Is Green Tea a Miracle Cure? After water, tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world. For some, it’s an acquired taste like coffee. For others, it’s viewed as a food that is also good medicine. Interestingly, both green and black tea offer many of the same health benefits that many other plant-based whole foods offer. This isn’t unexpected given that tea is made from green leaves. In essence, tea is just a plant-based whole food you drink rather than one you eat. Tea consumption, especially green tea, is associated with reduced risks for stroke, reduced risk for diabetes, reduced risk for depression, improved cholesterol, less abdominal weight gain, lower blood pressure and improved levels of glucose. Several large population-based studies indicate that people who regularly drink green tea have better health outcomes. However, these studies don’t answer one important question - do people who drink tea differ in their habits from people who don't drink tea? While the abundance of favorable population studies is compelling, it’s unknown whether a person already on an excellent plant-based whole food diet would see a significant health benefit from adding tea to their diet. Regardless of the diet, green tea will definitely increase the availability of healthful antioxidants. The health-promoting chemicals in tea thought to be responsible for tea's beneficial health effects are catechins, compounds belonging to a group of plant chemicals called flavonoids. Inside arteries, research suggests that flavonoids help reduce inflammation that can lead to plaque buildup. When prepared as a hot tea, green tea provides more of these healthful chemicals than black tea. The caffeine in tea may also have health benefits, however, for some conditions, it’s not recommended. In general, green tea contains about half the caffeine in the same amount of coffee. Keep in mind that most tea studies have been done with tea as a drink and not tea as a dietary supplement that’s mixed with smoothies or other foods. In the absence of better research, don't be tempted to use green tea extracts or supplements that offer a concentrated dose of tea. While there is little downside to drinking a few cups of tea a day, excessive amounts can harm the kidneys. Also, know that tea’s potential advantages are negated if you stir in a few teaspoons of sugar. Because antioxidants in tea have a short shelf life, bottled teas usually have low antioxidant properties. Often the label on bottled teas will also reveal a high sugar content. Fortunately, brewing tea is so easy there is no need to buy it in bottles. There is quite a bit more known about the benefits of tea than you might expect. While much of the research has been with small groups, the results are nonetheless quite interesting. For these details, I’ve included links below to a few educational and entertaining short videos by Dr. Michael Greger. After watching these video’s draw your own conclusions about whether green tea is or isn’t right for you. Video 1 - Unlike most antiviral drugs, green tea appears to work by boosting the immune system to combat diseases. Studies show less acquired flu in populations that drink green tea. To gain these advantages, test participants drank about six cups of green tea a day. Just gargling with green tea seems to also reduce the chance of having the flu. Get the full story from the video “Benefits of Green Tea for Boosting Antiviral Immune Function” Video 2 - A mix of results have been reported from tests that used green tea to prevent, stop and reverse the progression of oral cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer, and colon cancer. Promising results have been reported for oral cancer and colon cancer. Get the full story from the video “Can Green Tea Help Treat Cancer?” Video 3 – Researchers have noticed that within 40 minutes of green tea consumption we get a boost in antioxidant power to our bloodstream and within 60 minutes an upregulation of DNA repair. This may be why some studies show an additional 4% reduction in mortality for each additional cup of tea per day. Green tea appears to interfere with cancer formation and also appears to help when cancer does form by helping repair DNA damage. This repair effectively slows the cancer growth rate. Get the full story from the video “Can Green Tea Help Prevent Cancer?” Video 4 - Green tea has been shown to be effective in helping to prevent prostate and breast cancer. A decrease in PSA levels is often associated with drinking green tea. Be aware, however, using excessive amounts of green tea supplements can damage the liver. Get the full story from the video “Treating Prostate Cancer with Green Tea.” Video 5 - A third of men in their 30s already have small slow-growing cancerous tumors in their prostates. So, how much tea would one have to drink to build up cancer-suppressing levels in prostate tissue? Get the full story from the video “Preventing Prostate Cancer with Green Tea.” If not impressed with what green tea might be capable of then take a look at the following videos. Video 6 – In experiments using carcinogens from cooked meat, researchers can observe how normal breast cells can become cancerous. Then they explore the use of green tea to interrupt this malignant transformation. Get the full story from the video, “Cancer, Interrupted: Green Tea” Video 7 – As a testament to the healing power of green leafy plants, the Centers for Disease Control STD Treatment Guidelines now include a topical application of phytonutrients from green tea for external genital warts that provides an astounding 100% clearance in more than half the patients tested. Get the full story from the video, “Treating Genital Warts with Green Tea.” You may be wondering if green tea is this good, are their other teas as good or better. As it happens, hibiscus tea has even more antioxidants than green tea. For the full story about the power of teas like Red Zinger and Wild Berry Zinger, watch the short video, “Better than Green Tea?” In case you were wondering how other beverages stack up in antioxidant availability, the video will fill you in along with a recipe for an amazing hibiscus tea. In the video.”What’s the healthiest way to prepare green tea?” you will learn that the antioxidant value of cold brewed green tea is higher than for hot brewed green tea. More About Green Tea If you are a tea connoisseur, then you already know the Best Green Tea Types. If not, you may be wondering, are there really 10 Different Types of Green Tea You Need to Know About? For the adventurous, there is plenty of opportunity for discovering new tastes. If getting the most antioxidants is the goal, then perhaps a hibiscus tea is what you really want. While green tea has been shown to offer some amazing benefits, these benefits are only one small part of a healthy lifestyle. It’s unlikely anyone could possibly drink enough green tea to compensate for a poor diet. The point, eating a well rounded plant-based whole food diet is the goal. As for replacing less nutritious beverages with green tea, getting more exercise, and getting a good night’s sleep, these are all healthful moves. Should you need a little motivation for a healthful move this weekend, then join me for a walk in the park. A morning walk is good medicine with many positive side effects. Nancy Neighbors, MD Huntsville, Alabama |