How
Western Science finally “discovered”….
of
Chinese Green Tea as an
Anti-Oxidant
Supplement
as the Chinese have used
it for 4,000 years!
Dear
Friend,
The
news today is all about the rapid march of the Chinese economy
which it seems likely will shortly overtake all but the very
largest Western nations. But is there a danger that
in importing Western affluence the Chinese may also import
Western levels of the characteristic diseases of affluence –
obesity, diabetes, heart attack, stroke, even cancer?
Perhaps,
but probably not, so long as traditional Chinese medicine retains
its focus on promoting the balance and harmony of the entire
human organism; on unleashing and then harnessing the
body’s own incredible healing powers
Now
no one would suggest that you try to adopt the whole Chinese way
of life wholesale. It would be way too difficult for someone
brought up in the West. Nor would anybody in their right
mind deny that conventional western medicine has delivered
enormous benefits to countless millions of people. But
could just a little bit of Chinese wisdom applied to your western
lifestyle do you a huge amount of good?
The
ever increasing popularity of Chinese medicine in the West
strongly suggests that it can. But better yet; there
isn’t even any need for you wait until you’re ill or
consult a specialist practitioner to derive the benefits of the
Chinese approach to health. As simple a change as
incorporating a few cups of tea a day in your routine will over
time deliver dramatic improvements in your well being.
How Chinese
green tea refreshed and invigorated the Emperors
So renowned did the properties of this
simplest of beverages become that detailed rules of etiquette for
its correct consumption emerged, culminating in the publication
of Lu Yu's "The Classic Art of Tea". This
famous poet and Buddhist priest laid down strict
procedures for the preparation and serving of the perfect
cup of tea. The water for the brew had to come from a gently
flowing stream and be combined with leaves in a fine porcelain
cup. The resulting brew was ideally to be drunk next to a
lily pond in the company of a beautiful woman.
Despite Lu Yu’s best efforts,
however, the Chinese never developed the kind of highly formal
and complex tea ceremony characteristic of Japan. In
the centuries following the publication of his work, however,
tea's popularity spread rapidly throughout China. Rather
three days without food than a day without tea became the saying,
as news of its benefits reached the remotest corners of the vast
empire. Books and poems were composed in its honour;
Emperors gave particularly prized samples as gifts and the
teahouse became a familiar feature of countless cities, towns and
villages.
So
just what are the health benefits of drinking tea? The Chinese
knew it from earliest times first as a stimulant to good
digestion when consumed after a meal, stimulating the absorption
of nutrients from food. Tea is also known as a powerful
anti-oxidant and detoxifying agent helping to flush toxins from
the body. These qualities alone, common to all teas, would
be more than enough to make it a very valuable health supplement.
But there’s more, much more, to Chinese green tea
than this.
What
makes green tea different from the black varieties with which
we’re all so familiar, since all are derived from the
camellia plant, is the method of production. Crucially,
leaves for green tea are steamed rather than fermented,
preventing the oxidation (ie destruction) of the vital EGCG
compound which gives green tea its power.
If
you’ll forgive a little scientific jargon, EGCG is short for
Epigallocatechin Gallate, one of a number of catachin polyphenols
that occur naturally in tea. But what’s important to
know is that EGCG is a very powerful anti-oxidant, the
preservation of which has been indicated by research to make
green tea anything up to ten times more potent than the more
common fermented varieties:
This is not an academic difference. In fact today’s
western science is increasingly confirming the health benefits
long claimed for the consumption of Chinese green tea. And
amazing as it may seem, EGCG and related compounds in green tea
appear directly to target the most common killer diseases
commonly attributed to western affluence and diet.
A striking example is the case of the so-called “French
paradox”. Medical science had long been puzzled by the
relatively low incidence of heart disease in France, despite its
traditionally high fat national diet. But then it was
discovered that the red wine also widely enjoyed in France
contains significant quantities of resveratrol, another
ant-oxidant polyphenol credited with protective powers against
the effects of a fatty diet.
But the really good news is that a 1997 study at the
University of Kansas demonstrated that EGCG is up to twice as
powerful as resveratrol. Other research has credited EGCG
with the ability to reduce total levels of cholesterol as well as
improving the ratio of “good” (HDL) cholesterol to
“bad” (LDL) cholesterol; and to protect against
abnormal blood clotting.
This kind of thrombosis is a major risk factor for both heart
attacks and strokes - still two of the biggest causes of
premature death and disablement in the western world.
And of course, Chinese green tea is absolutely alcohol free!
But there’s more good news yet, because if there’s
one single disease that’s most characteristic of western
society today it must surely be obesity; as a look around your
local gym or shopping mall will quickly confirm. And in
truth, a lot of the other killer diseases of affluence, most
notably diabetes and cardio-vascular problems, have chronic
obesity at their root.
So can green tea help with this all too common health problem?
Well Swiss research published by the American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition in November 1999 suggests that it can.
The
research concluded that green tea possessed thermogenic
properties and promoted fat metabolism at a faster
rate than could be explained by its caffeine content alone.
Or in layman’s terms, green tea is a powerful fat burner
which can be a very useful tool in any weight loss program.
But perhaps most excitingly of all, there’s increasing
evidence that the anti-oxidant effects of green tea may even have
positive effects in the fight against cancer. For example,
in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published
the results of a study indicating that drinking green tea reduced
the risk of oesophageal cancer in Chinese people by almost sixty
percent.
And University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that
EGCG can directly inhibit the growth of cancer cells without
apparently harming healthy tissue. This ground breaking
study suggested that consumption of as few as four or five cups
of green tea a day may have a significant inhibiting effect on
tumour growth.
Whilst earlier studies had also indicated the possible
anti-cancer benefits of green tea, this was the first to isolate
EGCG as the compound responsible – a major step forward.
If after reading all of the above you’re just raring to
add green tea to your daily dietary regime I wouldn’t blame
you at all. In fact I’d actively encourage you. But
it’s only fair to give you the whole picture. And that
means pointing out that the consumption of large amounts of green
tea could risk adding a significant amount of caffeine to your
normal intake.
Let me put this in perspective though. A standard six to
eight ounce cup of green tea will contain between 30 and 60
milligrams of caffeine. A similar size cup of coffee will
likely contain more than 100 milligrams. So just replace a
couple of cups of your normal coffee intake with your recommended
four to five cups of green tea and your caffeine intake’s
going to stay level.
And you can find out more about these and a great range of
other health related products simply by entering your e-mail
address below.
You’ll enjoy all the benefits cited above without any of
the possible side-effects of caffeine and with ever increasing
interest in the health promoting properties of green tea, new
benefits are coming to light all the time. Already for
example, the anti-oxidant (ie anti–ageing) qualities of the
tea are being applied to the manufacture of skin care products.
That may seem a little far fetched to you right now, but in
terms of your internal organism….
I recommend you check it out today.
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