Green tea comes from the tea leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The leaves are not fermented or heated like black tea leaves and therefor green tea contains a lot of chlorophyll, antioxidants and polyphenols. When tea plants were discovered, tea was first just used as medicine and only grew later into a beverage. The plant is known from the Chinese medicine a long time ago. It is not sure, if tea was discovered by a Chinese King, Sheng Nong (nearly 3000 B.C.) or if it was originating from India and spread through Buddhism. From there it could have been brought to China, Korea and Japan. But according to the first document about tea, the origin has to be in China or India. Green tea contains a great spectrum of valuable active substances.
The health benefits of green tea extract are mostly due to its high antioxidant content. Antioxidants can help reduce oxidative stress by fighting cell damage caused by free radicals. This cell damage is associated with aging and several diseases. Polyphenol antioxidants called catechins comprise the majority of green tea extract’s antioxidant content. Among the catechins in green tea, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the most researched and thought to provide the most health benefits. Green tea extract boosts antioxidant capacity, which may help prevent various health problems caused by oxidative stress.
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