Couldn't find what you looking for?

TRY OUR SEARCH!

Health Benefits Of Green Tea And The Evidence In Support

by — Last updated: 2023-01-30 in Nutrition & Dieting

Table of Contents

In recent years, green tea – owing to its impressive ‘health benefits profile’ – has created quite a stir! The whole world and his wife seems to be drinking (and recommending) green tea. But, is drinking green tea really that beneficial?

The belief that green tea consumption is beneficial to human health is not a recent idea by any stretch of imagination; scientists have long suspected this association. However, as stated earlier, research into why that is the case has only begun recently. Both animal studies and human clinical data seem to support the beneficial role of regular consumption of green tea.

So, let’s have a look at some conditions that green tea works its magic in:
Read More: Studies Claim Green Tea Is Very Effective In Preventing Cancer And Dementia
  • Cancer: green tea possesses anticancer, antimutagenic, antioxidant properties; together these help in preventing cancer. Some of the cancers that are affected favorably by green tea are cancer of the mouth, oesophagus, lungs, breast, stomach, colon, small intestine and pancreas. Green tea may also reduce cancer risks posed by environmental agents. Cigarette-smoking induced lung cancer risk is also affected favorably, as shown by Shim et al.
  • Chronic diseases: Human clinical trials have concluded that green tea (and black and Oolong tea), owing to its polyphenol and antioxidant content, may provide protection against chronic disease; reduce blood pressure and the subsequent risk of stroke or coronary heart disease. It also shown to be beneficial in reducing obesity and blood glucose levels. Green tea catechins have anti-diabetic effects due to its ‘insulin-like’ and ‘insulin-enhancing’ activities. Also, animal studies have shown that green tea catechins may reduce blood triglyceride levels as well, making it a good choice for people who have high cholesterol.
  • Diarrheal and other gastrointestinal diseases: Since ancient times, green tea has been used as a remedy in cases of diarrhea and typhoid; recent research suggests that the ancients were right to use the substance in this way. Scientists also believe that green tea may be effective in resisting Helicobacter pylori infection in humans. 
  • Immune booster: Owing to its ability to resist oxidant and radicals, green tea is believed to strengthen immunity system
  • Organ protection: Green tea is instrumental in organ protection as well – reduces the risk of renal stones and development of cataracts
  • Emergent situations: anti-inflammatory actions green tea make it a useful adjunct in treating emergent conditions like bee stings. Acute alcoholic intoxication benefits due to the antioxidant action of green tea
Conditions like Parkinsonism, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases also stand to gain from regular green tea consumption.

Such phenomenal effectiveness in a number of seemingly unrelated conditions makes green tea a ‘hot property’. It shouldn't come as a surprise that green tea or its ingredients make their way into numerous supplements, health foods, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics.

Take home message

Green tea – on account of the nutritional goodies it contains – seems to able to resist a number of seemingly unrelated pathological conditions. In addition to anecdotal evidence spanning thousands of years, recent research too provides ample proof of the role of green tea in optimizing health.

So, pick up your concoction of freshly brewed green tea and drink away to glory!

  • Anderson, R. A. & Polansky, M. M. (2002). Tea enhances insulin activity. J Agric.Food Chem., 50, 7182-7186.
  • Cabrera, C., Artacho, R., & Gimenez, R. (2006). Beneficial effects of green tea--a review. J Am Coll.Nutr., 25, 79-99.
  • Chacko, S. M., Thambi, P. T., Kuttan, R., & Nishigaki, I. (2010). Beneficial effects of green tea: a literature review. Chin Med, 5, 13.
  • Dona, M., Dell'Aica, I., Calabrese, F., Benelli, R., Morini, M., Albini, A. et al. (2003). Neutrophil restraint by green tea: inhibition of inflammation, associated angiogenesis, and pulmonary fibrosis. J Immunol., 170, 4335-4341.
  • Dvorakova, K., Dorr, R. T., Valcic, S., Timmermann, B., & Alberts, D. S. (1999). Pharmacokinetics of the green tea derivative, EGCG, by the topical route of administration in mouse and human skin. Cancer Chemother.Pharmacol., 43, 331-335.
  • Haqqi, T. M., Anthony, D. D., Gupta, S., Ahmad, N., Lee, M. S., Kumar, G. K. et al. (1999). Prevention of collagen-induced arthritis in mice by a polyphenolic fraction from green tea. Proc.Natl.Acad.Sci.U.S.A, 96, 4524-4529.
  • Ishizuk, H., Eguchi, H., Oda, T., Ogawa, S., Nakagawa, K., Honjo, S. et al. (2003). Relation of coffee, green tea, and caffeine intake to gallstone disease in middle-aged Japanese men. Eur J Epidemiol., 18, 401-405.
  • Iso, H., Date, C., Wakai, K., Fukui, M., & Tamakoshi, A. (2006). The relationship between green tea and total caffeine intake and risk for self-reported type 2 diabetes among Japanese adults. Ann Intern.Med, 144, 554-562.
  • Japanese Green Tea Online.com. (2013). Japanese Green Tea Online.com. Ref Type: Online Source
  • Kavanagh, K. T., Hafer, L. J., Kim, D. W., Mann, K. K., Sherr, D. H., Rogers, A. E. et al. (2001). Green tea extracts decrease carcinogen-induced mammary tumor burden in rats and rate of breast cancer cell proliferation in culture. J Cell Biochem., 82, 387-398.
  • Khan, N. & Mukhtar, H. (2007). Tea polyphenols for health promotion. Life Sci., 81, 519-533.
  • Koo, M. W. & Cho, C. H. (2004). Pharmacological effects of green tea on the gastrointestinal system. Eur J Pharmacol., 500, 177-185.
  • Lu, H., Meng, X., Li, C., Sang, S., Patten, C., Sheng, S. et al. (2003). Glucuronides of tea catechins: enzymology of biosynthesis and biological activities. Drug Metab Dispos., 31, 452-461.
  • McKay, D. L. & Blumberg, J. B. (2002). The role of tea in human health: an update. J Am Coll.Nutr., 21, 1-13.
  • Mukhtar, H., Wang, Z. Y., Katiyar, S. K., & Agarwal, R. (1992). Tea components: antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic effects. Prev.Med, 21, 351-360.
  • Pan, T., Fei, J., Zhou, X., Jankovic, J., & Le, W. (2003). Effects of green tea polyphenols on dopamine uptake and on MPP+ -induced dopamine neuron injury. Life Sci., 72, 1073-1083.
  • Sano, M., Tabata, M., Suzuki, M., Degawa, M., Miyase, T., & Maeda-Yamamoto, M. (2001). Simultaneous determination of twelve tea catechins by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. Analyst, 126, 816-820.
  • Sato, T. & Miyata, G. (2000). The nutraceutical benefit, part I: green tea. Nutrition, 16, 315-317.
  • Shim, J. S., Kang, M. H., Kim, Y. H., Roh, J. K., Roberts, C., & Lee, I. P. (1995). Chemopreventive effect of green tea (Camellia sinensis) among cigarette smokers. Cancer Epidemiol.Biomarkers Prev., 4, 387-391.
  • Skrzydlewska, E., Ostrowska, J., Stankiewicz, A., & Farbiszewski, R. (2002). Green tea as a potent antioxidant in alcohol intoxication. Addict.Biol., 7, 307-314.
  • Sudano, R. A., Blanco, A. R., Giuliano, F., Rusciano, D., & Enea, V. (2004). Epigallocatechin-gallate enhances the activity of tetracycline in staphylococci by inhibiting its efflux from bacterial cells. Antimicrob.Agents Chemother., 48, 1968-1973.
  • Sueoka, N., Suganuma, M., Sueoka, E., Okabe, S., Matsuyama, S., Imai, K. et al. (2001). A new function of green tea: prevention of lifestyle-related diseases. Ann N Y.Acad.Sci., 928, 274-280.
  • Takabayashi, F., Harada, N., Yamada, M., Murohisa, B., & Oguni, I. (2004). Inhibitory effect of green tea catechins in combination with sucralfate on Helicobacter pylori infection in Mongolian gerbils. J Gastroenterol., 39, 61-63.
  • Tsuneki, H., Ishizuka, M., Terasawa, M., Wu, J. B., Sasaoka, T., & Kimura, I. (2004). Effect of green tea on blood glucose levels and serum proteomic patterns in diabetic (db/db) mice and on glucose metabolism in healthy humans. BMC Pharmacol., 4, 18.
  • Waltner-Law, M. E., Wang, X. L., Law, B. K., Hall, R. K., Nawano, M., & Granner, D. K. (2002). Epigallocatechin gallate, a constituent of green tea, represses hepatic glucose production. J Biol.Chem., 277, 34933-34940.
  • Weber, J. M., Ruzindana-Umunyana, A., Imbeault, L., & Sircar, S. (2003). Inhibition of adenovirus infection and adenain by green tea catechins. Antiviral Res., 58, 167-173.
  • Weisburger, J. H. (2000). Approaches for chronic disease prevention based on current understanding of underlying mechanisms. Am J Clin Nutr., 71, 1710S-1714S.
  • Wolfram, S., Raederstorff, D., Preller, M., Wang, Y., Teixeira, S. R., Riegger, C. et al. (2006). Epigallocatechin gallate supplementation alleviates diabetes in rodents. J Nutr., 136, 2512-2518.
  • Wu, C. H., Lu, F. H., Chang, C. S., Chang, T. C., Wang, R. H., & Chang, C. J. (2003). Relationship among habitual tea consumption, percent body fat, and body fat distribution. Obes Res., 11, 1088-1095.
  • Wu, L. Y., Juan, C. C., Ho, L. T., Hsu, Y. P., & Hwang, L. S. (2004). Effect of green tea supplementation on insulin sensitivity in Sprague-Dawley rats. J Agric.Food Chem., 52, 643-648.
  • Yee, Y. K., Koo, M. W., & Szeto, M. L. (2002). Chinese tea consumption and lower risk of Helicobacter infection. J Gastroenterol.Hepatol., 17, 552-555.
  • Zaveri, N. T. (2006). Green tea and its polyphenolic catechins: medicinal uses in cancer and noncancer applications. Life Sci., 78, 2073-2080.
  • Mindmap by steadyhealth.com
  • Photo courtesy of Leon Brocard by Flickr : www.flickr.com/photos/acme/6325310648/