Green tea is full of antioxidants called catechins and evidence supporting their ability to slow down the aging process growing in leaps and bounds. Catechins are known to:
- Reduce blood clotting to improve cardiovascular health.
- Reduce arteriosclerosis and blood pressure.
- Improve LDL and HDL profiles.
- Lower the risk of heart attack and stroke.
- Lower the risk of certain cancers. Lung, breast and stomach cancers are often most written about.
- Boost to the metabolic rate to aid in weight loss because of its thermogenic effects.
- Control of blood glucose levels.
- Protect DNA from the aging process. Damage to the DNA has been shown to be the primary cause of accelerated aging and disease.
Green tea contains about 30% catechins, which account for 90% of the tea’s antioxidants. When black tea is made, catechins oxidize to form more complex compounds, and only one of the compounds, called theflavins, contains significant antioxidant potential. Although both teas are powerful antioxidants, because black tea contains only 4% of theaflavins, green tea is often associated with having more health benefits.
Tea 101
- Green tea is made from young tea leaves that are steamed but not oxidized. Green tea contains powerful antioxidants in large quantities because there is no oxidation.
- Black tea is made from large, mature tea leaves that are oxidized, creating two antioxidants.
- Oolong tea is made by stopping the oxidation process at its halfway point, giving it characteristics of both green and black tea.
- White tea uses young leaves and the buds of tea leaves. It is not oxidized like black tea. Little research has been done on white tea, but it is thought to have less caffeine and more beneficial compounds than either green or black tea.
How much green tea is enough?
It is thought that about 3 cups a day will give you sufficient protective qualities. The best way to brew green tea is as follows:
- Use loose tea. Teabags can contain harmful chemicals, and often the tea that is in teabags is not made from the whole leaf.
- Start with cold water, filtered if possible.
- Heat the water to the correct temperature. Boiling water for tea will destroy the beneficial properties of green, white or oolong tea. Only black tea can be made with boiling water.
- Black tea can be steeped for 5 minutes but green, white or oolong tea should be steeped for only 2 minutes.
- You can reuse tea leaves for 2 or 3 cups of tea.
Check out our “Making Green Tea” video to show see how we prepare our green tea.
Tip: Visit your local tea store to ask questions about the various types of tea and how they would suggest you should prepare them. They have so much knowledge that they are always willing to share with you.
{ 2 comments }
Hi Diane:
What do you think about green tee capsules? Do you think it has the same qualities of green tea leaves? For some reason I feel really nauseated when I drink green tea. I’ve tried dozens since Rick loves it and by the time I’m at 1/4 of the cup I’m feeling so sick. I’ve been taking the green tea capsules but wondering if they’re any good?
Big thanks
Marcie
Hi Marcie,
Thanks so much for the question. We’re really glad that you read our blogs. Green tea can cause digestive upset in people for sure. If you would like to revisit green tea, it would be best to visit a tea store like Distinctively Tea for advice. Sometimes the stomach upset can come from the processing of the teas you have been using or from the tea bag chemicals if that is what you have tried.
Green tea extracts can be beneficial as long as they are high quality. Standarizing the polyphenols in the extract is the key. A standardized green tea extract of 90% total polyphenols is top quality. 1 capsule of this extract would be the equivalent to 5 cups of green tea. The lower the percentage of total polyphenols, the less effective the capsule would be.
As with anything taken into the body there can be side effects. The concern with green tea or it’s extract is that too much may cause liver problems.
The bottom line is that extracts can be beneficial if you know what you are taking and how much of the health properties are in the extract you are using. Too few polyphenols and it is a waste of money, too many and you may have serious side effects. A visit to a health food store like the Gentle Rain in Stratford would be helpful to get really trustworthy advice.
Take good care,
Diane