Beer is the world’s most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. I drink a lot of water and a lot of tea, green tea.
In late 2009 I made a decision to change my diet in order to reduce my weight and improve my health. Prior to this I drank loads of coffee, probably anything between 10 and 20 cups a day and all with 2 sugars. When I started changing my diet I knew I needed to reduce the 20 – 40 spoonfuls of sugar I was getting in my coffee, but I didn’t enjoy coffee without sugar. As a result I looked for an alternative hot drink and although I was a little unsure the first time I tried it (the cup looked someone had peed in it), I soon discovered a taste for green tea.
Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It is also believed to be very beneficial for our health.
- Green tea supports the immune system – 2011 research by the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University found that EGCG in green tea has a powerful ability to increase regulatory T cells in the body and boost the immune system and suppress autoimmune disorders.
- Green tea can reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases – In May 2006, researchers at Yale University School of Medicine weighed in on the issue with a review article that looked at more than 100 studies on the health benefits of green tea. They pointed to what they called an “Asian paradox,” which refers to lower rates of heart disease and cancer in Asia despite high rates of cigarette smoking. They theorized that the 1.2 litres of green tea that is consumed by many Asians each day provides high levels of polyphenols and other antioxidants. These compounds may work in several ways to improve cardiovascular health, including preventing blood platelets from sticking together (this anticoagulant effect is the reason doctors warn surgical patients to avoid green tea prior to procedures that rely on a patient’s clotting ability) and improving cholesterol levels, said the researchers, whose study appeared in the May issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. To be specific, green tea may prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol (the “bad” type), which, in turn, can reduce the buildup of plaque in arteries, the researchers wrote.
- Green tea can lower cholesterol – In a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial conducted by Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee; 240 adults were given either theaflavin-enriched green tea extract in form of 375 mg capsule daily or a placebo. After 12 weeks, patients in the tea extract group had significantly less low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and total cholesterol (16.4% and 11.3% lower than baseline, p<0.01) than the placebo group. The author concluded that theaflavin-enriched green tea extract can be used together with other dietary approaches to reduce LDL-C.
- Green teas can help weight loss – A study published in the January, 2005 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded “Daily consumption of tea containing 690 mg catechins for 12 wk reduced body fat, which suggests that the ingestion of catechins might be useful in the prevention and improvement of lifestyle-related diseases, mainly obesity.”
In 2012 I was raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Cancer Research UK.
