Gain Health Benefits From Green Tea

Gain HealthBenefits From Green Tea - Good news for green tea drinkers! A Japanese study involving thousands of subjects has found that regular drinkers gain health benefits from green tea, appearing to show less age related disability than those who don't enjoy the beverage. 

The work examined the question - do people who drink this variety of tea have a reduced risk of becoming frail and disabled as the years pass?

Researchers studied nearly 14,000 Japanese adults, all 65 or older, and followed them for a period of three years. Information on tea consumption as well as other lifestyle factors was collected using a questionnaire.

Researchers found that those who drunk the highest amount of tea had the smallest risk of being identified with "functional disability" - problems with completing daily activities or normal functions like bathing or getting dressed.

Green tea drinkers also had healthier diets (more fish veggies and fruit), plus higher levels of education, lower rates of smoking, fewer strokes and heart attacks as well as better mental sharpness. They were also more likely to be socially active and thus had more family and friends as support systems in their lives.

Even after all other risk factors for disability were taken into account; green tea was still linked with a reduced risk of age related disability. 

Subjects who had at least 5 cups per day were a 30% less likely to have disabilities compared to those who took in less than one cup a day. Those who drank 3 to 4 cups of this variety of tea each day had a 25% lower risk of age related disability.

The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea for thousands of years. Experts now know that this tea has powerful antioxidants (particularly epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG for short) that help to hold off cell damage which can result in disease.

The delicious tasting drink has been studied by experts for its effect on cholesterol numbers and the risks of certain cancers, but thus far, results on green tea's effectiveness have been mixed. 

And while the researchers on this study cannot explain why this tea might provide a protective effect against disability, they do cite a recent study that discovered green tea extracts appeared to build leg muscle strength for older women.

And unlike the black and oolong tea varieties, green leaves are steamed, not fermented, which keeps the EGCG from being oxidized and turned into compounds that aren't nearly as effective.

Small amounts of green tea are considered safe for most people, it does contain caffeine and a small amount of vitamin K. 

This means that the beverage could interfere with medications that keep blood from clotting. Talk with your own doctor before adding this beverage to your diet - once you get the okay you can enjoy the health benefits from green tea by drinking it hot, warm, iced or mixed with other drinks.