Sunday, June 21, 2015

DRINK GREEN TEA!!!

After my successful interruption to coffee drinking (as part of Live Below the Line) I decided to start drinking Japanese green Matcha tea instead. I had a jar of it in my tea cupboard that was quite expensive and bought in a Japanese shop where they stated it was of highest quality. Well, what does this mean. What is the ingredient that decides it's quality. I think it must be epigallocatechin gallate (EPGCG, Wikipedia) . 



Publication from 2003 looking at EPGCG content in Matcha tea tells that it has 137 times more of this compound than China Green Tips green tea and at least three times the amount of any other green tea on the market. This compound is said to have many beneficial properties such as (Preventive Medicine Center (pmc):

  1. cancer preventative
  2. lowers blood cholesterol
  3. lowers blood pressure
  4. improves immun system
  5. antibacterial (will protect you against gastroenteritis)

Not bad to get so much benefit from a 'cuppa' tea.

Another ingredient in Matcha tea is Theanine (Wikipedia):



This is another interesting molecule with claims to properties such as:

  1. promotes alpha wave production in the brain, makes you relaxed and alert ( Wikipedia
  2. promotes focus and concentration
  3. promotes relaxation 
  4. promotes improved cognition

So the statement that it is good for you to drink green tea is scientifically well established, but if you would like to read more here is another link:



I apologise for any mistakes and omissions. 

The green tea benefits are too many to fit into one blog!

Happy tea drinking!