Your At-A-Glance
Overview of the Many Health Benefits of Green Tea
Green tea has been revered for its amazing health benefits for centuries.
Researchers now know just what makes this calming drink so magical!
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There's nothing like a good cup of tea. From the moment its warmth hits your
lips and soothes its way down to your belly - or from the very second you
hear the ice clink and feel its coolness flow through your body - it is creating
goodness on many different levels.
Tea is the Perfect Comfort Food!
Green tea, in particular, is known for its astounding health benefits as
well as its luxurious flavor. People of India, China, Japan and Thailand have
been enjoying green tea and its medicinal qualities throughout the ages.
What's the Difference in Green Tea?
All tea leaves come from the camellia sinensis bush, but it's the way
they're processed that determines what type of tea it will become. To
make black and oolong tea, for example, the leaves are left to wither for
a short time to encourage fermentation.
The leaves of green tea, on the other hand, are picked, steamed or pan-fired
immediately, and then quickly rolled and tied, all to intentionally keep them
from fermenting. It is the fresh leaves that have the helpful chemicals, and
like kryptonite to Superman, oxygen is their worst enemy.1
Green Tea's Super Heroic Ingredient
Fresh tea leaves wear powerful antioxidants called polyphonols through
and through. Antioxidants are substances that hunt down free radicals - angry
compounds in the body that alter cells, corrupt DNA and even cause cell death,
and are attributed to a whole host of health problems including cancer and
heart disease.
Polyphonols make up about 30% of the dry leaf weight so when you're drinking
a cup of tea, it's doing so much more than warming your body.
In green tea leaves, polyphonols
exist as a series of chemicals called catechins. Catechins hold all
the potent antioxidant and disease fighting properties. There are five different
types of catechins but the mightiest of all is epigallocatechin gallate or
EGCg for short.
Black tea, ginkgo biloba leaves, dark chocolate and wine all have catechins
but green tea has them all beat. Nothing has as many free-radical fighting
catechins as green tea! You'd have to eat many bars of chocolate or drink
a lot of wine to catch up. Might be fun in the short run, but not very healthy
or practical down the road.
Catechins Enter the Ring Swinging!
With antioxidant effects that are stronger than a serving of broccoli, spinach,
carrots or strawberries,2 EGCg's are truly
extraordinary. Praised for their disease prevention and anti-aging purposes,
researchers have shown these catechins are capable of:
- Regulating cholesterol levels
According to researchers, catechins are able to block cholesterol absorption
and boost the excretion of cholesterol-containing bile salts - very important
detergent-like chemicals produced by our friend, our liver. 3
- Lowering high blood pressure
Depending upon how much stress you're under, sometimes the body will signal
the arteries to release an enzyme called ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme)
that causes blood vessels to constrict and your blood pressure to soar.
Catechins can take the action of ACE down to a snail's pace. 4
In fact, a double-blind study of 42 subjects by the Boston University School
of Medicine showed a significant improvement in vascular function in just
two hours after an initial dose of this wonder chemical! 5
- Bullying some cancer cells (while leaving the good ones alone)
EGCg can put the breaks on an enzyme required for cancer growth and can
kill cultured cells without harming healthy cells. 6
For example, one study of 472 women with breast cancer in various stages
showed that women who drank the most green tea experienced the least spread
of cancer. 7 What a champion that EGCg
is!
- Wage war on disease-causing bacteria and viruses
Researchers believe that catechins stick to proteins, keeping bacteria from
latching on to cell walls and disrupting their ability to destroy them.
The same thing happens to viruses!
This also means that gum disease and tooth decay caused by bacteria can
stay in check and breath can stay mild and sweet.
- Give digestion a good swift kick
Sip it slowly after a meal and you'll see how well it stimulates healthy
digestion. Say goodbye to feeling as though you've eaten rocks after a meal
that was way too big...
- Help control blood sugar levels
There they go again - it's most likely the catechins that are busy working
to control blood sugar. Studies have shown that drinking green tea may have
the power to lower blood sugar levels enough to reduce the complications
of diabetes. 8
- Lend a hand with weight loss
Studies suggest that catechins may boost metabolism (yes!) and help burn
fat and for many, that's a dream come true. While you're sipping away, catechins
are orchestrating ways to intensify levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis
(the rate at which your body burns calories). 9
They also inhibit fat absorption and help to regulate glucose. And, as if
that weren't and help to regulate glucose. And, as if that weren't enough,
they even may help to reduce your appetite.
How great is that!
- Acting as a bodyguard to the liver
Green tea protects the liver by stimulating
the immune system and warding off toxins such as alcohol and cigarette
smoke. 10
- Studies have shown that men who drink more than 10 cups of green tea per
day are less likely to develop disorders of the liver. 11
- Soothe cranky arthritic joints
EGCg in green
tea slows down the production of the molecules that contribute to inflammation
and joint damage in people with rheumatoid arthritis. It also suppresses
inflammation in connective tissue, too! 12
Basically, each cup of green tea is a delicate disease-clobbering prize
fighter!
No wonder it's the second most widely consumed beverage next to good old H20.
So now that you know what we do about green tea, how could you not love this
stuff! Don't you wish you could carry a cup in your pocket at all times?
Well, actually, you can.
Now green tea is not only an incredibly powerful addition to your daily diet,
it's also extremely convenient with Body
Ecology's Green Tea Concentrate.
This little bottle holds a born fighter of many conditions and diseases.
Body Ecology's
Green Tea Concentrate allows you to capture the healing benefits
of green tea without ever reaching for a tea bag. Enjoy some today!
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Besides the convenience of being able to tote around a bottle of delicious
liquid antioxidants and create a cup of hot or iced tea just the way you like
it, Body
Ecology Green Tea Concentrate is superior to other green tea extracts
because it is:
- CLEAN
Our tea is extracted with purified water from a blend of Shizuoka and Uji
Japanese green tea. Interestingly, the citizens of Uji and Shizuioka have
among the lowest rates of cancer in the world. 13
- PURE
We only offer naturally decaffeinated tea, and unlike many other extracts
available, it is free of toxic heavy metals including fluoride.
- POWERFUL
Body Ecology's unique extraction process helps to increase and retain high
concentration levels of polyphenols (naturally occurring antioxidants).
Each cup of Body Ecology Green Tea Concentrate has 100mg of these life-savers!
- INTENSE
Studies have concluded that to get the optimal anti-oxidant immune system
enhancement, you'd need to drink 15-20 cups of tea a day.14
Because our tea is naturally packed with so many polyphenols, you can
get the same results with just a few cups per day!
So there you have it - a delicious and enjoyable way to strengthen your immune
system and fight off disease, all in a convenient little bottle. Treat yourself
to a bottle of Body
Ecology Green Tea Concentrate and enjoy soothing warm tea, or cool and
refreshing iced tea, every day!
(1) Green Tea Fact Sheet, Nadine Taylor, M.S., R. D., http://www.greentealibrary.com/Green%20Tea%20Sheet.htm
(2) Tea with More Antioxidants and No Dangerous Fluoride Levels, Dr. Joseph
Mercola, http://www.mercola.com/forms/tea_extract.htm.
(3) Green Tea Lowers Cholesterol, Nutrition Science News, http://www.newhope/com/nutritionsciencenews/ns_backs/OCT_99/naturalnews9.cfm
(4) Green Tea as a High Blood Pressure Natural Remedy, Mary Rose Antonio,
http://www.ezinearticles.com/?Green-Tea-As-A-High-Blood-Pressure-Natural-Remedy&id=363804
(5) Green Tea Extract May Boost Blood Vessel Health, NutraIngredients.com/Europe,
http://nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=76961
(6) How Green Tea Prevents Cancer, Science A Gogo, http://scienceagogo.com/news/19981116125641data.trunc_sys.shtml
(7) Green Tea, http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/green-tea-000255.htm
(8) Tea's Protection for Diabetes, Jon Stout, http://ezinearticles.com/?teas-Protection-for-Diabetics&id=395981
(9) Green Tea Boosts Metabolic Weight Loss, Kathryn O'Neill, http://www.colonhealth.net/weight_loss/Gree_Tea_Increases_Metabolic
_Weight_Loss.html
(10) Green Tea: Help or Hype, Deep Fitness, http://deepfitness.com/3504/Green-Tea-Or-Hype.aspx
(11) Green Tea, http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/green-tea-000255.htm
(12) Green Tea compound, EGCg, May Be A Therapy For People With Rheumatoid
Arthritis, Science Daily, 30 April 2007
(13) Green Tea Benefits Health and Life, Japanese Green Tea Online.com, http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/health.htm
(14) Tea with More Antioxidants and No dangerous Fluoride Levels, Dr. Joseph
Mercola, http://www.mercola.com/forms/tea_extract.htm.
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