Green Tea Is Why Chinese Are Healthier Than Americans

As an oasis is to the dessert, or a cool breeze to a hot summer night, so is green tea to cholesterol.

For the millions and millions of people suffering from high cholesterol green tea may be that light. You can browse and search the Internet for topics on green tea and cholesterol and come up with hundred of hits.

As western science continues to advance thanks to computers, we now know how triglycerides and LDL contribute to cholesterol. In this advanced age, it seems incredible that a centuries old beverage like green tea can be the source of so much exciting new research.

Green tea goes beyond just being helpful in lowering cholesterol. New research suggests that green tea can also be helpful in preventing cancer. The reason is that green tea has a very high concentration of antioxidants. A research report released by the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showed a positive correlation between cancer avoidance and green tea. In fact, the research showed that green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese by over 55 percent! In another study by the University of Purdue, scientists found that green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells! Another study by the University of Kansas has determined that EGCG, a natural ingredient in tea, may explain why the Japanese have a lower level of heart disease even though 70 percent are smokers!

And more good news! It is not just green tea and cholesterol or green tea and cancer; it is also green tea and high blood pressure. Habitually drinking 5 to 10 cups a day of green tea lowers high blood pressure.

For more that 4,000 years the Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. So it is not just green tea and cholesterol or green tea and cancer; it is also green tea and depression!

There are more studies underway to determine if green tea is helpful for treating or preventing cardiovascular disease, infection, impaired immune function, and even rheumatoid arthritis.

Researchers have found that catechin polyphenols, especially epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is what lowers the risk of cancer. Polyphenols have also been found to limit the negative effects of a fatty diet and of smoking.

There’s more! It is not just green tea and cholesterol or cancer; it is also green tea and weight loss. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a report that found out that men who were given a combination of caffeine and green tea extract burned more calories than those given only caffeine.

There are also studies being done on green tea and tooth decay. Green tea has bacteria killing compounds that help prevent tooth decay.

So why is green tea the focus of all this research and not other teas? The reason is that green tea is healthier because of how it is made. Remember, almost all tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant but how those leaves are processed is what makes all the difference. Green tea leaves are steamed which preserves higher concentrations of EGCG. In the production of oolong and black tea, the leaves are dried or fermented which causes a loss of EGCG.

We should have learned to speak Mandarin or Fukien a long time ago and got to know green tea and cholesterol lowering the Chinese way.

Do not stop your research into the health benefits of drinking green tea. Search the web for many more fascinating articles on this subject and let me know what you find.