Will green tea really save my life?

Everywhere I go lately people have been pushing green tea at me.

Why?

Is it really good for me?

How so?

What makes it better for me than whatever's in my usual glass of iced Lipton?

And how should I drink it to get all the healthful benefits?  Do I need to buy a particular blend from a tea specialty shop?  Is there a proper way to brew it?

What about all the bottled stuff?  Looks like everything else convenient stores and supermarkets and fast food chains push at Americans to drink, another wet form of candy.  Do I get any benefits from drinking mass produced green tea candy drinks?

Anything that will help me cut back on soda and coffee's got to be good for me, but whenever some great new wonderful comes along that's supposed to anti-oxidize me, flush all the toxins from my system, fill me up with renewed vim, vigor, and verve, keep me young, strong, and enthusiastically sexy until I'm 80, and otherwise make my doctor and dentist happy with me, I can't help thinking of that scene in Woody Allen's Sleeper.

"Take it!  It's tobacco!  It's the best thing for you!"

Comments

[Jaquandor]

I love green tea. It's pretty easy to brew, just follow the directions on the box, especially if you use bags -- it works pretty much like any other tea.

The bottled drinks like the Arizona Tea stuff are OK, but too sweet for my tastes, and many of them are sweetened with that awful HFCS stuff; if you take a liking to cold green tea, look for the brands that sweeten with actual sugar. They tend to cost more per bottle, but HFCS isn't good for you, so to me it's worth the extra. (Especially since I don't really go the cold tea route very often.)

Of course, if you try it and hate it, then the hell with it. (I don't care how many diseases broccoli can cure, I'm not eating that crap!)

[lina]

throw in a little dark chocolate and red wine, and you'll live forever.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080702080624.htm

ScienceDaily (July 3, 2008) — More evidence for the beneficial effect of green tea on risk factors for heart disease has emerged in a new study. The study found that the consumption of green tea rapidly improves the function of (endothelial) cells lining the circulatory system; endothelial dysfunction is a key event in the progression of atherosclerosis. . .

"These findings have important clinical implications," says Dr Vlachopoulos. "Tea consumption has been associated with reduced cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in several studies. Green tea is consumed less in the Western world than black tea, but it could be more beneficial because of the way it seems to improve endothelial function. In this same context, recent studies have also shown potent anticarcinogenic effects of green tea, attributed to its antioxidant properties.". . .

[actor212]

Green tea is not nearly as healthy for you as white tea, and the benefits of white tea are the big food conglomerates haven't gotten their hands on it as much because no one buys it.

Celestial Seasonings makes a superb white tea with Jasmine, the perfect drink because it's not overpowering in either taste or aroma, and sips like water.

You're looking at antioxidants, Lance.:

"Tea leaves destined to be sold as white tea undergo even less processing than green tea leaves. Instead of air-drying, the unwithered leaves are merely steamed.

The result? A pale tea with a sweet, silky flavor. People who have tried both note that white tea lacks the “grassy” aftertaste so often associated with green tea. Furthermore, studies indicate that white tea is better for you. Leaving tea leaves so close to their natural state means that white tea contains more polyphenols, the powerful anti-oxidant that fights and kills cancer-causing cells, than any other type of tea.

Need another reason to drink white tea? A 2004 study at Pace University concluded that white tea can help your body’s immune system fight off viruses and dangerous infection-causing bacteria. The same study concluded that fluoride-rich white tea helps prevent the growth of dental plaque, the chief cause of tooth decay.

Of course, nothing in life is perfect. Expect to pay more for white tea than other tea types - up to $25 US for a 2-ounce tin (40 to 50 cups) of Silver Needles. And, while many tea shops are starting to carry white tea, shopping online is still your best bet for the more upscale varieties."

I started drinking white tea when I heard about the polyphenols, which help me control both my blood pressure and cholesterol. I can't swear they've been the difference, but every little bit helps, and polyphenols are pretty close to a wonder drug.

[Ken Muldrew]

"...flush all the toxins from my system"

Every cell in our body is more complex than the most complicated machines ever built by humans, and they're all working furiously, 24 hours per day, to rid our bodies of toxins (and it's not easy, what with our love of Maillard products and similarly delicious tastes). The idea that one can simply eat or drink a miracle solvent that will flush toxins from one's system is magical thinking of the most primitive kind. The South Sea Islanders who built runways in anticipation of cargo planes were being more rational. For crying out loud, we've got indoor plumbing, and cotton-polyester blends...we're sophisticated! How does this kind of nonsense get any traction?

[actor212]

On the other hand, Ken, tea has been shown to have actual benefits to the body, unlike Kinoki Foot Pads.

[Ken Muldrew]

Oh, I wasn't trying to knock tea (or orange juice, or any of a thousand other things that one might legitimately call "healthy"). I just get worked up over dumb ideas that get spread like some sort of mimetic illness. The analogy of solubility separation is not even wrong when applied to human physiology.

Poison is the dose and nothing beats empirical experiment for generating reliable knowledge. And for better or worse, "taste" trumps just about ever other consideration.