For a good 5,000 years and more, people have enjoyed the benefits of drinking green tea. In fact, green tea has enjoyed longer use than black tea, oolong and white tea. This type of beverage retains its green coloration simply because it is “processed” immediately, and that the tea leaves have undergone very little oxidation. As with the olden times, many people prefer the time-tested methods of preparing green tea, where tea leaves are often picked right off the shrub, washed and seeped in boiling water to achieve the authentic taste and aroma. As such, there have been many healthful claims associated with drinking green tea or ingesting products that are green-tea based.
During earlier times, some purported claims include: aiding digestion; curing blotchiness and beriberi disease; easing the hangover effects of alcohol; helping control bleeding or speeding up the healing process for flesh wounds; improving brain and urinary functions; regulating blood sugar; and preventing fatigue. These days, with modern technology at hand, some of the proven claims of green tea consumption include: improving insulin sensitivity and tolerance to glucose (a great aid for diabetics); lowering the chances of suffering from one or more forms of heart diseases; preventing the onset of certain types of cancer producing cells; and promoting weight loss by increasing fat oxidation.
Green Tea Benefits
Also, it has been proven that green tea contains high levels of bioflavonoids, or simply flavonoids, which promote antioxidant activities in the body. As a rule, oxidation in the body is quite normal, and often times necessary as well. Oxidation causes cell decay, which is really not as bad as it sounds. Cell decay promotes new cells to develop, and as a person matures, this is but common. Certainly, height growth and changes in the human physique are caused by earlier cells decaying and being replaced by new ones. As an additional benefit of oxidation, green tea antioxidants cause faster fat oxidation, or the rapid burning of fat cells in the body, so that it can be converted into energy.
However, as the person matures, the body’s production process of new cells also slows down and this is where oxidation because somewhat of a problem. Oxidation causes the wrinkles to appear on our skin, the dryness to settle on our hair and even the little aches and pains we usually associate with aging. This basically means that the cells we have are not replenished as quickly as before.
Recent Research
The green tea antioxidants discovered in most researches have healthy supplies of polyphenols: a type of flavonoid which is proven to be potent enough to reduce the speed of cell aging to a considerable degree. In fact, a flavonoid compound in green tea called EGCg is now touted to have 20 times the potency of Vitamin C and Vitamin E, especially when it comes to reducing the occurrences of cell damage and subsequent aging. On it own, the polypenols found in green tea help boost white blood cells or leukocytes. These are the cells that help ward of the onset of diseases and possible reasons for further cell decay.
Gaining the antioxidant benefits of green tea is actually as simple as increasing the amount of green tea taken per day. Drinking one or two cups of tea a day is already good; but most doctors would recommend at least four or more cups to fully enjoy all its healthful benefits.