Copyright 2005 Arina Nikitina

Green tea has been enjoyed by people in China and Japan for thousands of years. Over the time it has become widely known in the West.

A lot of people nowadays have heard that green tea benefits the overall health, but not a lot know why exactly. And believe me after I've learned all the health benefits of green tea, I get completely different feeling every time I drink it. I not only enjoy the taste of it but I also get the moral satisfaction knowing that I am doing something right and extremely healthy for my body. I want you to have exactly the same feeling I have, so here are the benefits that you get while sipping delicious cup of tea.

Green tea contains anti-oxidants that:

1. Helps to prevent cancer. The is some strong evidence that green tea included in you every day diet can reduce bladder, colon, esophageal, pancreas, rectum, and stomach cancer up to 60%. An antioxidant known as "epigallocatechin gallate" (EGCG for short) is at least 100 more times more effective than vitamin C and 25 times more effective than vitamin E at protecting cells from harmful influence.

The amazing thing about it that EGCG it not only inhibits the growth of new cancer cells it also kills some of the existing cancer sells without harming the healthy ones.

2. Lowers "bad" cholesterol (known as LDL) and improves the ratio of "good" cholesterol (known as HDL). It explains why tea-drinkers can eat almost twice the foods containing cholesterol as those who don't drink green tea, but still have an equal cholesterol count.

3. Stops the unnatural formation of blood cloth which if not taken care of will cause thrombosis. It takes on added importance if you consider that thrombosis is one of the main causes of strokes and heart attacks.

4. Reduces high blood pressure by repressing angiotensin II which causes constriction of the blood vessels causing high blood pressure.

5. Lowers blood sugar (polyphenols and polysaccharides are the two main antioxidants are especially effective in lowering blood sugar). That helps prevent and relieve type-two diabetes.

6. Protects liver against toxins like alcohol and chemicals in cigarette smoke.

7. Promotes oral health by suppress the process of plaque formation and destroys the bacteria that forms plaque. It also destroys bacteria that causes bad breath, so after eating something sweet I suggest you drink a cup of green tea.

8. Destroys free radicals that cause aging.

9. Boosts your immune system function (because of its high concentration of polyphenols and flaveboids).

10. Possess antibacterial and antiviral properties. Recent studies show that green tea inhibits the spread of disease, speeds up recovery from cold and flu. It also kills seven strains of food poisoning bacteria including clostridium, botulus and staphylococcus (which makes it a good treatment for diarrhea).

11. Helps your body to maintain healthy fluid balance and relieve fatigue and stress often caused by dehydration.

12. Blocks main receptors that produce allergic reactions.

13. Stimulates metabolism, calorie burning process and is wildly being used as an important part of a healthy diet.

It is important to know that black tea, even though it comes from the same plant as a green tea, will not give you the same benefits. Black tea during fermentation process loses most of its medical benefits.

The best way to preserve all the disease-fighting nutritions is to drink your tea freshly brewed. All the decaffeinated, ready-to-drink bottled or instant teas will give you very little of natural health compounds. It is better to let your tea steep for about 4-5 minutes before drinking it.

I hope that after reading this article you will include a cup of green tea in your daily ratio. After all it is a rare case when something that good for our health can be also that delicious.