Saturday, July 14, 2007

Tea: The Best Green Tea Blends

Copyright � 2007 Jon M. StoutGreen tea is fast becoming one of the hottest ways to look afteryour health. More and more research is surfacing that suggeststhat drinking green tea may be one of the simplest things you cando to live a longer and healthier life.Green tea is special because of the way that it's processed.Though it comes from the same plant as black tea, it is producedin an entirely different way. During processing, black tea isallowed to oxidize, or ferment. Green tea however, is simplydried and then steamed or fired to prevent the oxidation processfrom occurring. It sounds like a simple difference, but it causessome very powerful differences between the two types of tea.The fermentation process that happens to black tea converts thenatural anti-oxidants in tea to other compounds. So, while blacktea is a healthy beverage, it is not as healthy as green tea,whose anti-oxidants are left in their natural state. In fact,green tea contains EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), one of themost powerful anti-oxidants.Anti-oxidants play an important role in protecting our health.The anti-oxidants created by our bodies and those derived fromour diet help to neutralize free radicals. Free radicals areoxygen containing molecules that are created as a by product ofconverting the food we eat into energy. Left unchecked, thesefree radicals damage our cells and DNA, leading to aging anddisease.A diet rich in anti-oxidants keeps these free radicals undercontrol. To ensure that you get your daily dose of anti-oxidantsit's important to eat a diet that's full of plant products,like fruits, vegetables and green tea.Research has shown that drinking green tea is especially helpfulat reducing your risk of disease. Some of the most positiveresearch includes the following findings: * Long term tea drinkers tend to have a lower body weight andlower percentage of body fat. * Green tea has been shown to be effective at preventing manyforms of cancer, including breast cancer, colon cancer and lungcancer. In addition, some studies have shown that chemotherapy ismore effective when the patient is on a regimen of green teaalong with their chemotherapy. * Green tea has been shown to reduce the risk of heart diseaseby helping to lower cholesterol and reduce your chances of ablood clot. * Green tea has been shown to be an effective weight losssupplement. The anti-oxidants in green tea combined with thecaffeine have been shown to speed up the metabolism and promotethe oxidation of fat. * It has been suggested that green tea may be helpful inpreventing Alzheimer's disease. * Green tea may be helpful in regulating insulin, so it may be anatural way to help prevent diabetes.So, as you can see, there are many health reasons for drinkinggreen tea. Most of us in the Western world have grown up on blacktea, and may find the flavor of traditional green teas somewhatgrassy in comparison. If you find that green tea simply doesn'ttaste as good to you as black tea, try drinking a green teablend. When blended with other flavors, green tea can taste quitedifferent than it does on its own.There are a wide variety of green tea blends out there. It'simportant to choose the best quality of loose green tea, whetheryou're choosing a blend or a single tea. Many tea companies willuse lesser quality tea leaves when they're blending the tea withother flavors, because they believe the difference in qualitywill not be as noticeable.So, be certain that you choose your blended green tea from areputable tea company to ensure that you get only the finestquality. If you're interested in choosing a green tea blend,here are some very good and very popular ones to try. * Moroccan Mint � Moroccan mint green tea is one of the mostpopular blends. This is a blend of one or more kinds of mintflavoring with a green tea base. The flavor is light andrefreshing and makes a great glass of iced tea as well as hottea. * Jasmine Green Tea � Another popular choice in green teablends, this green tea is scented with the petals of jasmine.You'll also find Jasmine green tea mixed with vanilla, whichmakes the tea more flavorful. The combination of the scents ofjasmine and vanilla make this jasmine green tea one of the mostfragrant you can find. * Vanilla Mint Green Tea � This is a refreshing green tea blendthat will appeal to any tea drinker. Tea artisans mix highquality green tea with mint leaves and pieces of vanilla bean.These two flavors are pleasing to any palate. This makes a greaticed tea for the summer as well as an aromatic and flavorful hottea.These are just a few of the many blends of green tea available.Experiment with the varieties available to find the ones that youlike best. For maximum benefit to your health, experts recommendthat you drink at least three cups of green tea each day. So,lift your cup of green tea and drink to the delicious flavor �and to your health!============================================================Jon M. Stout is Chairman of the Golden MoonTea Company. For more information about tea,(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea) green tea (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/blacktea) and black tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com ============================================================Read More Articles From Jon M. Stout:http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/d/index.shtml#Jon_M._Stout

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