Can Green Tea Help Treat Bacterial Infections?

[Guest guest]

Free-Reprint Article Written by: Marcus Stout

See Terms of Reprint Below.

*****************************************************************

*

* This email is being delivered directly to members of the group:

*

*

*

*****************************************************************

We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article.

Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS

OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you.

This article has been distributed by:

http://Article-Distribution.com

Helpful Link:

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview

http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Article Title:

==============

Can Green Tea Help Treat Bacterial Infections?

Article Description:

====================

It seems that we are only just beginning to discover the power of

green tea. Over the last few years, green tea has been linked

with reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, high

blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis. And, as time goes on,

it's likely that we'll find more and more uses for green tea.

Additional Article Information:

===============================

846 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2006-11-08 10:12:00

Written By: Marcus Stout

Copyright: 2006

Contact Email: mailto:Marcus.Stout@...

For more free-reprint articles by Marcus Stout, please visit:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Marcus_Stout

=============================================

Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters:

=============================================

If you use this article on your website or in your ezine,

We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let

us know where you have used this article, and we will

include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com:

http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=3842 & p=load

HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste

Versions Of Article Are Available at:

http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/s/treat-bacterial-infections.shtml#\

get_code

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Can Green Tea Help Treat Bacterial Infections?

Copyright © 2006 Marcus Stout

GOLDEN MOON TEA

http://www.GoldenMoonTea.com

It seems that we are only just beginning to discover the power of

green tea. Over the last few years, green tea has been linked

with reducing the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, high

blood pressure and rheumatoid arthritis. And, as time goes on,

it's likely that we'll find more and more uses for green tea.

The magic bullet in green tea is its high level of anti-oxidants.

Anti-oxidants combat free radicals that are created in our bodies

as we process food. The free radicals produced damage our cells

and our DNA, and eventually lead to disease if we don't combat

them. Anti-oxidants are our most important defense against the

damage of free radicals.

One of the most important anti-oxidants is epicatechin gallate

(EGCG) As an anti-oxidant, EGCG is 25-100 times more potent than

vitamins C and E. EGCG is one of the many catechins found in

green tea, as well as in fruits and vegetables. They are

anti-oxidants, bioflavonoids and polyphenols. All three of these

substances are effective in improving our immune system, and

preventing aging and disease.

But, research is showing that, in addition to preventing disease,

the powerful anti-oxidants in green tea may have an

anti-bacterial effect, as well. This stands to reason, since we

know that anti-oxidants boost our immune system.

Researchers at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston found

evidence that tea may keep the immune system prepared to fend off

attacks from bacteria and other pathogens. The study looked at 11

healthy non-tea drinkers, who began drinking tea, and compared

them with 10 healthy people who began drinking coffee. The

researchers found that drinking 20 ounces of tea every day for at

least two weeks doubled or tripled the immune system's output of

an infection-fighting substance called interferon gamma.

Apparently the body metabolizes the tea into molecules that mimic

the surface proteins of the bacteria, jump-starting the immune

system so that when real viruses show up, the body's immune

system begins acting more quickly. Okayama University in Japan

found something even more interesting. Patients who were infected

with a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (staph infection) that was

particularly resistant to anti-biotics responded more favorably

to their treatment when it was administered with the EGCG extract

from green tea. The EGCG made the infection less able to fight

against the anti-biotic.

So, what does this mean to me?

As with many other research findings, there are always more

things that we need to examine. And, no doubt, more research will

be conducted to more conclusively identify how green tea's

anti-oxidants can help our bodies stay healthy. It does seem

likely, however, that the anti-oxidants contained in green tea

are highly effective at improving your immune system, which may

help prevent you from catching viruses.

But, even more importantly, these anti-oxidants may help treat

serious bacteria and infections even after you've contracted

them. Doctors may be able to use this powerful information to

help patients recover more easily and more quickly from serious

infections.

But, for sure, we know enough to conclude that we need to have a

diet that's rich in anti-oxidants. Be sure that you eat plenty

of fruits and vegetables every day. Then, wash it all down with

green tea to help increase your anti-oxidant level even further.

Be sure the tea you choose is green tea, too, rather than

traditional black tea. Black tea is healthy, but not as healthy

as green tea. All tea comes from the same plant, the Camellia

sinensis; sister to the camellia bush that many people grow in

the Southeast US.

Black tea is fermented during processing, green tea is not. The

fermenting that black tea undergoes changes the natural

anti-oxidants into another state that is not as healthy as their

original state. For this reason, green tea (and white tea, too)

is your best source of anti-oxidants.

How much do I need?

In Asian cultures, where the consumption of green tea is very

high and the incidence of many serious diseases is much lower

than that of the US, many people drink as much as 8-10 cups of

green tea each day. However, most doctors believe that you can

gain health benefits from drinking just 8-10 ounces each day.

One thing is for sure, any amount of green tea is increasing your

level of anti-oxidants – which is good for your health. They key

seems to be drinking it consistently. Adding one cup of green tea

to your diet every day for the rest of your life will be more

effective than drinking a quart just occasionally.

If you're not drinking green tea right now, adding it to your

diet could be an effective way to improve your immune system over

the short and long term. You may be able to more effectively

fight off little viruses that come your way right now, and you

may be able to prevent serious diseases later in life. Green tea

is delicious and it's good for you; so it makes good health

sense to get your dose of green tea each and every day!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Marcus Stout is the President of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea

carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly

and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about

their current tea offerings, including their exceptional green tea

(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea), white tea, black tea, oolong tea (also

known as wu-long and wu long tea - http://www.goldenmoontea.com/wu-long) and

chai. Visit http://www.goldenmoontea.com for all details concerning the Golden

Moon Tea Company's fine line of teas.