Green tea can help improve overall health

Aug 01, 2023

SAMUEL MATHIS

“All I need in life is Jesus and my green tea.” — Mary Mathis (my grandmother)

One question often asked by Integrative Medicine physicians is how much green tea an individual drinks each day. At Integrative Medicine conferences, green tea is everywhere. I am fairly sure I even saw a green tea beer on tap one year. And why wouldn’t we love green tea? It is one of the healthiest drinks ever created outside of clean drinking water. What is it that makes green tea so healthy?

First, green tea is full of numerous health-boosting compounds such as flavonoids, catechins (EGCG), L-Theanine and phenolic acid. These compounds have antioxidant properties, improve cognition and even help prevent damage to the brain from aging. There are studies that have found decreased levels of inflammation in the body and brain from drinking 3-5 cups of green tea per day. These compounds decrease and even reverse some of the oxidative damage caused by pro-inflammatory foods, and other harmful substances.

There are even some studies that have linked green tea consumption to decreased risk of developing certain types of cancers like lung cancer or ovarian cancer. There are some studies that have shown the compounds in green tea may also limit the growth of certain cancers like esophageal, lung and pancreatic cancers, but these were not conclusive. Studies have not shown that green tea can treat cancer, but my grandmother swore that green tea played a huge role in treating her cancer.

In addition to its inflammatory and cancer-prevention properties, green tea has also been shown to help with certain chronic health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular health. Studies have found that drinking green tea daily can lower one’s risk of death from diabetes by up to 10 percent. Other studies have found green tea slightly helps with blood sugar control, lowering the risk of hyperglycemia. Green tea also lowers the risk of heart disease through blood pressure and cholesterol-lowering effects. However, these studies are small and further research is needed to verify these results.

Green tea has also been shown to improve fat utilization, thus increasing the effectiveness of weight loss. This is why we see so many weight loss supplements utilizing green tea extract. Again, while some studies have shown green tea helps, other studies have not shown it to be effective.

Finally, one study in Japan found that individuals who drank 5 cups of green tea per day has lower all cause of mortality than those drinking 1 cup or less. A follow-up study confirmed these findings and found that drinking 7 cups a day lowered the risk of death by up to 62 percent compared to non-drinkers. Whatever the case may be, green tea is something that should be added to all our diets to help improve our overall health. I use a little honey in mine to sweeten it up without ruining the anti-inflammatory effects by adding sugar. Add some lemon and it tastes great either hot or over ice on a hot summer day.

Dr. Samuel Mathis is an assistant professor in The University of Texas Medical Branch’s Family Medicine Department.

SAMUEL MATHIS

Log In

Internet forum rules ...Real names required. No pseudonyms or partialnames allowed. Stand behind what you post.Keep it clean. Don't use obscene, vulgar,lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.Don't threaten. Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.Be truthful. Don’t knowingly lie about anyone oranything.Be nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ismthat is degrading to another person.Be brief. Keep posts to 150 words or less.Edit yourself. No more than two posts per threadand stay on topic. Do not link to sites outside galvnews.com.Be aware. All posts are property of The Daily Newsand may be republished in print.Be proactive. Use the "Report" link oneach comment to let us know of rule violations.

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to read or post comments.

In this episode, we explore some of Galveston's Historic East End Neighborhoods, some of the oldest and most well-preserved neighborhoods.