Friday, November 5, 2010

Is Green Tea Fat Burner?

Benefits of green tea is known since ancient times, as Chinese using it to treat everything from headaches to depression.

Lets look at Green tea. Its a tea made solely with the leaves and greens of Camellia sinensis. There are three main varieties of tea... They are green, black, and oolong. The difference between the teas is in their processing. Green tea is made from unfermented leaves and reportedly contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphenols. Antioxidants are substances that scavenge free radicals -- damaging compounds in the body that alter cells, tamper with DNA (genetic material), and even cause cell death. Free radicals occur naturally in the body, but environmental toxins (including ultraviolet rays from the sun, radiation, cigarette smoke, and air pollution) also give rise to these damaging particles.

Where the green tea produced? Green tea originates from China and has become associated with many cultures in Asia from Japan and South Korea to the Middle East.

Recently, it has become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally consumed. Many varieties of green tea have been created in countries where it is grown. These varieties can differ substantially due to variable growing conditions, processing, and harvesting time.

Green Tea is Anti-Oxidant

The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue.

Green tea contains salubrious polyphenols, particularly catechins, the most abundant of which is epigallocatechin gallate. Green tea also contains carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), minerals such as chromium, manganese, selenium or zinc, and certain phytochemical compounds. It is a more potent antioxidant than black tea, although black tea has substances which green tea does not such as theaflavin.

Over the last few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting that regular green tea drinkers have lower chances of heart disease and developing certain types of cancer. Although there is no scientific evidence that plain green tea can produce weight loss, a green tea extract rich in polyphenols and caffeine has been shown to be useful for "obesity management", since it induces thermogenesis and stimulates fat oxidation