Green Tea Extract

Green tea lovers enjoy fine imported Chinese and Japanese green tea and white tea. Green tea is usually brewed and drunk as a beverage. Green tea extracts can be taken in capsules and are sometimes used in skin products. Types of tea are commonly graded depending on the quality and the parts of the plant used. There are large variations in both price and quality within these broad categories, and there are many specialty green teas that fall outside this spectrum. Green tea is made from unfermented leaves and reportedly contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are substances that scavenge free radicals -- damaging compounds in the body that alter cells, tamper with DNA (genetic material), and even cause cell death. Green tea has been consumed throughout the ages in India, China, Japan, and Thailand. In traditional Chinese and Indian medicine, practitioners used green tea as a stimulant, diuretic (to promote the excretion of urine), astringent (to control bleeding and help heal wounds), and to improve heart health. Green tea drinkers appear to have lower risk for a wide range of diseases, from simple bacterial or viral infections to chronic degenerative conditions

Green tea has been credited with providing a wide variety of health benefits, many of which have not been validated by scientific evidence. Other traditional uses of green tea include treating flatulence (gas), regulating body temperature and blood sugar, promoting digestion, and improving mental processes. Green tea is the least processed and thus provides the most antioxidant polyphenols, notably a catechin called epigallocatechin-3-gallate which is believed to be responsible for most of the health benefits linked to green tea. Green tea is made by briefly steaming the just harvested leaves, rendering them soft and pliable and preventing them from fermenting or changing color. After steaming, the leaves are rolled, then spread out and "fired" until they are crisp. Green tea has always been, and remains today, the most popular type of tea from China where most historians and botanists believe the tea plant originated throughout all of Asia.

Green tea has been extensively studied in people, animals, and laboratory experiments. Green tea is safe for most adults when used in moderate amounts. Green tea and green tea extracts contain caffeine. Caffeine can cause insomnia, anxiety, irritability, upset stomach, nausea, diarrhea, or frequent urination in some people. Green tea contains small amounts of vitamin K, which can make anticoagulant drugs, such as warfarin, less effective. Green tea contains many polyphenols known as catechins, including epigallocathechin-3 gallate (EGCG), epigallocathechin (EGC) and epicathechin-3 gallate. Green tea is different from black tea in that it [green tea] is produced from leaves that have been withered, rolled, fermented, and dried. Green tea polyphenols are potent antioxidant compounds that have demonstrated greater antioxidant protection than vitamins C and E in experimental studies. Green tea can cause adverse reactions (immunoglobulin E-mediated) in patients with green-tea asthma. Green tea has been used traditionally to control blood sugar in the body. Green tea extracts are also available in capsule form.

Benefits of Green Tea Tips

1. Helps to prevent cancer.

2. Lowers "bad" cholesterol and improves the ratio of "good" cholesterol.

3. Stops the unnatural formation of blood cloth which if not taken care of will cause thrombosis.

4. Reduces high blood pressure by repressing angiotensin II.

5. Lowers blood sugar (polyphenols and polysaccharides are the two main antioxidants are especially effective in lowering blood sugar).

6. Protects liver against toxins like alcohol and chemicals in cigarette smoke.

7. Promotes oral health by suppress the process of plaque formation and destroys the bacteria that forms plaque.

8. Destroys free radicals that cause aging.

10. Boosts your immune system function.

11. Helps your body to maintain healthy fluid balance and relieve fatigue and stress often caused by dehydration.

12. Blocks main receptors that produce allergic reactions.

Juliet Cohen writes articles on diseases and conditions and women health care.

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