When my doctor told me a few months ago that I had to make some drastic changes to my lifestyle otherwise I would be dead by the age of forty, I took this advice with a grain of salt sprinkled over the fish and chips I was eating at the time. I was told that my bad cholesterol level (LDL) was twice as high as it should be and that my good cholesterol (HDL) was through the floor. “Fuck that’s no good”, I thought to myself, a very Australian response you’ll understand.
I wondered why I had reached this point, “Why I have I reached this point?’ I wondered to myself.
I needed a stiff whiskey and a lay down, “I need a stiff whiskey and a lay down”, I said to myself and then I remembered what the doctor had told me ten minutes earlier. “Daniel, Daniel you need to change your ways otherwise you’ll be dead by the age of forty, this is serious Daniel forty Daniel forrtyyyy…I am your father Daniel”.
Hmmm, what else does one drink besides whiskey with a lager chaser? That was when it hit me, oh yes of course green tea, I had heard about the various health benefits of this mystical leaf and had liked it on the odd occasion I had been in the company of alternative people.
I decided to do some research, could this become a core element of the lifestyle change that my physician pleaded?
Green tea comes from the same plant as black tea, Camellia Senesis. It is even made from the same leaves as the black tea. The difference is that green tea does not go through a fermenting process. Instead the leaves are steamed after they are dried. Green tea has a grassy flavor.
This is the list of benefits of green tea which I’ve found during my research.
- It is used to treat multiple sclerosis.
- It is used for treatment and prevention of cancer.
- It is used to stop Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
- It is used to raise the metabolism and increase fat oxidation.
- It reduces the risk of heart diseases and heart attacks by reducing the risk of trombosis.
- It reduces the risk of esophageal cancer.
- Drinking green tea inhibits the growth of certain cancer cells, reduces the level of cholesterol in blood, improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.
- It is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular diseases
- It is used to treat impaired immune function.
- improves the condition of the intestines by blocking bad bacteria and increasing levels of good bacteria
- Some researches show that, drinking green tea regularly may help prevent tooth decay by killing the bacteria which causes the dental plaque.
- Can assist in weight loss
- Slows the ageing process
- Helps to strengthen the immune system
Green tea is able to provide people with these benefits because it contains certain vitamins in which it is particularly rich in EGCG or epigallocatechil gallate. This is a powerful anti-oxidant that inhibits cancer cell growth and kills present cancer cells without harming the rest of the healthy tissues in the body.
I now see the world through a completely different lens and can now smugly categorise people into two categories, those who drink green tea and those who do not. Actually there’s a third category known as those who drink green tea and have an iPhone, but that’s such a specialised category that it’s not even worth mentioning.