"Better to be deprived of food for three days than tea for one day", is an ancient Chinese proverb summarizing the wisdom of Chinese in consuming green tea. The significance of this proverb and the habit of drinking tea is now being appreciated world wide after four decades of research on the effects of green tea on human health. However, the Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times using it as a remedy for everything from headaches to depression.

The plant Camellia Sinensis (botanical name for tea plant) was originally discovered and grown in southeast asia thousands of years ago and according to a Chinese mythology, the emperor Shen Nung discovered tea for the first time in 2737 BC. Since then the popularity of this beverage has increased to such an extent that it is the most popular beverage, next only to water.

All types of teas are made from the same plant leaves, the difference being the duration of fermentation. Black tea is fully fermented, oolong is partially fermented and green is not fermented at all, only steamed. What gives the green tea its health benefits is the presence of chemicals called polyphenols, notably a catechin called as epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). In black tea, the major polyphenols are theaflavin and thearubigin derived from the fermentation of the catechins. In a 1997 study, researchers from the University of Kansas determined that EGCG is twice as powerful as resveratrol (another benefical polyphenol found in red wine), which may explain why the rate of heart disease among Japanese men is quite low, even though approximately seventy-five percent are smokers. These catechins prevent bad cholesterol from promoting plaque built up that clogs arteries (atherosclerosis) causing heart disease.

The polyphenols in tea have been shown to reduce cancer risk in three different ways. First, they prevent the free radicals (atomic or molecular species with an unpaired electron in outer shell making is highly reactive) from damaging the DNA, nipping cancer initiation in the bud. Second, they prevent uncontrolled cell growth slowing cancer development. And third, these flavanoids can destroy cancer cell without harming the normal cells.

Green tea also helps regulate body weight by promoting the loss of visceral fat (fat that accumulates in the tissues lining the abdominal cavity and surrounding the intestines and internal organs). Unlike fat deposited on the hips and thighs (which gives "pear" body shape), visceral fat (which gives the "apple" body shape) is associated with increased risk for type 2 diabetes. Green tea compounds promote fat loss by inhibiting enzymes that synthesize fatty acids in a form that can be stored in body's adipose (fat) cells. Green tea's effect on muscle ability to take in and burn more fatty acids speeding up fat break also contributes to weight loss in addition to increasing the exercise endurance. Other than the few benefits mentioned above, research has shown the beneficent effect of green tea on bone health, dental health and hypertension among others.

Do not delay drinking tea as polyphenols are destroyed fast and that's why you don't find these beneficial components in bottled tea. As the saying goes, anything is excess is harmful, applies to green tea also. A study at Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences center in Canada shows that excessive consumption of green tea is toxic to the liver. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should also avoid green tea as catechin polyphenols have been shown to cause neural tube birth defects.

Learn more about this author, Dr. Mohammed Shareef.
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