Why Green Tea Can Prolong Your Life

Polyphenols in green tea are all the rage. The health establishment in the United States now endorses drinking a glass of green tea every day because of these new found polyphenols.

Part of what makes vegetables and fruits so healthy is catechins. Catechins are also found in green tea. The type of catechin found in green tea is the most powerful and is called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate).

EGCG is called a super antioxidant because it is even more powerful than Vitamin C. EGCG destroys free radicals in the human body. Free radicals are unstable molecules that have been linked to disease. Free radicals constantly attack the body leaving it open to disease.

Every cell in your body engages in biochemical processes. DNA, proteins, and lipids all are necessary for cellular processes to take place. What free radicals do is to disrupt the biochemical process in cells. This opens up the body to disease and illness because it compromises the natural defense system in the body. Free radicals can be thought of as highly reactive molecules that react to all the cells and tissue around them. They damage proteins, lipids, and even DNA!

Reactive oxygen metabolites is another name for free radicals. As the name implies, because we are oxygen breathing creatures, reactive oxygen metabolites (ROM) are invariably produced. ROM is responsible for cellular destruction, aging, stroke, heart disease, arthritis and more. Oxygen, the same compound that sustains life also takes it.

If your body does not have much of an antioxidant line of defense, your cells oxidize faster which speeds up the aging process. So by consuming antioxidants, you not only improve your body’s immune system, you slow down the aging process as well.

Since EGCG contained in green tea is a potent antioxidant it neutralizes free radicals and hence is responsible for the health promoting benefits listed below.

Lowers bad cholesterol

Increases HDL levels

Reduces the risk of cancer. Reduces the risk of heart attack

Less strokes suffered by green tea drinkers

Decrease the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis

Improves the immune system

Green tea is an antibacterial substance that not only kills bacteria but improves the body’s response to viruses. Green tea drinkers also burn fat quicker resulting in faster weight-loss.

Increases life span because of antioxidant properties

A single cup of tea has 110 – 320 mg of polyphenols and has a lot of EGCG. Medical researchers now believe that EGCG has over 100 times more antioxidants than Vitamin C and over 20 times more than Vitamin E.

For thousands of years, the Chinese have known the benefits of drinking green tea. In more advanced countries like the United States, medical research continues into the effectiveness of green tea against a variety of illnesses and even aging itself.

The latest research indicates that green tea may help in Alzheimer’s disease by decreasing the production of a protein which in large amounts causes nerve damage and memory loss. All of the benefits of green tea can be attributed to polyphenols, particularly EGCG.

Green tea comes in various dosage forms but the more popular versions are the liquid forms and the patch.