is green tea really that good for you?

[rah]

Random Green Tea Tip #1 - If your drinking a tea like Kowa China gun-powder, it's nice to add a little squeeze of lemon to it.

 

[[nl]mdma]

nope

Nope. Green tea may taste good, but it's def. not healthy.

To prove my point, check the following articles. Note that most of them are of the meta-analysis type: in these, a lot of articles are 'bundled' and reviewed collectively. So it proves a lot more than an individual article.

On antioxidants in general:

From The Lancet:

INTERPRETATION: We could not find evidence that antioxidant supplements can prevent gastrointestinal cancers; on the contrary, they seem to increase overall mortality.

And from Drug Safety:

For this reason regular consumption of antioxidant vitamins supplements cannot yet be advocated as a healthy lifestyle trait.

On green tea specifically:

From the American Journal of Epidemiology:

With increasing tea consumption, the risk increased for coronary heart disease in the United Kingdom and for stroke in Australia, whereas the risk decreased in other regions, particularly in continental Europe.

And about preventing breast cancer:

From Integrative Cancer Therapies:

To date, the epidemiological data indicates that consumption of 5 or more cups of green tea a day shows a non-statistically significant trend towards the prevention of breast cancer development. Evidence indicates that green tea consumption may possibly help prevent breast cancer recurrence in early stage (I and II) cancers. However, conclusions as to the potential therapeutic application of green tea are currently impossible to make due to the small number of studies conducted, the lack of any clinical trial evidence, the lack of a consistent dose-response relationship, and the potential for interaction with standard care

 

[aunty establishment]

^ Correction: there is presently no empirical evidence to prove green tea is healthy. This doesn't mean it's definitely not healthy, just that the jury's out.

I love green tea but the caffeine makes me hell of edgy

 

[[nl]mdma]

^ okay you're right. I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?

on the other hand, 'they seem to increase overall mortality', that doesn't sound too healthy now does it?

 

[dykesmacker]

k, obviously the studies being conducted are conflicting. Believe what you will. There are millions of studies on the internet claiming it's beneficial, some otherwise. Tea is the 2nd most popular drink besides water. Water can be bad for you if drunk in unreasonable doses.

 

[raistlin]

any green tea lovers that can recommend some decent tea types/brands/the kinds of places that sell *good* green tea? i've always loved the green tea given in many asian style restaurants, however everything i buy seems to just be crap..

online sources? surely that isnt going to upset the sources rule?

Starbucks makes a Tazo Green that has lemon grass and other herbs in it too - Makes for a nice taste, especially with a bit of honey and/or a dash of sugar. They come in their own sealed packs for each bag too so the "freshness" is more guaranteed over time. I'm hooked!

Here is the description from the 'bucks site:
_____

Zen™: Select panfired green tea from Zhejiang province in China, artfully combined with lemongrass, spearmint and a hint of lemon essence. Ingredients: Green teas, lemon verbena leaves, spearmint leaves, lemongrass and natural flavors. (Available in full leaf and filterbags)
_____

 

[Dave]

If you like Zen, good for you. But IMO Zen = ass. If you have to buy Starbucks, go for China Green Tips; it actually tastes like green tea! And loose tea >> bags. I don't know what the market is like where everyone lives, but there's a tea chain called Cargo & James that sells fairly good tea. Look in your local yellow pages under tea and I'm sure that you'll find something better than Starbucks.

This message has been brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Starbucks hating Barista.

 

[thefireburns]

lipton's green tea says that it contains 72mg of anti-oxidants

 

[mariacallas]

Green tea is full of good antioxidants.
Try it slowly. Its something you really have to develop a taste for, but once you do, its addictive! (a good addiction)
I like lipton brand "mixed berry" green tea. It has a much less harsh taste than the regular kind.

Word. I have to try that Lipton mixed berry brand . Right now I'm using a local Lemon green tea brand (no sugar!) that I can mix by the liter.....I drink that the whole day instead of regular water or diet soda (which i used to! Bad !) I love it so much, I'm addicted! We also have different brands of Green Tea tea bags lying around the kitchen.....my favorite is Sinoman Herbal Health Green Tea (Carmella Sinensis) with 12 Chinese medicinal herbs.
I also take Green Tea Extract plus L Carnitine with my daily supplements.

also

^ Correction: there is presently no empirical evidence to prove green tea is healthy. This doesn't mean it's definitely not healthy, just that the jury's out.

Agreed. No harm in taking as much green tea as I want!

 

[Dtergent]

It tastes like shit to me though! ;P

 

[indelibleface]

Now maybe I'm no tea purist, but I love that big can of thickened Arizona green tea drink that costs a dollar in America. Good times! At least it has all natural ingredients.

And, speaking of liquor, or rather, liqueur:

I just bought some of this stuff at Bevmo, it's really tasty! Mix it 50/50 with club soda and some ice, and it's a tasty little drink. I'm still trying to figure out what else is good mixed with it.

 

[aunty establishment]

^ That looks way classy. No ideas on mixers though, club soda would have been my pick.

I think I got diabetes from drinking that Arizona green tea stuff. It's tasty, but it's got about a bajillion grams of sugar in it.

 

[Disco Stu]

^ That looks way classy. No ideas on mixers though, club soda would have been my pick.

I think I got diabetes from drinking that Arizona green tea stuff. It's tasty, but it's got about a bajillion grams of sugar in it.

Yeah, commercial iced teas are far from healthy, for the most part. Green tea's not even suppose to be sweetened traditionally. It ruins the natural flavor.

 

[ebola?]

I pounded a good 20 oz of green tea before having some alcohol + clonazapam. I'd say it was really that good for me.

ebola

 

[mariacallas]

We have that Zen drink over here too These are what we usually have in the kitchen:

plus a lot more, my family stocks up on assorted teas like its goin outta style . Japanese brands are our favorite. There is one particular Chinese green tea brand that comes in a plastic bottle that is absolutely delicious when ice cold. It also comes in lemon/apple flavors, but I like the natural green tea flavor best. (Cant find a pic!)

 

[indelibleface]

Sure, the commercial, thickened, sugar-enhanced drinks aren't great for you, but they do use natural tea ingredients, and many don't even have those evil preservatives. Plus, at a dollar for one of those tall cans of Arizona tea, it's such a deal, and it's at least healthier than soda (I usually pick one of those over soda soft drinks).

 

[ebola?]

who here is into matcha?

ebola

 

[ebola?]

I did some web-searching...the info's a bit meager, but apparently matcha has more caffeine in it when brewed than coffee.

ebola

 

[mariacallas]

This is the Japanese green tea brand (Ito En) I drink:

They use a natural micro-filter method to ensure no 'Sedimentation' and 'Turbidity'.

Excellent and delicious chilled or frozen. 20 pesos a bottle, thats less than fifty US Cents.

 

[Dave]

who here is into matcha?

ebola

I freaking LOVE matcha! But the rat-bastard tea shop I usually frequent has stopped carrying it, and I don't know of any other place in my city that does.

Oh and as a heads-up, Starbucks is coming out with a new hyper-caloric heavily sweetened matcha latte (to compiment their sickly sweet matcha frappuccino). As a long-time employee there I will do my best to actively discourage the sales of this drink: Starbucks' "matcha" has sugar as it's first ingredient, and tea as the third if I remember correctly. The second one is a filler/stabilizer of some sort. If you want decent matcha, avoid Starbucks. Like the plague.

But if you do have to go there, tip well please