A Look at the Benefits and Drawbacks of Drinking Green Tea.
The consumption of Green Tea (camellia sinensis) has long been a staple in Oriental cultures. Recently, people in the west have started to follow suit largely due to the health improvement claims being made with regards to drinking green tea. In addition to the wide variety of green teas available, there are many flavoured green teas, supplements and health care products coming onto the market. With green tea mania at such a high level, is there objective medical evidence to support the health claims?
Health Benefits of Drinking Green Tea
Take a look at this long list of health benefits that have been associated with drinking green tea.
- Dieting - Helps with Weight Loss.
- Cholesterol - Lowers Total Cholesterol Levels.
- Skin Care - Improves Skin Health.
- Energy - Increases Your Energy Level.
- Parkinson’s - Delays the onset of Parkinson’s disease.
- Immunity - Improves overall immunity levels and lessens your chances of getting a cold, throat infection or flu.
- Arthritis - May prevent and reduce the severity of Arthritis.
- Coronary Disease - Provides therapeutic benefits to patients at risk for heart attacks or stroke.
- Diabetes – Prevents or slows the progression of Diabetes.
- Cancer - May prevent the occurance of some forms of cancer.
- Osteoporosis - Slows down the onset of osteoporosis.
- Dental Hygiene - Destroys plaque forming bacteria in your mouth and prevents tooth decay.
- Alzheimer’s Disease – May delay Alzeimer’s Disease.
- Digestion - Provides a natural remedy for stomach upset.
Medical Evidence of Green Tea’s Benefits
With such a long list of health benefit claims is there any wonder that everyone seems to be drinking green tea. Could this really be a magic solution to what ails us? Extensive research is still ongoing concerning most of these medical claims. Scientists agree that green tea is rich in antioxidants having almost 10 times the levels found in fresh fruits and vegetables. The main antioxident that provides these benefits is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). A large number of research efforts are underway to verify or disprove these claims. Early results look promising. Take a look at this collection of online information on Green Tea and judge for yourself whether the hype is justified.
Green Tea - Useful Website Links
A Fountain of Youth
For a quick overview of green tea take a look at this Squidoo lens entitled “Green Tea For Health – Asia’s Fountain of Youth”
Green Tea For Health
The Good News on Green Tea
This health and technology site provides a short article with scientific references on research being done with green tea.
Research on Green Tea
Types of Green Tea
Wikipedia has a good article describing the various types of green teas (both Chinese and Japanese) and a brief description of some recent scientific studies that have been undertaken to research the effects of green tea.
Chinese and Japanese Teas
Potential Effects of Tea on Health
This article goes through the list of health benefit claims including anti-cancer properties, immunity, HIV and stress and provides specific references to scientific and medical journals that are researching the claim.
Health Effects of Tea
Green Tea Benefits: Complete Information For Your Health
This site provides an easy to read but comprehensive presentation on green tea, its benefits, types of teas etc. Although no specific references are provided it does give you a fairly complete overview of all the health benefits claimed.
Green Tea Benefits
Green Tea: From the World’s Healthiest Foods Organization
The information on Green Tea is provided by a non-profit, objective and unbiased organization focused on food and health. The article is quite extensive, touching on a wide variety of information concerning green tea. It covers history, types, preparation, safety, as well as a detailed look at the medical benefits.
Detailed Article on Health Benefits
A Medical View on Green Tea
Here is a report on Green Tea from The University of Maryland Medical Center. It covers the usual claims of health benefits and provides detailed medical references for the claims being made should you want to followup with more extensive information relating to one aspect of the health benefits of drinking green tea.
Medical Reference of Green Tea Benefits
Cancer Management With Green Tea
The American Cancer Society weighs in with a short article on Green Tea as it relates to cancer. Considered an “Alternative Method of Cancer Management”, the article provides information on its use, health claims, supporting evidence and possible complications.
Health Claims Relating To Cancer
National Cancer Institute Position on Tea
The National Cancer Institute provides another article covering similar ground.
NCI and Green Tea
Havard Medical School’s Position on Green Tea Benefits
A brief press release on the benefits of drinking green tea for health reasons. More details are available if you are a subscriber to the Harvard Health Pblications.
Drink Green Tea For Your health
Japanese Study Links Green Tea To Lower Death Risk
WebMD provides a summary of findings on green tea that appeared in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Green Tea For Long Life
The Green Tea Benefits Report Card
The Mayo Clinic provides an interesting table grading each of the health claims individually based on the level of medical support available for the claim.
Objective Health Claim Review
A Guide To Using Green Tea Safely
Yahoo provides a short article covering some of the concerns and restrictions relating to green tea as well as a list of possible side effects.
Safe Green Tea Use
Drinking Green Tea
Although there clearly seems to be room for more research on the subject, evidence is starting to accumulate that drinking green tea can be beneficial to your health for at least some conditions.
If you do decide to start drinking green tea make sure to consult your doctor to clear yourself of any possible medical side effects. Green tea does contain a significant amount of caffeine. If you are pregnant, suffer from certain medical conditions particularly high blood pressure, insomnia, asthma, high cholesterol or have a heart condition, get medical clearance first.
Finally, here’s a link to some tips on brewing a good cup of green tea: Top 10 mistakes when making green tea.
There is also a book entitled The Complete Guide To Green Tea, available in a downloadable format. This comprehensive guide covers virtually everything you need to know on the subject. Read about the different types of teas, how to prepare a perfect cup of tea, even a guide to making iced green tea. Just click on the image for more information.
Even if it turns out that green tea does not provide all the health benefits being claimed, just remember this ancient Chinese proverb: “Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one”.
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