Green tea-Health benefits

Green, black and oolong teas are all processed from the young leaves of Camelliasinensis, a white-flowered evergreen that originated in southeastern Asia. In green tea the main polyphenols are the catechins, including gallocatechin (GC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin (EC), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Catechins are the beneficial, health-promoting components of green tea, especially EGCG, a proven powerful antioxidant.

Antioxidants are substances or nutrients in our foods which can prevent or slow the oxidative damage to our body. When our body cells use oxygen, they naturally produce free radicals (by-products) which can cause damage. Free radicals are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation.Free radicals are dangerous compounds caused by many things such as exposure to radiation or internal chemical reactions that can attack your body’s cells and harm your DNA. Free radicals can multiply work together and initiate cascading chain reactions that, over time, can trigger pathological cell mutations which may lead to cancer. Antioxidants act as "free radical scavengers" and hence prevent and repair damage done by these free radicals.

Health problems such as heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes, cancer etc are all contributed by oxidative damage. Antioxidants may also enhance immune defense and therefore lower the risk of cancer and infection.

Examples for anti-oxidant substances:

Beta-carotene

Lutein

Lycopene

Selenium

Vitamin A

Vitamin C

Vitamin E

Polyphenols

The role of polyphenols in green tea:

Promote Anti-hypertensive effect,

Promote Anti-hyper cholesterolemic effect,

Promote Fat-reducing effects,

Capable of inhibiting mutation and formation of cancerous cells,

Providing extraordinary protection for the heart, kidneys and the skin,

Produce thermogenic effects also help to maintain normal body weight.

Polyphenols have also been shown to protect healthy cells from mutation and cancer,

To protect DNA from damage inflicted from harmful chemicals and even radiation,

Promotes healthy glucose levels in the blood stream by enhancing the action of insulin,

Promote anti-hyperglycemic, by inhibiting á-amylase, the enzyme that converts carbohydrates into glucose.

To fight foreign organisms and help prevent the plaque buildup that leads to poor dental health,

It neutralize free radicals, halting their potentially lethal cascade and converting them to non-toxic compounds,

For recovery from mental depression, helps enhance alertness, relief of mental fatigue, and improvement of mental function without the feeling of nervousness or being jittery.

Green tea polyphenols help prevents LDL cholesterol from forming atherosclerotic plaques. That’s great news for those concerned about heart and artery disease.

Green tea’s a compelling study showed that taking three 90 mg. doses/day of green tea extract burned 266 more calories per day than those who did not use the extract.

Anti-Aging Effect-there is a direct correlation between the aging process and the accumulation of harmful compounds called Advanced Glycosylation End products (AGEs) within the body, were suppressed by the polyphenolic action of green tea, thus acting as an agent to greatly decrease the risk of age-related disease.

Anti carcinogenic properties of green tea showed a 44% inhibition of prostate cancer with no toxic side effects.

Recommended as a preventative measure for heart disease, kidney disease, and skin damage from ultraviolet light exposure.

Green tea has very many beneficial effects than some other anti-oxidants, and so it is recommended for all ages of people affected by stress conditions living in the urban conditions.