Green Tea’s Health Benefits…Only Bigger!
The principle polyphenol in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG. This is the “main bioactive component of green tea after caffeine” (Weiss and Anderton, 174). “The concentration of EGCG available from drinking matcha is at least 137 times greater than the amount of EGCG available”(Weiss and Anderton, 173) from leading, nationally available green teas (This concentration has even been reported to be over 200 times as compared to certain types of commercial green tea). “In addition, the concentration of EGCG was dramatically increased compared with even the highest concentrations of this cathechin reported in green teas” (Weiss and Anderton, 179).

What this means to you is that Awaken Matcha brings greater benefits in terms of health. The tea is rich in phytonutrients to help your body fight the damaging effects of free radicals. Awaken Matcha also provides trace minerals, vitamins (A, B-complex, C, E, and K), many of which can be lacking in our diet. As we all know, a balanced body is a healthy body, and by providing nutritional benefit and compounds to ward off the effects of the daily environmental stressors, Awaken Matcha can help you maintain that balance!

Antioxidants…Nature’s Powerhouse
Scientific information suggests that Awaken Matcha is a rich, natural source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are molecules that can safely interact with cell-damaging free radicals and terminate the chain reaction before vital molecules are damaged (as in Vitamin C), or seek out and scavenge free radicals (as in Vitamin E). It contains 70 times the antioxidants of a similarly sized serving of orange juice.

Why are antioxidants so great? Well, we are exposed to free radicals every day in our environment as a result of normal body processes, as well as things like radiation exposure, pollution, herbicides, and tobacco smoke. As these free radicals look for other molecules with which they can bond, they disrupt the stability of the bond of other molecules-causing a chain reaction. The body naturally deals with this on its own, but it can disrupt the normal activity of a cell over time, since the damage accumulates with age. In fact, oxidative and free radical damage is a major contributor to the process of aging and as such powerful antioxidants like Awaken Matcha are indeed natures' fountain of youth!

Cancers and Heart Disease
For years, studies have indicated that the antioxidants in green tea offer protection against diseases, including cancer, and even fight dental cavities. “Green tea was shown to inhibit the causative bacteria, which contributed to the formation of dental plaque and caries…Green tea can also clear up bad breath by suppression the growth of odor producing bacteria. Green tea has been found to be a potential chemopreventative agent for the treatment of oral leukoplakia, a precursor lesion to oral cancer” (Koo and Cho, 180).

It is a combination of these antioxidant properties and the polyphenol content in the tea that lowers the incidence of certain types of cancers, including that of the prostate, lung, colon, esophagus, and breast. “Green tea is…an acknowledged cancer preventative in Japan” (Fujiki, 120). “It is possible that the catechins, particularly EGCG, inhibit the initiation and promotion phases of cancer development by preventing free radical damage to DNA…The metastasis of cancer has also been demonstrated to be suppressed by green tea, which reduced the expression of adhesion molecules and metalloproteinases. Epidemiological studies have shown an inverse relationship of green tea consumption with risk of gastric cancers” (Koo and Cho, 180). “The important features of EGCG and green tea extract as cancer preventatives should be briefly summarized. 1. EGCG and green tea extract are non-toxic… 2. They have a wide range of target organs, such as the digestive tract including esophagus, stomach, duodunem, and colon, plus liver, lung, pancreas, and skin. Recently, breast, bladder, and prostate have been added to the list. This wide range of target organs makes green tea significantly different from standard cancer preventative drugs. 3. They have inhibitory effects on growth of cancer cells” (Fujiki, 128). “The first stage of cancer prevention with green tea leads to delay of cancer onset” ( Fujiki, 129). The tea has also been shown effective in helping prevent recurrence

Studies suggest antioxidants in green tea may lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of death from heart disease, and control blood pressure. In a 25-year study, tea drinkers consuming more than 8.5 oz. of tea each day had much less risk of dying and a lower rate of first heart attacks than those who drank less tea. “Green tea reduces significantly serum and liver cholesterol, atherogenic index, and liver weight by lowering lipid deposition in hypercholesterolemic diet-induced [subjects]” (Dufresne and Farnworth, 413). Antioxidants may actually help deter the deposition of plaque on the walls of the arteries. Recent findings show the tea also helps combat toxins in the liver.

Inflammation and Arthritis
Newer studies report possible anti-inflammatory and arthritis-preventing effects of green tea. Case Western Reserve University scientists suggest green tea antioxidants postpone the beginning of and decrease in the severity of one type of arthritis(Haqqi). EGCG is an inhibitor of tumor necrosis function alpha (TNF alpha), which is responsible for inflammation in many types of conditions, including Crohn’s disease. Additionally, findings from a study in Europe show decreased movement of blood cells that cause inflammation across blood vessel walls when green tea antioxidants were included (Hofbauer). These results could create future research that may lead to new arthritis treatments.

Metabolic Benefits
It has also been shown effective in speeding the metabolism in order to aid in weight loss. This benefit is due not only to its caffeine content, but also to the EGCG, which increases thermogenesis in humans.* What this means is that with a good diet and lots of activity, Awaken Matcha can help you maintain a healthy weight, which becomes more of a challenge as we grow older.

Now bottoms up to your longevity with Awaken Matcha!

MATCHA RESOURCES:

Dufresne, C. & Farnworth, E. (2001). A review of latest findings on the health promotion properties of tea. Journal of nutritional biochemistry, 12, 404-421.

Juneja, Lekh Raj, Chu, Djong-Chi, Okubo, Tsutomu, Nagato, Yukiko, Yokogoshi, Hidehiko. L-Theanine: A unique amino acid of green tea and its relaxation effect on humans. Trends in food and science technology,10,199-204.

Fujiki, H. (2005). Green tea: health benefits as cancer preventative for humans. The chemical record. 5, 119-132.

Hofbauer, R., Frass, M., Gmenier, B., et al. (1999). The green tea extract epigallocatechin gallate is able to reduce neutrophil transmigration through monolayers of endothelial cells. Wien klin wochenschr, 111, 278-282. [In German]

Koo, M. & Cho, C. (2004). Pharmocological effects of green tea on the gastrointestinal system. European journal of pharmacology, 500, 177-185.

Sato, T., & Miyata, G. (2000). The neutraceutical benefit, part 1: green tea. Nutritional pharmaceuticals, 16, 315-317.

Weiss, D. & Anderton, C. (2003). Determination of cathechins in matcha green tea by micellar eletrokinetic chromatography. Journal of chromatography A, 1011, 173-180.

All materials provided by Earth Healers are for informational purposes only.

None of these statements have been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness.