Camellia sinensis is a shrub or small tree native to South and East Asia, from which 'tea', the most commonly consumed beverage in the world after water, is made.
The most popular variety, black tea, is made by fermen-tation of the leaves. The healthier form, green tea, comes from the unfermented leaves, but many people, unaware of this distinction have mistaken the regular 'tea bag' tea for green tea.
Both black and green teas have been shown to have health benefits, but it is green tea that contains much higher levels of health-promoting substances. In fact, some special antioxidants called polyphenols are found only in the green variety. Within half an hour of drinking a cup of green tea, blood levels of antioxidants may rise by up to 50 per cent.
THE ASIAN PARADOX
Scientists have noticed that despite their heavy cigarette smoking habits, people in many Asian countries enjoy low levels of heart disease and a reduction in many cancers. This they called the Asian Paradox. Some research strongly suggests that the high consumption of green tea may explain this paradox. Many people in Asia regularly consume over one litre of green tea daily.
Green tea and heart disease
Despite modern medicine's amazing arsenal of drugs, machines and technology, and the expenditure of billions of dollars, heart disease continues to be the number one killer of men and women.
Here are some interesting data about green tea and heart disease. In the Boston Area Health Study in the United States, men and women with no previous heart disease, who regularly drank one or more cups of tea daily, had a 45 per cent lower risk of heart attack when compared with those who did not drink tea. Another study in the Netherlands showed even greater protection against strokes from regular tea drinking.
Research from Yale University published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, suggests that this is due to the anti-oxidant effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), a polyphenol in green tea.
EGCG was shown to reduce the formation of blood clots, to regulate cholesterol and fats in the blood, and promote healthy blood vessels, all-important factors in reducing cardiovascular disease. Interestingly, researchers from the University of Kansas have deter-mined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol, the anti-oxidant in red wine considered to be also beneficial to the heart.
Green tea and cancer
Many studies suggest that green tea protects against a number of common cancers, including lung, prostate and breast cancer. Japanese research showed a 50 per cent reduction in breast cancer among Japanese women who regularly consumed two or more cups of green tea daily.
Similar reductions were reported in the incidence of prostate cancer in Japanese men.
Incidences of other forms of cancer were also reduced. In 1994, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published a study that showed that drinking green tea reduced the risk of oesophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly 60 per cent.
The powerful antioxidant EGCG has also been credited for this anti-cancer effect. Animal studies at the US National Cancer Institute showed that green tea antioxidants, reduced the number and size of tumours, and inhibited the growth of cancer cells.
Other benefits
Green tea improves the meta-bolism, increases energy and facilitates the burning of excess body fat. Green tea is also good for maintaining oral hygiene. It contains cavity-fighting fluorine, as well as antibacterial ingredients that prevent bad breath and suppress plaque formation.
Using green tea
To obtain the health benefits of green tea, one has to have a high enough dose of its healthy antioxidants. As our local lifestyle does not usually involve drinking large quantities of tea, I recom-mend using a patented concen-trated green tea called Herbal Tea Concentrate.
Modern technology is employed to create a powder from green tea leaves, high in antioxidants. The powder dissolves instantly in hot or cold water, making the benefits of green tea amazingly convenient, affordable and enjoyable. It comes natural or in a variety of fruity flavours.
Milk and green tea
Adding cow's milk to tea will neutralise the healthy effects of tea, because casein, a protein in cow's milk, binds to the antioxidants in tea, especially EGCG. Plant-based 'milks' like soy or rice milk do not contain casein and do not have similar effects on tea.
The caffeine question
Contrary to common belief, medical science has established many health benefits from caffeine. As with so many other things, it is excessive amounts of caffeine that may create problems. Green tea contain less caffeine than black tea, and far less than coffee. In addition, caffeine is only one of hundreds of substances naturally occurring in the tea leaves. This provides a balanced effect from the tea. So, in addition to the stimu-lating effect of caffeine, there is the soothing, stress relieving effect of another substance called treanine, also found in green tea.
Modern medicine would be hard put to find an agent that is stimulating and energising while, at the same time, calming and relaxing. Nature does it effortlessly in a cup of green tea. A cup or two a day may well help keep the doctor away.
You may email Dr Vendryes at vendryes@mac.com, visit him at www.anounceofprevention.org or listen to An Ounce of Prevention on POWER 106 FM on Fridays at 8:00 p.m.