will have to try green tea and complete their own research and the possibilities do look good.