Does green tea protect your health or does it simply add caffeine to your diet?
If you are worried about breast, stomach or skin cancer, should you run out and buy green tea? Scientists say no, not yet…That is unless you simply like to drink it. As far as the health benefits, the jury is still out.
Laboratory studies say green tea may prevent or slow the growth of certain cancers. But the results from studies involving people have been mixed.
Green tea used to be a staple only in health food stores. Now it lines the shelves of super markets. Touted as a weight loss aid, a cholesterol reducer and a way to protect the skin from sun damage, is green tea a cure-all or a marketer’s dream? The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is supporting studies to learn more about green tea’s effect on cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
Until we know more, what would it hurt to become a tea totaler? Nothing, if you watch out for certain side effects:
- Green tea is safe, as long as you don't drink too much. Experts say you can have up to ten cups a day, unless you are taking additional supplements. Talk to your doctor to be sure.
- Green tea contains caffeine, which can cause insomnia, anxiety, upset stomach, nausea and diarrhea in some people. Caffeine can also raise blood pressure, and in very high doses, seizures, delirium, or irregular heart rhythms may occur.
- Green tea contains small amounts of vitamin K which can make anticoagulant drugs less effective.Tell your doctor you are taking green tea, or any herbal supplement.
Brewed, capsule, or instant? As women on the go, it’s easy to pop a pill or mix some instant tea. But Mayo Clinic dietician Katherine Zeratsky, says go for the tea bag. "Instant tea has fewer antioxidants than brewed tea. This is because processing tea reduces its antioxidant content, and instant tea is more processed than brewed tea." She adds that decaffeinated tea has fewer antioxidants than caffeinated tea.
Antioxidants are actually natural compounds found in many different foods. They protect against tissue damage from free radicals. In fact, all teas contain antioxidants. During the production process, the leaves are dried and heated. But black tea leaves are also fermented and oxidized. So green tea is less processed than black tea, meaning it contains higher levels of disease fighting antioxidants.
The National Cancer Institute is also investigating green tea as a therapeutic. Until the results are in, go ahead and drink up, in moderation.
Sources:National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Library of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, National Cancer Institute
