Green tea has been used for more than 4,000 years for medicinal purposes.Recent researches have shown that green tea bolsters the heart’s resistance to cardiovascular diseases, increases longevity, detoxifies the body, boosts the immune system and helps prevent cancer. Although green and black tea come from the same plant, it is the processing that sets them apart. Tea leaves contain an enzyme that causes the leaves to oxidate after picking. By steaming and heating the leaves, processors are able to stop the oxidation process. Black tea it is let to oxidate and it is submitted to several more possessing steps which causes it to turn dark brown, and sometimes red.
Unfortunately, this manipulation of the plant reduces and destroys compounds called polyphenols, present in the freshly picked leaves. These compounds are the secret healing weapon contained in the green tea leaves, because it is processed as little as possible, green tea retains all its polyphenols. Out of all the types of teas, green tea contain the highest levels of polyphenols.Polyphenols are a group of natural phytochemicals (plant chemicals). These phytochemicals are potent antioxidants, which protect the body from free radicals. Free radicals are the reactive molecules that damage the body at the cellular level, causing cancer, heart disease and many other diseases. Many beneficial nutrients can be found in green tea, most important being vitamin C -it contains ten times more than black tea. Also found in different levels are, vitamin B2, vitamin D, vitamin K and carotenoids (beta-carotine).