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The Power of the Catechins
For thousands of years the Chinese
have known that drinking tea is good for your physical and mental
health. But almost nobody in the Western world thought twice about the
tea/health connection until the 1970’s. That’s when researchers first
noticed a much lower rate of cancer deaths among people living in
Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture compared to people living in other areas of
Japan.
When they looked
at the lifestyle and habits of the two groups, the researchers could
only find one major difference: those living in the Shizuoka Prefecture
drank a lot more green tea. The reason they were such big tea
drinkers was because the Shizuoka Prefecture is Japan’s premier
tea-growing region and, with acres of tea springing up practically right
outside the door, everybody who lived there sipped green tea almost
continually throughout the day. Some even refreshed the teapot every so
often with a few fresh tea leaves plucked from a nearby bush.
But what was it
about green tea that seemed to be protective against cancer? After much
study, the researchers came up with the answer: the catechins.
The
catechins (pronounced CAT-i-kins)
are naturally-occurring plant chemicals found primarily in green tea
leaves that have powerful antioxidant and disease-fighting properties.
You can find some catechins in a few other foods (such as black tea,
ginkgo biloba leaves, dark chocolate and wine), but green tea contains
the lion’s share.
There are five
types of catechins, with hard-to-pronounce names like
gallocatechin,
epicatechin, and
epigallocatechin. The one that has the
most potent health benefits is epigallocatechin
gallate, or EGCg for
short. The catechins are part of a larger group called the
flavonoids which, in turn, are
part of an even larger group called the
polyphenols. That’s why you’ll sometimes hear the
catechins referred to as “tea flavonoids" or “tea polyphenols.”
Since scientists
first isolated these substances in the 1970’s, the catechins (especially
EGCg) have been the subject of thousands of scientific studies. They are
best known for their powerful antioxidant action, reducing the free
radical damage that is linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease and
other degenerative diseases.
But the
catechins can also work other “wonders.” To name a few: they can
destroy certain powerful bacteria (including
salmonella and cholera), inhibit the action of viruses (such as flu
virus and HIV), assist in weight loss, fight tooth decay and stimulate
the immune system. Clearly the catechins are potent health-protectors!
And they are only found in significant quantities in green tea.
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Nadine Taylor, M.S., R.D. presents
GreenTeaLibrary.com,
the most comprehensive collection of scientific information
describing the health benefits of green tea.
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