The Health Benefits of Green Tea

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

Yay Chen

Outline

I. Introduction

1. tea leaves have polyphenols and catechins (The Better Health Channel, 2014, para. 6)

2. unfermented green tea leaves have highest polyphenols (University of Maryland Medical Center, 2013, para. 2)

Thesis: Green tea has health benefits related to the cardiovascular system and teeth.

II. Benefits to the CV system

- Tea decreased CVD mortality for men 40% (Yashin, Yashin, & Nemzer, 2013, p. 228)

A. Lower blood pressure

1. expl: polyphenols can inhibit ACE (Hara, 2001, pp. 2-3)

2. Catechins reduced the systolic and the diastolic reading (Hara, 2001, p. 6)

B. Reduce cholesterol

1. expl: Catechins can lower LDL oxidation (Yashin, et al., 2013, p. 229)

2. Green tea reduced total cholesterol and LDL (Mason, 2012, p. 261)

III. Benefits to teeth

- Tea contains more fluoride than other beverages (Hara, 2001, p. 2)

A. Strengthen teeth

1. Tea extract raised acid resistancy of tooth enamel from 1.5 to 2.0 (Hara, 2001, p. 10)

2. expl: fluoride as fluoroapatite can strengthen tooth enamel (Hara, 2001, p. 5)

B. Decrease dental caries

1. Dental caries loss in Japanese children (Rao, Okubo, Chu & Juneja, 2003, p. 142)

2. expl: EGCg and theaflavins can inhibit the glucan formation (Hara, 2001, p. 4)

IV. Conclusion

The Health Benefits of Green Tea

It is often said that people are what they eat; actually, people also are what they drink.  Since ancient times, our ancestors have used diverse beverages to improve fitness.  As one of the world's healthiest drinks, tea was cultivated and drunk for thousands years, and it still very popular nowadays.  There are different sorts of tea such as white and oolong, but all of teas are made by cured leaves of tea plant.  Tea leaves contain polyphenols, which comprise flavonoids and exhibit powerful antioxidant effects; also, Tea leaves include a special polyphenol called catechins, which have positive effect on prevention and treatment of diseases such as cancer and tumours (The Better Health Channel, 2014, para. 6).  These healthy elements can be diminished during the process of production of some teas, but among the rest, it is informed that green tea has highest polyphenols because this kind of tea is prepared by unfermented leaves (University of Maryland Medical Center, 2013, para. 2).  Because of these healthful phytochemicals, green tea has health benefits related to the cardiovascular system and teeth.