What if there was a plant that made a beverage nearly as stimulating as Coffee, but that also had a list of health benefits as long as the trials of the work week.
Friends, this plant would be Green Tea.
Recently I was asked to write a review for physicians on the scientific research available validating the health claims made for Green Tea. What I found in review of more than forty scientific papers was nothing short of amazing. The article which was published in a newsletter for doctors named the Integrative Medicine Consult has since been published and well received. I found the following claims to have enough proof to state them as health facts for all of us to enjoy.
Based on the studies I reviewed I can confidently state that Green tea has been proven to have the following therapeutic effects:
- Decreases the level of blood cholesterol and triglycerides. This was shown in a study of 1371 men in Japan in 1995.
- Increased HDL and decreased LDL levels were shown in the same Japanese study
- Reduces the incidence of stroke and cerebral hemorrhage. This effect was shown in a study of 5910 Japanese women done in 1989.
- Increases bowel regularity. This action was exhibited in a study of 37 nursing home elders who were able to improve their digestion with Green Tea.
- Inhibits odorous metabolites. This effect was shown in a study of 15 patients in a long term care facility in Japan
- Increase lactobacilli and bifobacteria. This was a “side effect of the same study.
- Anti-bacterial effect on Staphylocuccus and two other major disease causing bacteria. This was another “side effect” of the long term care facility study.
- Strong suggestions in a study done with 8552 Japanese people that Green Tea may inhibit cancer, but other studies show no effects from Green Tea on the incidence of cancers.
- One study of 472 women with breast cancer over a 7 year period showed decreased recurrence of stage 1 and stage 2 breast cancers.
Some to the interesting highlights that the studies found are that Green Tea was effective in reducing cerebral hemorrhage only at a level of five cups or more daily, but the other actions seem to show up at lower doses.
Oolong, Pekoe and Green tea all come from the same evergreen shrub (Camellia sinsesis). The reason that Green Tea is considerably better for you is because it is not processed like the other kinds of tea. Both Oolong and Pekoe tea are allowed to oxidize in a fermentation process which is also the reason they are black and no longer green.
Because Green Tea is not processed in this way, the content of the good stuff (polyphenols) in not drastically reduced as it is in Black Tea and Oolong tea. In Green Tea the percentage of these polyphenols can be as much as 30% of the total weight of the leaves. One specific type of these polyhenols called catechins, which Green Tea has a lot of, have been proven to have many therapeutic actions with breast cancer.
Some of the other actions of Green Tea found were:
- antioxidant activity which was proven in a study comparing Green Tea to BHA a widely used chemical antioxidant used in food preservation.
- Reduction of Streptococcus in laboratory tests on saliva coated discs
- Reduction in dental cavities and a positive effect in treatment of infected root canals. One neat thing about this study is that treating the root canals with Green Tea did not cause the inflammation which is a problem with the drugs used to treat infected root canals.
As a clinical herbalist, I have observed that Green Tea in moderate consumption (1-5 cups daily) can have a positive effect in many of the conditions noted above. In particular I have been impressed with the use of Green Tea to reduce cholesterol, improve a depressed mood, reduce fluid in the upper respiratory tract, and to help in a moderate approach to weight loss.
One note for those of you familiar with Ayurveda is a word of caution in using Green Tea in very high Vata people or high Vata conditions. Green teas effects are all related to its ability to increase the element of Vata. So in very thin people or people who are “high strung” Green Tea might actually make their situation worse. But most of the conditions listed above are those of people whose constitution is not predominately of a Vata or Air nature.
Author: Tom Wolfe AHG and Co-Owner of Smile
Last Update:: 0000-00-00
