Green Tea Antioxidants
That drinking green tea will help keep you healthy and looking and feeling younger is a fact that has been known in China for almost five thousand years. As traditional health care, it was not necessary to know why it seemed to work so long as it did. However, in the modern world, even long held beliefs are put to the test to see if there is scientific backing for the belief or if it is simply sympathetic reaction. Green tea has passed the test admirably.
The only real downside to green tea drinking is that the tannin in the beverage can prevent the absorption of iron into the body. But the beneficial effects, especially as an antioxidant have been clearly shown to help prevent cancers, keeps the mind alert and calm, lowers stress levels, has shown some help in diabetes and Alzheimers as well as regulating hormonal imbalances and decreasing bad breath.
Green tea's secret appears to be the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate. Studies performed at the Kyushu University of Japan have shown a significant effect of shrinking lung cancer cells with the consumption of two or three cups of green tea a day. The U.S. National Cancer Institute reports the catechins are able to inactivate the oxidizing free radical ions before they have a chance to harm the cell walls of living tissue thus preventing the formation of cancer cells. It has also been shown in laboratory animals to decrease the size and quantity of existing tumors.
The antioxidants of green tea, combined with the anti-breast cancer drug tamoxifen, have been shown to increase this drug's ability to fight and prevent breast cancer in both pre and post menopausal females.
With so many proven benefits from this simple organic drink it is not a surprise that green tea drinking continues to increase throughout the world.