Much has been done to document the health benefits of green tea, but which compounds actually contribute to green tea’s effectiveness in so many areas of human health?
Catechins
Catechins are the most commonplace group of compounds found in organic green tea and are widely believed to be behind lots of its natural benefits. In all, catechins make up about 30% of green tea’s composition. The most typical of the catechins in green tea is often known as Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) and it generally comprises between 7 and 13 % of the mass of any sample of green tea. The list of sicknesses that this compound is assumed to prevent or combat is extensive and includes colon cancer, metastatic inflammation, diabetes, kidney stones, liver disease, and more. According to an info table issued by the USDA, catechins are present in far bigger concentrations in entire leave tea than in brewed tea, including EGCg which is just about 100 times more concentrated.
What Is in Green Tea?
Flavonols
This group of nutrient elements makes up between 5 and 10 percent of the composition of green tea. Flavonols have been discovered to be exceedingly powerful antioxidants, and in reality the flavonols found in tea are believed to be among the most powerful natural anti-oxidating compounds in existence. This is thought by researchers to be the reason behind green tea’s connection to heart disease prevention. According to another USDA data table Flavonols are present in quantities as high as five times larger in full green tea leaves than in brewed green tea.
Chlorogenic Acid
This compound is found to a great extent in coffee and also to a lesser extent in green tea. It is assumed by some researchers to stop diabetes although more work still should be done on this issue.
L-Theanine
Much research has been done on this amino acid which is found pretty much exclusively in tea. It has been shown variously to lower stress, improve memory, and improve the general health of the immune system.
Caffeine
The effect of caffeine are well known, so there’s not much reason to go into them here. It must be noted that most of caffeine’s high energy effect is at least partly thwarted by L-Theanine which is a natural stress reducer and relaxant. This, together with the undeniable fact that green tea has way smaller amounts of caffeine, may make a contribution to it’s much softer effect on the body than coffee.
There are some other compounds also present in small amounts green tea such as coumarylquinic acid and theogallin but the analysis on these compounds is still really sparse, suggesting that it may still be some time before we know if they’re in any fashion interlinked to the demonstrated health benefits of green tea.
Vitamins and Minerals
Green tea leaves also contain small amounts of vitamins and minerals that are partially or completely lost during the steeping process. These include vitamins A, B1, B2, and C, as well as Niacin, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, and Fluoride.
The health benefits of these compounds are fairly well known, however it is worthwhile to recount some of their more critical effects:
Vitamin C:
This is a major antioxidant and an essential nutrient. It protects the body against oxidative stress suggesting it may help to prevent a number of sicknesses. It’s presence in full tea leaves is over ten times bigger than in brewed green tea.
Vitamin A:
It is well known that this vitamin is an essential nutrient for the healthiness of the human eye. It is abundant in green tea leaves but is can’t be absorbed in water during brewing. Thus it isn’t found in very high concentrations in the green tea libation.
Calcium:
This is one more essential nutrient that’s abundant in organic green tea leaves. In addition to promoting bone health, it is also a necessary mineral for basic cellular processes in the body. It is just about two hundred times more plentiful in whole tea leaves than in brewed green tea.
Fluoride:
This mineral prevents the formation of plaque on the teeth and is often prescribed by dentists for this reason. It happens in fairly large amounts in whole green tea leaves.
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1] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0091-7435(92)90041-F
2] Ibid.
3] http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/134/12/3431S
4] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(02)01004-3
5] http://www.jbc.org/content/277/38/34933.full
6] http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/end.2006.20.356
7] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14672614?dopt=Abstract
8] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0091-7435(92)90041-F
9] http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf00059a005
10] Ibid.
11] http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Other/IFT2003_TeaFlav.pdf
12] http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSCOL15953520070501
13] http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.06.006
14] http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/115805249/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
15] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC156317/?tool=pmcentrez
16] http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf00059a005
17] Yamamoto, Takahiko. Chemistry and Applications of Green Tea. 1997.
18] Ibid.
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“This article concerning What Maked Green Tea so Healthy is republished with authorization from EatGreenTea.com, the original edible green tea.”
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