Over the past few years, green tea has gained much attention for the possibility that it has many health benefits. Green tea has been used in Asian cultures for centuries to treat and prevent all kinds of diseases. This, coupled with the reduced incidence of many serious diseases in Asian civilizations, has led researchers to critically study the health benefits of green tea.
Cardiovascular Problems
Among the areas where green tea may have real health benefits is in treating and preventing cardiovascular disease. For instance, Japanese guys have one of the lowest incidences of cardiovascular disease in the world, and the Japanese are a few of the most loyal drinkers of green tea; frequently consuming 8-10 cups every day. This information is much more compelling when you consider that almost 75 percent of Japanese men smoke.
Health Benefits
Green tea has been demonstrated to be effective in lowering LDL cholesterol. Additionally, it inhibits the formation of abnormal blood clots. Blood clots, or thrombosis, are the main cause of heart attacks and strokes. You might find physicians beginning to prescribe green tea along with exercise, dietary changes and medications for lowering cholesterol.
Along with its ability to reduce cholesterol and inhibit blood clots, additionally, it seems that the polyphenols in tea stop the oxidation of low density lipoproteins (ldls). This is the material that causes arterial plaque. This plaque sticks into your arteries, restricting blood flow to your heart (artherosclerosis). The plaque may also lead to blood clots to form. Drinking green tea appears to stop the buildup and reduce the chance of getting blood clots, also.
Research
There have been numerous studies which have supported the notion that green tea is beneficial to the heart. A study by the Center for Preventive Medicine in Kyushu University in Japan showed that among 302 men and 210 women, there was a substantial difference in the amount of atherosclerosis involving the male participants who drank green tea and people who did not.
The difference wasn’t significant in women. The difference was apparent in participants who drank as little as 2-3 cups every day, but was even more noticeable in those who drank 4 or more cups every day. This study concluded that green tea may be effective at preventing atherosclerosis, at least in men.
Besides its preventive properties, there’s also evidence that green tea can help patients who already have cardiovascular disease. A study showed that tea drinkers among heart attack patients may survive longer than those who consume something different.
In this study, participants who drank at least 14 cups of tea per week were 44 percent less likely to die than those who did not drink teamoderate tea drinkers (those who consumed fewer than 14 cups per week) were 28 percent less likely to die for up to four years later than those who did not drink tea.
It was also reported that consumption of green tea is very likely to be beneficial to patients with heart disease. And green tea was known to protect against cardiovascular disease and lower cholesterol.
Needless to say, the study will continue, and we’ll find out more about the benefits of green tea for cardiovascular disease and other health difficulties. One thing seems for sure; green tea does have healthful benefits, primarily because of its powerful anti-oxidants.
Anti-oxidants
They are among our bodies’ best defense mechanisms because they fight free radicals that are created through the process of converting the food we eat into energy. Left unchecked, free radicals damage our cells and DNA. The cell and DNA damage caused by free radicals cause us to age faster, weaken our immune system and make us susceptible to a range of serious diseases, including cancer.
But, anti-oxidants fight these free radicals, ridding our bodies of these. Fruits and vegetables, in addition to green tea are great anti-oxidant resources, and will help us combat free radicals regularly if we make them a part of our everyday life.
Conclusion
It’s important to make sure that if you are drinking tea for your health it is green tea as opposed to traditional black tea. While black tea is a healthy beverage, it’s not quite as healthy as green tea. This is because black tea goes through a fermentation process which changes the anti-oxidants in their original state. When this occurs, some of those health benefits are lost.
So, drink up. Though there is more research to be performed it does seem certain that drinking green tea is good for you. With just a couple cups of this delicious beverage every day, you might be prolonging your life and making it healthier, too!
