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Tea
For over 4,000 years, healers worldwide have used tea to soothe digestive
distress, relieve headaches, fight infections, control coughing, boost
energy levels, and soothe sunburn, just to name a few of tea's traditional
uses.
Just what is it that makes tea so good for you anyway ?
It's probably the plant tea comes from that deserves all the praise, the
Camellia sinensis. This plant, which may either be a shrub or a tree
depending on the variety, is the source of all teas -- green, black, and
oolong. The only difference between them is how they are processed. The
processing difference means green tea ends up with more polyphenols than
black tea.
And it's those polyphenols that researchers think give green tea, and
possibly to a lesser extent black tea, its healing properties. Active
antioxidants, polyphenols provide protection against free radical damage
that may lead to cancer and heart disease.
The polyphenols in green tea are called catechins. Catechins are the most
important components of green tea because of their ability to scavenge free
radicals. Catechins are also present in black tea, although to a lesser
extent than in green tea.
Combats cancer. Animal studies provide convincing evidence
that green tea can inhibit a variety of cancers, including stomach,
esophageal, gastrointestinal, liver, lung, and pancreatic. Several other
studies have found that black tea also reduces the risk of certain cancers.
Although the results from human studies have been less clear due to the
number of variables associated with tea drinking ( such as how hot it's
taken or whether milk, sugar, or lemon is added), the most recent studies
provide strong support for the theory that tea can prevent cancer in humans.
Several studies have found that drinking as little as one cup of green tea a
week can slash your risk of developing cancer of the esophagus (the tube
that carries food from your throat to your stomach) by as much as 50
percent.
A 27-month investigation of tea drinkers in Shanghai showed that people who
drank at least one cup of freshly brewed green tea a week for six months or
more had a 30 percent lower risk of stomach cancer than people who didn't
drink tea.
Some research even suggests that drinking green tea may block some of the
damage caused by smoking cigarettes. Although Japanese men smoke more
cigarettes than American men, studies show a lower rate of long cancer death
for the Japanese men. One possible explanation may be the Japanese custom of
drinking green tea.
Additional studies have found that green tea reduces he risk of the
following cancers : gastric cancer among Swedish teens, cancer of the mouth
among northern Italians, pancreatic cancer among older people in Poland and
in the United States, and colon cancer among Japanese men.
A natural heart healer ? Animal studies have found that
hamsters given green and black teas have lower cholesterol levels. In rats,
tea has anti-clotting effects. For humans, these studies could mean fewer or
less severe heart attacks, or it could mean that humans just have to drink a
heck of a lot of tea to experience any benefits at all. the hamsters studied
were drinking quantities of tea that would be about equal to two quarts of
tea a day for humans.
That may, in fact, be the case. A recent study of 1,371 Japanese men found
that drinking more than 10 cups (8 cups equals 2 quarts) of green tea a day
reduced total cholesterol levels and increased the "good" HDL cholesterol,
both benefits when it comes to preventing heart disease. Consuming green tea
also reduced the risk of clogged arteries. Another study of elderly Dutch
men provides additional support for tea's good effect on the heart. that
study found regularly consuming tea reduced the risk of coronary heart
disease.
Staves off strokes. Tea may also protect against strokes. A
study of 552 men ages 50 to 69 revealed that those who drank more than 4.7
cups of black tea a day had a 69 percent reduced risk of stroke compared
with the men who drank less than 2.6 cups of tea a day. Researchers suspect
tea protects against stroke by preventing blood clots and by hindering LDL
"bad" cholesterol from clogging arteries.
Inhibits infections. Several studies have found green tea to be useful in
preventing infections, especially diseases that cause diarrhea like cholera
and typhus. Other studies have indicated that green tea may be useful in
preventing the flu and may even protect against the AIDS virus. One animal
study has also found that green tea appears to boost the immune system,
which would further boost your body's ability to fight infections.
Crushes cavities. green tea also appears to offer powerful
protection against cavities by killing the bacteria that commonly lead to
tooth decay. It may also increase the resistance of your tooth enamel to
decay.
Loves your liver. The Japanese study that revealed 10 or more cups of green
tea a day offered heart protection also revealed that green tea protected
against liver cell damage.
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