KP, I was looking for the benefits of catechins on the web and found this really interesting article on Wikipedia. Most of the content (some of which dealing with the biochemistry of catechins is too technical and can be skipped over) may be familiar to you but it certainly makes the case for drinking lots of tea. The article doesn't mention the benefit ascribed to green tea by the folks at Real Age who say that drinking 7 cups of green tea a day will help get rid of belly fat. Here's the Wikipedia link:
Catechin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not hard to decipher at all. Really great post im posting the arrticle from wikipedia here.
Catechins constitute about 25% of the dry weight of fresh tea leaf
[2], although total catechin content varies widely depending on clonal variation, growing location, seasonal/ light variation, and altitude. They are present in nearly all
teas made from
Camellia sinensis, including
white tea,
green tea,
black tea and
Oolong tea.
Catechins are also present in the human diet in
chocolate[3], fruits, vegetables and wine
[4] and are found in many other plant species
[5].
Epigallocatechin gallate is the most abundant catechin in tea.
Another
stereoisomer, (-)-catechin, is released from the roots of the invasive weed,
spotted knapweed. It acts as an herbicide to inhibit competition by a wide range of other plant species.
[6]. This phytotoxic compound inhibits seed germination and growth.
[edit] Health benefits of catechins
The health benefits of catechins have been studied extensively in humans and in animal models. Reduction in
atherosclerotic plaques was seen in animal models.
[7] Reduction in
carcinogenesis was seen
in vitro.
[8]
Many
studies on health benefits have been linked to the catechin content. According to Norman Hollenberg, professor of medicine at
Harvard Medical School,
epicatechin can reduce the risk of four of the major health problems: stroke, heart failure, cancer and diabetes. He studied the
Kuna people in
Panama, who drink up to 40 cups of cocoa a week, and found that the prevalence of the “big four” is less than 10%. He believes that epicatechin should be considered essential to the diet and thus classed as a vitamin.
[9][10]
According to one researcher
[11] epigallocatechin-3-gallate is an antioxidant that helps protect the skin from UV radiation-induced damage and tumor formation.
Green tea catechins have also been shown to possess antibiotic properties due to their role in disrupting a specific stage of the bacterial DNA replication process.
[12]
Catechins, when combined with habitual exercise, have been shown to delay some forms of aging. Mice fed catechins showed decreased levels of aging. Oxidative stress was lowered in cell mitochondria, as well as increase in mRNA transcription of mitochondria related proteins.
[13]
The Lancet medical journal has warned
[14] against increasing one’s intake of dark chocolate in order to improve health, because the beneficial compounds are sometimes removed due to their bitter taste without an indication on the label, and because the fat, sugar, and calories of chocolate increase the risk for heart disease, unless balanced by a reduction of their intake in other foods.
In 2008
UCLA cancer researchers found that study participants who ate foods containing certain flavonoids seemed to be protected from developing
lung cancer. Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, of the UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center and a professor of public health and epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health said the flavonoids that appeared to be the most protective included catechin, found in strawberries and green and black teas;
kaempferol, found in
brussel sprouts and apples; and
quercetin, found in beans, onions and apples.
[15]
Catechin and epicatechin are also selective
monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) of type
MAO-B.
[16]