The Green Tea Secret

The chemical compound known as a phenol is characterized by an aromatic benzene ring with a hydroxyl group (OH) attached. This makes sense that poly-phenols refer to a chemical substance with more than one phenol group. Phenols function as potent antioxidants, reacting with free radicals. Phenols are responsible for the bright coloring in many fruits and vegetables. These fruit and vegetable phenols protect the plants from damage by disease and ultraviolet light.
Polyphenols are phytonutrients or phytochemicals. Phytonutrients are biologically active compounds in food. However, these phytonutrients are not classified as essential nutrients. This is because the body does not depend on these nutrients for proper bodily function. Phytonutrients do play a vital role in affecting our health just as significantly as vitamins and minerals do.
Polyphenols also protect and regenerate other dietary oxidants such as vitamin E. Polyphenols are potent free radical scavengers in the body. This is beneficial because excess levels of these cations promotes the generation of free radicals.

This reduces the absorption of the mineral. Polyphenols can form complexes with metal cations such as iron, zinc, and copper. Polyphenols are classified as flavonoids, which is a class of phytonutrient.
Polyphenols are plentiful in green tea. Polyphenols have been found to be more powerful as an antioxidant than even vitamins C and E. In particular, EGCG or epigallocatechin gallate is the major polyphenolic constituent of green tea. EGCG is a potent antioxidant. A number of chronic diseases have been thought to be caused by free radical damage such as cancer, aging, and heart disease.
Antioxidants protect the body from free radical damage. What are free radicals? Free radicals are caused by cigarette smoking, radiation, pollution, and herbicides. Free radicals are atoms with unpaired electrons in the outer shell. The unpaired electrons make free radicals unstable. Free radicals want only to be stable. Free radical stability requires the electrons to be paired. Free radicals are extremely reactive and will oxidize the nearest molecule.
In fact, researchers believe this is how many forms of cancer arise. DNA and free radical interactions usually result in mutations that adversely affect the cell cycle and potentially lead to malignancy. However, DNA is usually preferred. Free radicals can attack proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and DNA.

This creates a chain reaction continuing until the disruption of a living cell. Oxidizing causes the free radical to gain an electron but also creates another free radical.
The antioxidant is stable with or without the electron, making this a win-win situation. Antioxidants donate an electron to the free radical, hence stabilizing the free radical and preventing damage. Antioxidants safely interact with free radicals to prevent damage to vital molecules.

Antioxidants protect the body from damaging oxidation reactions.
Black teas and some green teas are fermented and roasted, damaging the bioactive substances in the tea leaf. Steamed white and green tea retains more polyphenols and nutrients than roasting and fermenting. Of course, the level of polyphenols along with other nutrients is based on how the tea is processed. Polyphenols can be found in white, black, and green tea.
Green tea studies suggest an increase in exercise endurance by improving the metabolism of fat. Green tea has been shown to protect the brain from oxidative stress and lower monoamine oxidase activity; preventing age related brain degeneration. Green tea helps prevent cavities, strengthens teeth, and is thought to kill oral bacteria that is responsible for bad breath.

Regular consumption of green tea shows no significant side effects. Dietary intake of green tea has been linked to a reduced risk of cancer and heart disease. Many studies have been done on the health benefits of green tea. Why should you drink green tea?
Green tea offers many health benefits to those who drink green tea regularly. Besides offering antioxidant benefits, green tea is excellent as a weight loss supplement offering weight loss results and safety. Of course, green tea should be used in combination with a healthy diet and exercise program. If you take medications for a health condition, consult your doctor before adding green tea to your diet.
Copyright 2006 Kristy Haugen

Why Aren't You Using Green Tea Capsules?

Green tea capsules and tablets represent a simple, excellent, and effective way to get the benefits of green tea.
Although drinking green tea is very enjoyable and soothing to some people, many others don't like the bitter taste. Moreover, some people are realistic enough to know that the more trouble they have to go through to get the benefits of something, the less likely they are to do it.
Everyone now knows that drinking green tea is healthy just like they know that juicing vegetables and fruits is healthy too. But not many of us have the time to juice vegetables and fruits everyday, just like we don't have the time to brew green tea and sip it.
That's why green tea capsules are a fantasic way to get the health benefits of this ancient drink in the few seconds a day it takes to swallow them.
Moreover, if you are taking a quality green tea supplement, you could get more of its potent antioxidants than you could if you drank 4 to 5 cups of the tea a day because of its concentrated nature.
Green tea has a history as colorful as it is flavorful.
Legend has it that almost 5,000 years ago a Chinese emperor was sipping hot water whilst relaxing under a tea shrub when some of the leaves accidently blew off the shrub and landed in his cup.
He took a sip, liked what he tasted, and since then green tea became the health drink of choice in Asia, and is now spreading to the Western world rapidly.
What's really amazing is that it wasn't until recently that research has discovered just how incredibly powerful the health benefits of green tea are.
What Green Tea Contains
Green tea has many beneficial substances, like catechins, tannins, fluoride but, most important of all, powerful antioxidants called polyphenols.
One of these polyphenols in particular, which is referred to as EGCG, has been shown in studies to have potent anticancer properties. Indeed, EGCG is now thought to be one of the most powerful anticancer compounds discovered to date.
For the health savvy people who have heard about EGCG, it is the primary reason they drink green tea or use green tea capsules and supplements.
In one large study with chinese participants, it was discovered that the men and women who drank green tea had lower rates of: rectal, pancreatic, and colon cancer.
Other studies conducted here in the United States revealed that EGCG may be able to get cancer cells to stop reproducing.
Amazingly, it may accomplish this by somehow signalling the cancer cells to die, which in scientific terms is called apotosis.
Even more remarkable is that EGCG doesn't appear to hurt the healthy, non-cancerous cells of our body, so it seems to work selectively. This study was conducted at Case Western Reserve University, located in Ohio.
Other studies are now showing that green tea may be able to help mitigate the damage from LDL cholesterol -- otherwise known as the "bad cholesterol" that is a key marker in heart disease.
In fact, its possible role in lowering cholesterol is another of the biggest reasons people are now turning to green tea capsules and supplements.
Despite all of the potential health benefits of green tea, some people avoid drinking it because it does naturally contain caffeine, which makes some people jittery and nervous.
The good news is that green tea used in green tea capsules and tablets often contains much less caffeine than a cup of green tea itself. A cup of green tea contains about 40 mg of caffeine whereas a daily typical serving of green tea capsules might only contain 5 mg of caffeine.
Importantly, the typical serving of green tea capsules or supplements will have the same concentration of the polyphenols and powerful antioxidants as the green tea.
Even better for some people is that green tea can be decaffeinated and used in green tea capsules so that you can get all the benefits with none of the caffeine.
So there you have it. If you aren't already using green tea capsules for your health, it's time to give it some serious consideration as part of your supplement regimen.