Green tea has an impressive number of health benefits. From inhibiting cancer to lowering blood cholesterol, it offers a lot of promise, and the only known drawback is insomnia if it is consumed at the wrong time. Now, in a recent event, researchers have found likely beneficial effects for the eyes too.
What makes green tea beneficial
Green tea contains antioxidants, called catechins that scavenge free radicals. Since free radicals alter cells, tamper with DNA and can cause cell death, they are damaging and cancerous. They occur naturally and from environmental toxins like pollution. By scavenging these free radicals, the antioxidants in green tea can reduce the risk of various aliments to include cancer and blood clots.
The catechins in green tea are unique and more concentrated because green tea is not fermented in processing the way other teas are. Green tea receives minimal processing, and its leaves are only withered and steamed.
Green tea helps the eyes
This new finding was published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. In the study, researchers fed a green tea extract to rats and then analyzed their eye tissues. It was discovered that the eyes had absorbed various amounts of catechins with the highest levels in the retina. This antioxidant was present up to 20 hours after the rats had consumed the green tea extract.
Other benefits of green tea
Since these studies were only done on rats, nobody can be certain the effects will be the same on humans, but it is certainly a hopeful sign. There are also other benefits from green tea that, although not fully proved yet, are almost certainly there to at least some degree.
Lowering cholesterol
It has been shown the green tea lowers the total cholesterol level in the body (the harmful LDL cholesterol) while increasing the level of “good” HDL cholesterol in animals as well as people. This is likely done by the polyphenols of the green tea blocking the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines.
Green tea and cancer
The polyphenols of green tea are thought to inhibit the growth of cancer and kill cells that are growing more than they should be. While human studies are not yet conclusive, there is some intriguing evidence. For example, cancer rates are lower in nations like Japan and China where people consume more green tea.
Studies also show more direct evidence of green tea offering protection from cancer. A study in Japan showed that women who consumed more green tea had a lower reoccurrence of breast cancer (caught in its earlier stages) after surgery. Another study in China showed that the incidence of cancers to include stomach cancer, esophageal cancer and prostate cancer decreased with a greater consumption of green tea.
Green tea and the heart
Heart disease is the biggest killer in many nations now, and there is also reason to believe that green tea helps the heart. A Dutch study showed green tea reduces clogging of the arteries. Studies in Japan have also shown reduced rates of heart disease from green tea consumption. This could be due to green tea increasing the flexibility of blood vessels and thus making them less susceptible to clogging.
Other benefits
The benefits of green tea do not stop there. It has been used to control blood sugar in the body and is thought to prevent and slow type 1 diabetes, aid the liver in preventing damage from toxins, and there is evidence it can also aid in weight loss as well as against arthritis.
While these and other benefits of green tea have yet to be proved conclusively, there can be virtually no doubt it offers health benefits. With almost no known risks and its long history of human consumption, one can hardly go wrong by consuming more of it. It certainly carries far more potential health benefits and fewer risks than most any other drink available today.
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free radicals are dangerous because they can cause cancer.”;”