 The Beverage Green
tea is a "true" tea (i.e., Camellia
sinensis) that has undergone minimal oxidation
during processing. Green tea is popular in
China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and the
Middle East. Recently it has become more
widespread in the West, where traditionally
black tea is consumed.
Green tea
originated in China for medicinal purposes, and
its first recorded use was 4,000 years ago. By
the third century, it became a daily drink and
cultivation and processing began. Today, China
has hundreds of different types of green teas.
Other producers of green tea include India,
Indonesia, Korea, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and
Vietnam.
Chinese legend says that over
four thousand years ago, green tea was
accidentally discovered. Today green tea is used
to treat problems including depression,
headaches, gastrointestinal disorders, aches,
and pains. It is also used to boost the immune
system, to prolong life, to detoxify, and to
provide energy.
Green Tea for Health and
Long Life
 Teas generally
all come from the tea plant; what causes each
tea to differ is how it is prepared. Green tea
differs from oolong and blank tea because the
active components stay unchanged because it is
not fermented. In addition to various vitamins,
nutrients, and minerals, green tea contains
organic chemicals called polyphenols, or
epigallocatechin gallate, that produce its
medicinal properties.
Health Benefits
of Green Tea
Early scientific studies are showing that
green tea may be able to lower cholesterol,
especially the dangerous LDL cholesterol. They
also suggest that this tea might improve
cardiovascular health by causing blood platelets
to be less sticky.
Green tea is known to be a detoxifier and an
antioxidant and can help prevent
atherosclerosis.
Other studies show the possibility of green
tea having the ability to restrain cancer. The
polyphenols in green tea stopped the spreading
of melanoma cells in scientific experiments on
animals and may also be able to lower the risk
of certain cancers in humans.
Green tea also has the ability to reduce
bacteria causing dental cavities and harmful
bacteria found in the stomach.
Dosage and
Administration
No specific recommendations are currently
given for green tea; however, most people drink
around 3 cups of tea each day. Some research
indicates that as many as 10 cups of green tea
may be needed each day to make a noticeable
difference in health.
Green tea is made by adding 1 teaspoon of
green tea leaves to 1 cup of boiling water.
Steep for 3 minutes. | 
