The Amazing Health Benefits of Green Tea

Drinking green tea provides amazing health benefits. Green tea has been used as a medicine in China for over 4000 years. Asian countries where green tea is widely consumed have lower rates of cancer, arteriosclerosis and heart disease than western countries where green tea is not a common beverage.
There are three main varieties of tea: black, green and oolong, but green tea is more popular in Asia than its fermented cousins.
"Green tea (Camellia sinesis) 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. Many scientists believe that free radicals contribute to the aging process as well as the development of a number of health problems, including cancer and heart disease. Antioxidants such as polyphenols in green tea can neutralize free radicals and may reduce or even help prevent some of the damage they cause." --from an article at University of Maryland Medicine website.