Green tea is made of leaves from the tea bush Camellia sinensis. Theses leaves are steamed and dried with heat, but are not fermented like black tea. Green tea can be used as a regular tea. You can get it in the form of powder to be diluted in hot water or you can get it in the form of capsules.
Green tea contains many beneficial substances: vitamin Bs, vitamin C, minerals - and often considerable amounts of manganese, lithium, molypdenum, and other trace- and microminerals, caffeine and many other bioflavanoids, of these 30 – 40 % are polyphenols. In health perspective, the most interesting of these are Epigallocatechin gallate (ECGC) and epicatechine. The amount of these substances in the tea leaves depends on the conditions of cultivations, the climate, the age of the tea bushes, and from which part of the bush, the leaves have been picked.
The caffeine content in a cup of green tea is typically between 50 and 100 mg. of caffeine - or about half the amount of a caffeine in a cup of coffee.
Green tea has a powerful antioxidant effect. It protects the cells, especially in the stomach, the small intestine, the pancreas, the alimentary canal, and the lungs. It helps prevent cancer, counteracts bacterial attacks and thereby also food poisoning and caries, counteracts viral attacks, regulates the blood sugar and therefore reduces the appetite, and lowers the level of LDL-cholesterol in the blood.
Please note
There have not been noted any specific side effects in connection with green tea, but
- In case of hypertension, do not consume large amounts of tea without first checking your blood pressure.
- Large daily amounts of green tea is said to be able to lower the level of folic acid in the body. This is a fact that pregnant women, in particular, should be aware of.
- Green tea can give some people the feeling of having "a hole in their stomach" and also cause sleeping problems if consumed late in the day.
- Avoid the cheap green teas from East Asia which can be contaminated with the insecticide DDT. Instead, you should by organic green tea or a tea that has been controlled and is guaranteed free of pesticide residues.
