Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: Chub on 04/05/2005 18:15:02
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Okay, heard a lot about green tea and I have drank it for years because I like it.
I'm curious ... is the green tea from say Lipton as good as the green tea bought on-line or at a speciality store?
Also ... When the green tea has extras like "Green Tea and Raspberry" does that take away from the benefits?
Do you have to brew it a specific way to get all the benefits?
Can you use Green Tea in a maker, such as Mrs. Tea (from the makers of Mr. Coffee) and let it sit all day, as some of us do with our coffee, then reheat a cup at a time as we like and will it still have the same antioxidants and such that it totes as a plus?
One Step Closer To Success
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The information about green tea is inconclusive and not reliable. There has been very little independent study and therefore the results are biased.
Green tea has high levels of a substance known as epigallocatechin gallate which is a polyphenol with antioxidant properties. It is reccomended that you drink 4-5 cups of green tea a day but I would query this as each cup has 35mg of caffeine. This means you are consuming 175mg caffeine a day just from your green tea.
There are around 80-106mg polyphenols per cup of green tea. The Saitama Cancer Research Institute suggests that you need to drink 5 cups a day while the University of California suggests you can get the same level of polyphenols from 2 cups. One study even suggests you need 10 cups a day.
Epigallocatechin gallate is thought to kill cancer cells and inhibit the growth of cancerous cells. It has also been suggested that it has a thrombolytic effect in the prevention of CVAs.
There have been links to the "French Paradox" where despite the French consuming a diet high in fats, they have a lower incidence of heart disease than most countries. These low rates have been attributed to red wine which is high in levels of resveratrol which is a polyphenol. Epigallocatechin gallate is thought to be twice as effective as resveratrol which a study by the University of Kansas discovered in 1997.
I would argue that there is no definitive evidence as most of the tests have been conducted on or compared to asian people who have a lower incidence of heart disease anyway. There is virtually no economic validity to the research.
A Chinese source suggests brewing a fresh cup of tea each time.
Just my two cents.
Live long and Love life
Kevin Fisher
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I think your lipton tea will be just as good as your health food tea as there is no mention in any test of where the tea came from. Were tests carried out accross brands and demographic groups? Or were they sponsored and carried out by a company selling a particular brand?
Live long and Love life
Kevin Fisher
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Thank you very much Kevin. Appreciate the information.
So much hype on all these things, it's hard to figure out what to believe. I always figured the asians were thinner and healthier because their diet consisted mainly of fish and they get a lot more exercise than the average american.
Thanks again
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