by: PF Louis
(NaturalNews) Probably no other beverage has been studied as much recently as green tea. It seems there is an inexhaustible list of benefits. Most recently, a study has determined that senior citizens who drink green tea have better control of their bodies to remain functional as they age.
Keep in mind that the traditional size Japanese teacup holds 3.5 ounces. The common teacup capacity of Western teacups is six ounces. So that translates into three cups daily for Westerners. The Japanese research team claimed they did factor in diet, lifestyle, location, and environment to determine their results.
However, the difference of 13 percent who drank less than a cup of green tea per day becoming functionally disabled, compared with just over seven percent of people who drank at least five cups a day isn’t as impressive, yet is supportive of other studies and observations regarding aging in correlation to green tea consumption.
The Okinawa observations
Okinawa is the major island North of several Ryukyu Islands. It is 400 miles south of Japan with some of oldest disease free and active people in the world. The average life span extends into the mid-80s. These are not retirees struggling with diabetes and dementia issues. These are lean, vibrant participants of quality living.
At first this characteristic was assumed as hereditary. Then it became obvious that when several Okinawans moved to Brazil, or when the younger set began frequenting fast food places in and around U.S. Okinawan military bases, their life spans declined as autoimmune and cardiac disease, as well as cancer, increased.
So their dietary habits and lifestyle became the focus of attention. A few factors came to light involved with how and what Okinawans eat, as well as their overall attitudes. Unlike most other Asian cultures, the elderly of Okinawa drink large amounts of a unique blend of jasmine green tea known as sanpin tea.
Jasmine green tea is made from the youngest leaves, grown seasonally at moderately high altitudes. This is important because of green tea’s known natural fluoride content. The older tea leaves, decaffeinated and instant teas, as well as cheap brick package teas have the highest concentration of fluoride. The youngest leaves cultivated properly with buds have the least significant amount of fluoride.
This proves that the quality of the green tea, in which you consume, is very important. Don’t skimp if you want to get benefits, like those experienced by the Okinawans. Quality green tea has a unique antioxidant blend for heart health, diabetes prevention, weight loss, and even curbing cancer without the potential hazards of fluoride.
You may want to research green tea extracts to get those polyphenols and ECGC compounds without fluorides, especially if you’re not into drinking tea much. Dr. Joseph Mercola’s solution for gaining green tea benefits without risking long term fluoride toxicity is to use green tea extracts that are fluoride and caffeine free.
Most of the mainstream cancer research was done with green tea extracts. They found that the extracts helped destroy cancer cells while not harming normal cells. Green tea extracts are not patentable money makers. So that knowledge didn’t get too far into AMA oncology.