Another Reason to Drink Green Tea

Study Shows Green Tea Promotes a Healthy Retirement

A new study is the first “to have proved the relationship between green tea consumption and incident risk of functional disability.” In other words, drinking green tea daily can improve your chances of enjoying a healthy, independent retirement and being less likely to develop problems when performing everyday activities.

In the study, which was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a team of Japanese researchers followed 13,988 Japanese adults age 65 and older for a three-year period. The team evaluated how much green tea the older adults consumed daily and compared it with the level of functional disability they experienced.

Problems with everyday activities such as dressing, shopping, and doing housework were noted in 7% of study participants who drank at least five cups of green tea daily, compared with nearly 13% among adults who drank less than one cup of green tea per day.

The “secret” of green tea is believed to be the presence of catchins, a type of phytonutrient and potent antioxidant capable of fighting and destroying molecules that damage cells and contribute to disability, aging, and disease.

Previous research has indicated that one of the most important catechins is EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). One example of the importance of EGCG has been seen in studies involving green tea and prostate cancer, where EGCG has been shown to slow the growth of prostate cancer as well as reduce the levels of PSA and two biomarkers for prostate cancer, hepatocyte growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor.

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