When Some is not Enough - Green Tea
Some is enough, however, when it comes to snow here in Southern Oregon this week. We have had snow, ice, freezing rain, and wind. I recently described where we live as near perfect in the winter because we can drive less than an hour to take part in winter activities, but don’t have to deal with the winter weather here on the valley floor. As this photo of our driveway shows, someone in the “Weather Control Center” must have been listening and thought it would be fun to play a little joke on us this week! Oh well, on to the green tea saga.
I have seen more and more stories in the past couple of years that tout the wondrous benefits of certain foods. Green tea is one of the best examples. There are not too many other things consumed by humans that have as many reported health benefits as Green Tea.
Drinking green tea is said to reduce the rates of prostate and breast cancers and lower the risk of esophageal cancer by as much sixty percent. Some research has concluded that one of the components of green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells in general. Other studies have indicated drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, and improves the ratio of good HDL to bad LDL cholesterol. Research at The University of Geneva showed that green tea can also increase your metabolic rate, helping to burn the body’s stores of fat.
The list of powers attributed to green tea goes on and reading about them can lead you to believe it is a wonder brew indeed. The problem arises when you find out how much green tea people consumed to see these benefits. One study concluded that men who drank the equivalent of 10 cups of green tea per day stayed free of cancer for 3 years longer on average than men who consumed less than an average of 2 cups per day. The most common recommendation I see is to drink 4 to 5 cups per day.
I don’t know about you, but it is hard for me to read about all this without a sigh and a laugh. I love green tea. Except for the occasional cup of “Constant Comment”, it is the only tea I drink. The problem is that I drink a single mug, (probably about 2 cups), and not every day. In fact in the summer, I drink much less.
A green tea “extract” in pill form is now available, but there is some debate over whether the pills even contain the beneficial ingredients of green tea in the quantities claimed. Additionally some evidence shows that getting the supposed benefits of certain foods in pill form does not even approximate the benefits shown by eating the food itself. There are some other things going on when we eat the real food that don’t happen when we take the pill.
Here is what I think and what I do when it comes to consumption of liquids. I drink green tea when I feel like it. I have a mug of decaffeinated coffee when I feel like it. I occasionally drink fruit juices that do not contain the deadly High Fructose Corn Syrup. I drink water, but do my best to avoid water in plastic bottles. I sometimes have a beer or a glass of wine at dinner. I do not drink energy or “power” drinks. Perhaps most importantly, I do not drink soda.
In other words, I use common sense when it comes to hydrating my body and simple common sense should be the message. I think it goes a lot further than praising the latest wonder beverage in keeping yourself in good health. Unfortunately it does not make for as good a headline or TV news story, so sadly the hype of the latest miracle food goes on.
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