A Guide to buy Green Tea

In China, green tea extract benefits have been known for centuries and the drink has been used to treat a long list of ailments. In the western world the positive qualities have only become more well-known and well-documented within the last few decades.
So what exactly is the reason that green tea extract benefits are so plentiful? Although there is a huge amount of research on this subject, it can quite likely be boiled down to the richness of so-called 'catechin polyphenols' in the tea plant 'Camellia Sinensis'. This plant contains quite a variety of powerful anti-oxidants such as epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), where most indications are that EGCG is responsible for most of the positive benefits of green tea extract.
The processing of the plant is also important. During the processing the leaves are oxidated as little as possible, often through steaming rather than pan-firing. This causes the level of the powerful anti-oxidant EGCG to remain higher than in other teas.
Green tea extract benefits and helps prevent a lot of physical conditions. In particular, here are four benefits: lowering the risk of some forms of cancer, lowering levels of cholesterol, aiding you in your effort to lose weight and finally reducing your risk of having a heart attack.
An epidemiological study, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute in 1994, concluded that the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women was reduced by almost 60% when consuming green tea. Other clinical studies have pointed out that the drink may include compounds inhibiting the growth of cancer cells as well as tumours. In particular, EGCG may inhibit the growth of cancer cells and is also linked to killing cancer cells without actually harming healthy tissue. Other studies indicate that green tea may reduce the risk of other cancers such as prostate cancer, colon cancer and stomach cancer.
If you suffer from high levels of cholesterol, then the anti-oxidant EGCG may also help you, since it plays a positive role in lowering levels of cholesterol, especially in improving the ratio of 'good' cholesterol (HDL) to 'bad' cholesterol (LDL).
Weight loss is another of the many benefits. Dieters can be helped reaching their goal, as experiments have shown that men who consumed a combination of both caffeine and green tea extract burned a larger amount of calories than those consuming caffeine and a placebo. More calories were burned since both the rate of fat burning as well as the metabolism was increased. It is believed that the catechin polyphenol EGCG is responsible for this positive benefit.
Studies have also shown that EGCG is effective in hampering the abnormal formation of blood clots. Since the abnormal formation of blood clots, also known as 'thrombosis', is one of the main causes of heart attack, the consumption of green tea may help reduce your risks of a heart attack.
The above are only four green tea extract benefits, there are many more and its consumption is generally speaking very healthy for you. However, there is also caffeine in this otherwise healthy drink, and some people don't react well to that. Luckily, for those people there exists decaffeinated supplements, so they don't need to go without the many green tea extract benefits.