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Green Tea Benefits
Green Tea Benefits Green tea is steamed to prevent fermenting - this preserves the polyphenols which are strong antioxidants that can protect against cell damage. It also contains fluoride, catechins and tannins. It is commonly drunk in China and Japan - in the US and UK, black tea is more commonly used. Studies have shown that the prevalence of certain types of cancer is lower among people who drink green tea regularly. Chinese men and women have lower rates of rectal, pancreatic and colon cancers. Also it may protect against breast, stomach and skin cancers. The reason is believed to be to be the antioxidant (epigallocatechin-gallate) that protects cells from damage and inhibits urokinase which is an enzyme that cancer cells need to grow. In animals, blocking urokinase shrinks tumours and sometimes causes the cancer to go into remission. A Japanese study has shown that daily consumption prevents heart disease. The fluoride present may guard against tooth decay. The antibacterial effect may also be beneficial in healing wounds. You should aim for around four cups a day which will give you 240 to 320g of polyphenols. If you use a supplement you need one that gives at least 50% polyphenols - taking two 250mg supplements a day will give the same benefits. The only downside to green tea is that each cup contains about 40mg of caffeine. If you're sensitive to caffeine, then use supplements as these will only contain about 2 to 3mg of caffeine each. Read about the weight loss benefits.
For an explanation of gardening terms that you might not understand, please check out the Growers Dictionary section. I found that I was either skimping on explanations or giving too much information on the individual pages so I have posted all relevant terms in one section - if there's anything you need to know, please drop me an email.
Green Tea Benefits - to Green Tea Index
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