We've all heard the hype about green tea. But do you know WHY it's so special? What makes it different from other teas?

Green tea has been around for centuries. The Chinese, Japanese, Indians and Thai people are way ahead of us in the green tea consumption.

Here's some interesting facts:

*A recent Japanese medical study created that adults in Japan who drank green tea had a lower death rate from all causes.

*A 1994 Cancer study created that green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by almost 60%.

*The heart disease rate among Japanese men is low, even though nearly 75% of them smoke.

So what's in green tea?

What makes green tea so special?

Tea generally comes from the Camellia sinensis plant. It is rich in catechin polyphenols which contain a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants are chemical substances created in fruits and vegetables. Antioxidants attack the free radicals that are formed in the body during the normal oxidation procedure. Free radicals gone unchecked can lead to all kinds of degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and Parkinson's.

In addition to the catchin polyphenol, green tea has tannin, vitamins A, C, and E which are also known for their antioxidant attributes.

The Benefits of Green Tea

Dr. Oguni, Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences in University of Shizuoka, Hamamatsu College, Japan says that the high accumulation of antioxidant tea in green tea has various uses. Some of these uses include the following:

Preventing food poisoning

Reducing the risk of cancer

Practicing oral hygiene

Preventing the increase of cholesterol

Controlling high blood pressure

Lowering blood sugar

Slowing the aging procedure

University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also examination indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of useful (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Over the centuries of tea drinking, it's medicinal uses have been as a stimulant, a diuretic (to help the excretion of urine) and as an astringent (to help with wound healing).

What's the secret in green tea?

There are other teas made from the Camellia sinensis plant. Why don't they also have antioxidant attributes? Turns out, it is the way the leaves are processed. Green tea leaves are steamed, but the other teas are made with fermented leaves which oxidizes the antioxidant compounds and makes them ineffective in retarding and fighting diseases.

That might explain why other cultures that are heavy tea drinkers don't have the same health uses from their tea. Of course, the occasional cup of green tea isn't going to give you much protection either. The general consensus is several cups of green tea per day will give you the antioxidant uses.

If you are not an avid tea drinker to begin with, there are other sources of antioxidants. Green tea does contain caffeine which can be a problem for some people.

For an inexpensive supplement form of Green Tea, try:

Green Tea Capsules

Even better, you can now get green tea chocolate! For those who still want the antioxidant benefits of green tea without all the brewing. My guess is that at least some of the antioxidant properties are lost in the processing. At least be sure you are buying DARK chocolate. I've seen green tea chocolate advertised that was made from milk chocolate - not a good source of antioxidants. Here's one I found that looks pretty good: