Green Tea Benefits: How The Drink Improves Your Health

The health benefits of tea stretch across the spectrum -- green, black or white all promise to fight free radicals and hydrate you, among other benefits.

But green tea may have the advantage on one front: It's less processed and therefore the good guys (antioxidants, in particular one variety called EGCG) are more concentrated, WebMD reported.

Now, new clues are emerging as to just how powerful green tea really is. It's long been linked to fighting cancer, but researchers presented new evidence about how green tea prevents or slows the growth of prostate and breast cancers.

In a small new study, men who drank green tea had less prostate tissue inflammation and lower levels of the protein PSA, higher levels of which are often used as an indicator of prostate cancer, than men who didn't drink it, thanks to the antioxidants called polyphenols in the drink, WebMD reported.

The polyphenols were also seen to hinder two proteins that spur tumor cell growth in a study of 40 women with breast cancer, LiveScience reported.

While experts agree that more research is still needed, this only adds to the body of work linking green tea to healthy, happy living. And it doesn't only play a role in cancer prevention. Here are some of the other ways that green tea can help your health. Did we forget something? Tell us in the comments.

• ?Protect The Heart

  A few cups of any tea have been linked with a <a href="http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/v61/n1/full/1602489a.html">lower risk of heart disease</a>, but green tea in particular seems to <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1820250,00.html">keep heart arteries "flexible and relaxed"</a> to better handle changes in blood pressure, Time.com reported. The antioxidants known as flavonoids <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20837049">keep the endothelial cells working properly</a>, which in turn helps to prevent clogged arteries.

• ?Boost Immunity

  The studies mostly come from the lab rather than real life, but some experts believe that the same EGCG catechin can fight off viruses. In one study, green tea <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12742577">prevented a particular strain of the cold virus from replicating</a>. It's thought to work thanks to a boost to the number of <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21621552">"regulatory T cells"</a> in the body, a marker of stronger immune system functioning.

• ?Fight Obesity

  Green tea can aid in weight loss and prevent weight <em>gain</em>, making it a useful tool in the fight against our ever-expanding waistlines. Five cups a day seems to <a href="http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20409937,00.html">up the body's natural fat-burning abilities</a>, Health.com reported. And in a 2011 study, mice <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111004123824.htm">gained weight more slowly</a> when they were given green tea along with a high-fat diet.

• ?Improve Functioning In Old Age

  In a study of 14,000 adults over the age of 65, the ones who drank the most green tea <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/green-tea-functioning-old-age_n_1258028.html">coped the best with the aging process</a>. Everyday activities like bathing or dressing were easier for the seven percent who drank at least five cups a day, HuffPost reported. While some of this benefit may be chalked up to healthier lifestyles in general, the researchers said something about green tea itself still seems to play a role.

• ?Prevent Diabetes

  Both black and green tea are thought to have <a href="http://diabetes.webmd.com/news/20050420/black-tea-green-tea-good-for-diabetes">blood-sugar-lowering effects that could stave off diabetes</a>, according to WebMD. But a 2006 study of more than 17,000 Japanese adults found that drinking at least six cups of green tea a day <a href="http://annals.org/article.aspx?articleid=722135">lowered a person's risk of diabetes by about a third</a>, while other types of tea <a href="http://www.diabetes.org/news-research/research/access-diabetes-research/iso-coffee-green-tea.html">didn't offer any protection</a>, according to the American Diabetes Association.

• ?Lower Cholesterol

  Those same polyphenols seem to block cholesterol absorption, contributing to lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels. However, the effect is not enormous -- a 2011 study found <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/17/us-tea-idUSTRE7AG0BD20111117">LDL levels dropped only about five or six points</a>. "If someone is already taking medication for their cholesterol, they should stick with it and not to trade it for green tea," study author Olivia Phung, an assistant professor of pharmacy at Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, California, told Reuters Health.

• ...Improve Memory

  That same famed EGCG also seems to protect your grey matter. Green tea sparks <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120905083852.htm">new brain cell growth</a>, according to a 2012 study conducted in mice, bolstering memory and learning.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/20/green-tea-benefits-health_n_1988290.html

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