GREEN TEA: new benefits from an ancient remedy? 
Centuries have passed since the day, according to legend, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung, scholar and herbalist healthy (drinking only boiled water) accidentally discovered the beneficial properties of tea. It sat under a wild tea tree, when some leaves fell into the water he was boiling: tasted the brew found him delightful to the palate, refreshing and revitalizing. Tea was discovered. Depending on the type of workers who suffer the leaves after harvest can be distinguished: white tea, green tea, black tea, oolong and pu-erh tea. The split is determined by the degree of fermentation, or better oxidation of the leaves during processing. The range goes from 5% to 10% of white tea tea, green tea to 80-90% of blacks, with oolong (tea semifermented) that are positioned in the middle and pu-erh (tea postfermentati) apex. Green tea has been recommended as a remedy for over 4000 years of Chinese medicine for its ability to prevent and treat a large number of ailments (from headaches to digestive disorders, dall'immunodepressione the detoxification of the body, by strengthening physical energy to work longer). For a long time green tea has attracted strong attention in the scientific community in which the consumer for the recognized beneficial effects in a variety of disorders ranging from neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, dental caries, the kidney stones, loss of body weight to cancer. An extensive advertising campaign has expanded and increased consumption of green tea scientific curiosity and interest in defining the substances in the drink and the mechanisms responsible for its beneficial effects. These effects are largely attributable to the content of catechins, polyphenolic compounds with powerful antioxidant. In green tea catechins are present at least six. The most abundant is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG): a cup of green tea contains from 100 to 200 mg. The antioxidant action is by contrast produces free radicals that are produced naturally by the body in consequence of exposure to environmental sources such as pollution and cigarette smoke. The damage caused by free radicals (damage of lipid membranes and cellular DNA) can promote the development of cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative and neoplastic diseases. The antioxidants in green tea disable and destroy free radicals, preventing cell damage. Epidemiological studies in humans and experimental evidence in animal models have revealed a number of properties of green tea: a) Effect of chemopreventive in a series of solid tumors (skin, breast, lung and prostate). The mechanisms proposed to explain the chemopreventive action include: antioxidant activity and suppression of free radicals, inhibition of biochemical markers of tumor initiation and promotion of transformation, promotion of apoptosis or programmed cell death; effect of detoxification enzymes, protection against mutagens and genotoxic; capture of the active metabolites of carcinogenesis. b) Protective effect of cardiovascular disease (decreased incidence of cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, angina, heart failure and stroke). The mechanisms proposed in support of protection related to recruitment of green tea are mainly: the prevention of Oxidation of plasma low density lipoproteins (PDL), correction of arterial epithelial damage in patients with heart failure, decreased tendency to stenosis of the arteries in the adult. c) Protective effect on the appearance of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. According to the theory of correlation between the increase of radicals in the body and aging (increase in free radicals and oxidative stress are the basis of phenotypic changes that cause functional impairment and neurodegeneration associated with old age) the regular intake of tea Green performs preventive and protective action of these diseases. Experimental studies in animals and evidence epidemiological humans have shown the beneficial effects of green tea in patients with Parkinson's disease or stroke patients. d) Other effects are worthy of mention in the prevention of dental caries (epidemiological survey conducted in 6000 students of secondary schools in England) and the formation of urinary calculi (study consisting of more than 81,000 women aged between 40 and 65). In everyday practice, for those who wish to take advantage of the benefits of green tea consumption remains to determine the optimal amount to consume each day. The difficulty in giving a definitive answer to this question lies in the concentration of catechins can guarantee the effect of preventive / protective. In fact, the effective amount documented in experimental models in humans are difficult to reach due to the low bioavailability of catechins introduced by drinking green tea. In the East the habit of consuming three cups of tea per day provides between 240 and 320 mg of polyphenols, a quantity thought to be low for optimal antioxidant effect. E 'widespread view among experts that the daily amount to be taken to exploit the beneficial effects on the body must be at least six cups, without the addition of milk or other ingredients. Some notes of caution should be observed, however, about possible drug interactions. Some of these medicines can trigger reactions unwanted green tea: adenosine (used in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias), benzodiazepines (prescribed to control anxiety), beta blockers (proparanolo, metoprolol), anticoagulants, chemotherapy, ephedrine, lithium carbonate. The culture and habit of tea consumption is expanding from the East even without signs of crisis in the Western Hemisphere. The increased consumption of green tea should be ascribed to the ability to persuade the sellers and the enthusiasm of the newbies willing to retain their beliefs about its curative properties. In this as in other cases of use of natural products with curative intent by a large impact on public opinion, there is a risk of two types of consumers: those who know nothing of tea and those who know little but feel they know everything. Perhaps the most plausible approach would be to take advantage of expert advice. What is now known with certainty is that the results of the ongoing research on the benefits of taking green tea are very promising although not entirely conclusive. One fact remains indisputable, however: there are no plausible reasons for not drinking green tea in moderation.
Centuries have passed since the day, according to legend, the Chinese emperor Shen Nung, scholar and herbalist healthy (drinking only boiled water) accidentally discovered the beneficial properties of tea. It sat under a wild tea tree, when some leaves fell into the water he was boiling: tasted the brew found him delightful to the palate, refreshing and revitalizing. Tea was discovered. Depending on the type of workers who suffer the leaves after harvest can be distinguished: white tea, green tea, black tea, oolong and pu-erh tea. The split is determined by the degree of fermentation, or better oxidation of the leaves during processing. The range goes from 5% to 10% of white tea tea, green tea to 80-90% of blacks, with oolong (tea semifermented) that are positioned in the middle and pu-erh (tea postfermentati) apex. Green tea has been recommended as a remedy for over 4000 years of Chinese medicine for its ability to prevent and treat a large number of ailments (from headaches to digestive disorders, dall'immunodepressione the detoxification of the body, by strengthening physical energy to work longer). For a long time green tea has attracted strong attention in the scientific community in which the consumer for the recognized beneficial effects in a variety of disorders ranging from neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases, dental caries, the kidney stones, loss of body weight to cancer. An extensive advertising campaign has expanded and increased consumption of green tea scientific curiosity and interest in defining the substances in the drink and the mechanisms responsible for its beneficial effects. These effects are largely attributable to the content of catechins, polyphenolic compounds with powerful antioxidant. In green tea catechins are present at least six. The most abundant is epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG): a cup of green tea contains from 100 to 200 mg. The antioxidant action is by contrast produces free radicals that are produced naturally by the body in consequence of exposure to environmental sources such as pollution and cigarette smoke. The damage caused by free radicals (damage of lipid membranes and cellular DNA) can promote the development of cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative and neoplastic diseases. The antioxidants in green tea disable and destroy free radicals, preventing cell damage. Epidemiological studies in humans and experimental evidence in animal models have revealed a number of properties of green tea: a) Effect of chemopreventive in a series of solid tumors (skin, breast, lung and prostate). The mechanisms proposed to explain the chemopreventive action include: antioxidant activity and suppression of free radicals, inhibition of biochemical markers of tumor initiation and promotion of transformation, promotion of apoptosis or programmed cell death; effect of detoxification enzymes, protection against mutagens and genotoxic; capture of the active metabolites of carcinogenesis. b) Protective effect of cardiovascular disease (decreased incidence of cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, angina, heart failure and stroke). The mechanisms proposed in support of protection related to recruitment of green tea are mainly: the prevention of Oxidation of plasma low density lipoproteins (PDL), correction of arterial epithelial damage in patients with heart failure, decreased tendency to stenosis of the arteries in the adult. c) Protective effect on the appearance of aging and neurodegenerative diseases. According to the theory of correlation between the increase of radicals in the body and aging (increase in free radicals and oxidative stress are the basis of phenotypic changes that cause functional impairment and neurodegeneration associated with old age) the regular intake of tea Green performs preventive and protective action of these diseases. Experimental studies in animals and evidence epidemiological humans have shown the beneficial effects of green tea in patients with Parkinson's disease or stroke patients. d) Other effects are worthy of mention in the prevention of dental caries (epidemiological survey conducted in 6000 students of secondary schools in England) and the formation of urinary calculi (study consisting of more than 81,000 women aged between 40 and 65). In everyday practice, for those who wish to take advantage of the benefits of green tea consumption remains to determine the optimal amount to consume each day. The difficulty in giving a definitive answer to this question lies in the concentration of catechins can guarantee the effect of preventive / protective. In fact, the effective amount documented in experimental models in humans are difficult to reach due to the low bioavailability of catechins introduced by drinking green tea. In the East the habit of consuming three cups of tea per day provides between 240 and 320 mg of polyphenols, a quantity thought to be low for optimal antioxidant effect. E 'widespread view among experts that the daily amount to be taken to exploit the beneficial effects on the body must be at least six cups, without the addition of milk or other ingredients. Some notes of caution should be observed, however, about possible drug interactions. Some of these medicines can trigger reactions unwanted green tea: adenosine (used in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias), benzodiazepines (prescribed to control anxiety), beta blockers (proparanolo, metoprolol), anticoagulants, chemotherapy, ephedrine, lithium carbonate. The culture and habit of tea consumption is expanding from the East even without signs of crisis in the Western Hemisphere. The increased consumption of green tea should be ascribed to the ability to persuade the sellers and the enthusiasm of the newbies willing to retain their beliefs about its curative properties. In this as in other cases of use of natural products with curative intent by a large impact on public opinion, there is a risk of two types of consumers: those who know nothing of tea and those who know little but feel they know everything. Perhaps the most plausible approach would be to take advantage of expert advice. What is now known with certainty is that the results of the ongoing research on the benefits of taking green tea are very promising although not entirely conclusive. One fact remains indisputable, however: there are no plausible reasons for not drinking green tea in moderation. 
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