by John G Thomas

Created on: January 20, 2009   Last Updated: December 02, 2011

In Britain we love a nice cup of tea. After all the British Empire was built on cups of tea.

I recently read an article about the amazing health benefits of tea. Not the average cup with milk and two sugars that we hold so dear in the west but "green" tea, which is the favourite tea of both China and Japan.

Both black tea and green tea come from the same plant but black tea unlike its greener brother loses most of its nutrients in the fermentation process. Legend has it that an emperor was boiling water to drink some 5,000 years ago when a gust of wind blew some leaves into the water which upon drinking had a refreshing taste and light green colour. Apart from being a daily beverage, green tea was used in religious ceremonies and drunk by monks to help maintain a relaxed yet alert state during meditation. Green tea has been reported as being used in Chinese medicine for nearly 4,000 years.

This has sparked much interest in the west and in Asia with scientific research proving that the consumption of green tea reduced instances of oesophageal cancers in Chinese men and woman by nearly 60%. Studies have also shown that compounds in green tea can help to stop the growth in cancer cells.

What could possibly explain these amazing findings? Green tea has high levels of a compound called " Epigallocatechin gallate" or EGCG for short. EGCG is an extremely powerful antioxidant that can kill cancer cells and stop new ones growing. This powerful antioxidant is more powerful than both vitamin C and Vitamin E in healing and protecting healthy cell growth. This is a truly astonishing find. But wait there's more.

In the diet conscious world we live in weight loss aids are very popular although not all can be considered as healthy as green tea. Green tea is also reported to increase the metabolism and therefore burn extra calories. This could be due to the amount of caffeine present in green tea.

Green tea also contains antibacterial and antiviral properties, which means it can help stop the spread of disease and aid in recovery from colds and the flu. It is also reported to be able to help combat certain bacteria that causes food poisoning and therefore is a good drink to have with a meal.

Green tea can also help prevent the build up of plaque and fight the cause of bad breath, so why not try and cut down on your dental bills and drink more green tea!

Green tea can also help boost your immune system because it is high in polyphenols, so a cup of green tea could help warn off those nasty winter colds. Due to the high antioxidant content in green tea it can reportedly help fight the aging process and help keep your body feeling younger.

Another fantastic report for green tea is that apparently it can hep lower blood pressure and also lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol while helping maintain HDL or "good" cholesterol levels. This is a fantastic find as cholesterol lowering drugs such as statins have unwanted side effects and are not cheap.

If all these claims and reports are true then China and Japan have been enjoying this miracle beverage for thousands of years and it is about time us Westerners joined them! For the small price of some of nature's finest loose-leaf green tea you could enjoy greater health and wellbeing.

So go on, sit down, put your feet up and have a nice cup of green tea.

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