Anti Aging Green Tea What is green tea and how is it different from other teas? All three teas listed below come from the same plant: Camellia sinensis - the difference comes from the way they are processed into individual blends. Black tea - the tea most commonly drunk in the UK today, comes from withering, rolling, fermenting and drying the young leaves. Green tea leaves are steamed and dried. The leaves don’t ferment and oxidize as in black tea, thereby preserving many more nutrients - particularly the polyphenols. Oolong tea is allowed to partially oxidize, meaning it is left to dry out slightly more. 
Anti Aging Polyphenols in Green Tea Polyphenols in green tea are the main compounds responsible for the beneficial effects of green tea on anti aging, cancer and cardio-vascular disease. Polyphenols are anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants neutralize the damaging effects of oxygen molecules and free radicals present in the body. Free radicals are very powerful oxidants, they can damage cells in the body and over time, this damage accelerates the aging process and may lead to cancer or even cardio-vascular disease. Polyphenols, the anti-oxidants in green tea, are chemicals often referred to as tannins, and they give green tea a slightly bitter taste, especially when brewed for a long time. Close to 40% of a green tea leaf is made of polyphenols. Green tea is an acquired taste but well worth the trouble for its anti aging properties alone. Green Tea Benefits The benefits of drinking green tea are not just restricted to anti aging though. Researchers at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne have released a new study detailing how green and black tea can actually improve your memory. Dr. Ed Okello and his team have located compounds in the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, which produces green, black and oolong teas, which block the activity of brain chemicals that are associated with memory decline. One such brain chemical is acetylcholinesterase (AChE), an enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is involved in lots of activities in the brain and the rest of the body. For example, it triggers muscle contractions. In the central nervous system, it is involved in wakefulness, attentiveness, anger, aggression, sexuality and thirst, among other things. Green Tea and Alzheimer's Alzheimer’s disease is associated with a lack of acetylcholine in certain regions of the brain. But decreases in acetylcholine also occur in the aging process generally. That’s the bad news. The idea is simple enough: raising chemical levels in the brain improves communication among the various neurotransmitters (the brain’s messenger system), which in turn improves general memory and anti aging. Further, green tea delivers a double whammy. It not only boosts levels of acetylcholine. It blocks another substance found in the protein deposits that bloc... | 