Green Tea Antioxidants in Anti-Aging Supplements By Dr. Valerie Rosenbaum At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The green tea antioxidant is believed to help prevent heart disease and various types of cancer, as well as providing numerous other health benefits. Some of which you are likely to notice immediately.

The green tea antioxidants are known as catechins and they are unique. Only the camellia sinensis plant and some cocoa plants contain them. You may have heard new claims that chocolates are good for your health. These claims do not apply to all types of chocolate. The cocoa plant that it is derived from must contain catechins and most of them do not.

Camellia sinensis is the plant that most green and black teas are derived from. But the black tea leaves are processed using heat and humidity. These processes apparently destroy the catechins, because they are not found in black teas.

Researchers began trying to identify the green tea antioxidant because of what is known as the Japanese Paradox. The paradox is a lower than expected incidence of heart disease and certain types of cancer among Japanese smokers that regularly consume the beverage.

When the green tea antioxidants were identified, they were hailed as the explanation to the paradox. Now, it appears that other factors must come into play. Research is still being conducted that may help clarify the whole thing.

In addition to green tea antioxidants, researchers have looked at a variety of different nutrients that are consumed by populations living in different areas of the world. Typically, it was something like the Japanese paradox that drew their interest. For example, there is a lower than expected incidence of heart disease in Southern France, despite a diet that is high in dietary fat. The explanation for that may be resveratrol, a compound found in red wine.

Like the green tea antioxidant, resveratrol prevents free radical damage, as do common vitamins like A, C and E. But the green tea antioxidants and those found in red wine have unusual activity that the common vitamins do not.

Resveratrol stops cancer cells at all stages of development. It prevents their formation, their growth and their progression. It stimulates a signal that causes the cancer cell to kill itself, while preventing healthy cells from dying. The green tea antioxidant has only been shown to slow tumor growth.

When it comes to heart disease prevention, cholesterol levels are of primary importance. It seems that some people experience high cholesterol levels regardless of what type of diet or level of physical activity they strive for. This is thought to be genetic by many in the mainstream medical community, but natural health advocates believe that it has to do with the other nutrients that a person consumes on a regular basis.

The green tea antioxidants have been shown to lower cholesterol levels, but other nutrients are also important to heart health, including arginine, glutathione and other amino acids. What I’m trying to say is that a supplement containing only the green tea antioxidant is not your best choice, if you want the best health that you can get. And, who doesn’t want that?

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