I often prescribe green tea… YES prescribe it as though it is a drug. It has many medicinal benefits as you will learn. If I would HAVE to choose a panacea (A solution or remedy for all difficulties or disease) … this would be MY choice!
If Green tea is new to you, don’t worry you are not alone! Its origins are from China, but other Asian countries have adopted it as a common drink. Japanese Buddhist monks that had gone to China for study actually brought it back with them due to its health benefits.
Green and Black tea come from the same tea plant (camelia sinensis). Fresh Black tea leaves are cut and then lightly steamed to create Green Tea. Tea in general has phytochemicals called polyphenols .. we call them tannins (also found in wine) and this is what gives them their pungent taste. Black tea is produced by oxidizing the cut leaves. Oxidizing the leaves dedestroyome of the polyphenol substances and other health benefits of the tea. In fresh tea there are several polyphenols existing as chemicals called catechins:
- Gallocatechin (GC)
– This compound had been shown to have a moderate affinity to the human cannabinoid receptor.
– Also found in bananas
2. Epigallocatechin (EGC)
-EGC has been shown to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells.
3.Epicatechin (EC)
-Active Antioxidant component of green tea responsible for fat burning properties.
4. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg)
-Used to manage hormone levels for many different conditions.
-Antioxidant component of green tea responsible for fat burning properties.
*Green tea has the highest of ALL the teas.
-1 cup contains about 100-200 mg
– This is the anti-tumor component and also contributes to ACE inhibition and blood sugar regulation.
5. Epicatechin Gallate (Ecg)
-Has been shown to increase resistance to certain types of bacteria.
Let’s get right into it and explore the benefits:
Serves as an Antioxidant
- The definition of Antioxidant is: a substance that inhibits oxidation, especially one used to counteract the deterioration of stored food products. Active oxygen (different from oxygen that you breathe.. this is the bad kind) can combine with lipids (fat) in the body to create lipid peroxidase (a harmful substance) that leads to diseases like cancer and the build-up of atherosclerotic plaque known to cause heart attacks.
- In experimental studies, green tea showed more antioxidant protection than well known antioxidants Vitamin C and Vitamin E. When comparing black tea and green tea’s antioxidant levels: Green Tea is six times more potent than black tea.
- This is my favorite: Green tea also increases the body’s natural antioxidant system by increasing Superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase!! This means that it works on the VITAL FORCE!
- Antioxidants cleanse toxins from the body.. great natural daily detox!
Decreases Blood Sugar Levels
- High blood sugar levels come from the hormone insulin not being able to drive glucose (sugar) into the cells. This could be due to NOT enough insulin being produced (Diabetes II) or no insulin is being produced (Diabetes I).
- In rat studies, green tea has been shown to lower blood glucose levels.
- In the published Diabetes and Metabolism Journal they reported a study called, “The Effects of Green Tea on Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes.” They concluded that green tea supplementation “may be a promising preventative and therapeutic tool for obesity and type 2 diabetes”
- It specifically lowers blood sugar levels and normalizes insulin release.
- This is significant because diabetes is becoming an epidemic AND cancer feeds off of sugar. This is a great natural way to keep blood sugar levels under control.
Helps to Prevent Cancer
- Green Tea contains polyphenols that actually block the formation of cancer causing compounds or enzymes, (They stop the start codon of the cancer cell).
- Green tea traps and detoxes (rids) cancer-causing chemicals.
- Green tea best prevents these types of cancers: GI (stomach, Small intestine, pancreas, and colon), lung, estrogen related (breast). Japan has very low rates of these types of cancers and this makes sense because it is customary to drink green tea with EACH meal. Perhaps we should all be drinking green tea with our meals especially since the rate of these cancers is steadily on the rise in the United States of America.
- There is an epidemiological study demonstrating that green tea may protect against esophageal cancer in humans as reported from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as well! They concluded that 1 cup of green tea consumed at least once per week for six months or longer reduced the risk of esophageal cancer by 50% in women. The risk was reduced in men too, but it was not statistically significant. If you do not smoke, the risk is 60% lower in both men and women.
- Another report from the NCI says that green tea fights skin, lymph, and prostate cancers as seen in human and mice studies. The huge part is that this is all while not harming the healthy cells! According to Dr. Hasan Mukhtar, Senior Study Author and Professor of Dermatology at Case Western Reserve University, “It seems that somehow, through a cell-signaling pathway, it is communicated to the cancer cells that they better commit suicide or they’ll be murdered, so cells make a decision and undergo apoptosis. And we don’t know the signaling pathway.”
- Other nutritional epidemiological studies point to green tea consumption being effective in the prevention of cancers of the bladder, prostate, esophagus and stomach.
- In plain English, the properties of green tea inhibit cancer cell growth. There are both population-based studies supporting this as well as experimental-based studies.
Lowers Cholesterol
- Cholesterol is actually a needed chemical in our body for important processes like making cell membranes. Everything needs to be in moderation though. There are two forms of the cholesterol: LDL (the bad kind) I remember this one because “L” is for Loser and HDL (the good kind) because “H” is for happy. Too much of the bad kind can lead to atherosclerosis causing a heart attack or stroke.
- In rat studies containing high fat diets to increase the cholesterol levels, they were given green tea extract. The bad cholesterol and total cholesterol dropped and the good cholesterol increased. In human trials, the total and bad cholesterol were reduced by the green tea, but it did not decrease the triglycerides and it didn’t raise the good cholesterol. In mice studies, it HAS reduced the triglyceride levels.
Lowers Blood Pressure
- This also leads to atherosclerosis, which we have talked about several times causing heart disease, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases. Drugs on the market today for controlling high blood pressure often target a specific enzyme called Angiotensin I Converting Enzyme (ACE), which is responsible for a process that converts one molecule into another causing high blood pressure. What the drug companies have is if they can block ACE then they can prevent hypertension or control it.
- Rat studies have shown that there are natural polyphenols contained in green tea that act just like ACE inhibitor drugs.
Antibacterial and Antiviral
- The catechins contained in tea have strong antiviral and antibiotic properties. This is great for anything from tooth decay to HIV.
- Green tea has been shown to inhibit the spread of Clostridium spp. Which is associated with sudden death, toxicitiy, aging, and cancer.
- Green tea polyphenols kill Staphylococcus in the respiratory tract, even the ones that are resistant. They also make these bacteria more susceptible to oxacillin.
- Studies have shown that it can block influenza virus from adhesion to normal cells, thus preventing flu infection
- It has been used a remedy for diarrhea because the polyphenols act against infections caused by enterovirus, which are common causes of diarrhea.
- Some say that green tea is better than fluoride for good oral hygiene. The growth and cellular adherence of oral bacteria, such as S. Mutans and Porohyromonas gingivalis are completely inhibited by the catechins of green tea. Perhaps Green tea should be used prophylactically before root canals due to its broad spectrum antibacterial activity.
Green tea is my friend and my little secret… Now it can also be yours. If drinking 4-10 cups daily is too much, then it is available in a supplement form as well. I hope that you have enjoyed reading this! Please follow me on social media to learn more about bettering your health: DrSammND
In Balanced Health,
DrSammND
References:
- Murray, Michael N.D. “Fighting Cancer with a cup, or more, of green tea.” Better Nutrition (Jan. 1998)
- Mukhtar, H. et al. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 89 (1997): 1881-1886
- Takahashi O. Cai Z, Toda M, Hara Y Shimamura T. “Appearance of antibacterial activity of axacillin against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in the presence of catechin.” Kansenshogaku Zasshi., 69 (1995): 1126-1134
