Green tea’s health benefits are amazing and it has been used in China, as a medicine for more than 4,000 years. Chinese doctors feel that if you are drinking 3-5 cups a day you are using the tea at a level that will provide health benefits.
Its ability to assist in helping to protect us from and/or reduce the risk of so many diseases make it a great choice as a healthy beverage. Green tea contains an antioxidant epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG) which is thought to help us address a wide range of diseases, from bacterial or viral infections to chronic degenerative conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis, periodontal disease, rheumatoid arthritis and stroke.
Research shows that the health benefits from Green Tea are primarily due to its anti oxidizing properties which come from its Caffeine, Catechin Polyphenols and Theonine
A while back 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 60%. Another recent study done at the University of Purdue concluded that the compound epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG) in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells.
The only negative side effect reported from drinking green tea is insomnia due to the fact that it contains caffeine. However, green tea contains less caffeine than coffee: there are approximately thirty to sixty mg. of caffeine in six – eight ounces of tea, compared to over one-hundred mg. in eight ounces of coffee.
Eating a plant base raw living food diet is the mainstay of disease prevention. If you are going to drink Green Tea then keep in mind that the benefits are many, but the dangers associated with caffeine and the affects it has on our adrenal systems should be taken into consideration.
Love and Blessings,
Robert Morgan – Bobby
Health Education Director
Union City Michigan
Share this:
Robert Morgan, Naturopath 