If you are my regular readers then can I advise you something? Please go buy yourself a pack of green tea and start drinking it from today. Green tea works great wonders for your health. I just want to introduce you to Swaraj Kumar Banerjee a man in his sixties; he owns one of the oldest tea gardens in the world in Darjeeling. He has a mechanical engineering degree from London.
He has introduced permaculture with the tea bush being a part of the multitier system of trees and plants. His estate sprawls across 1,573 acres across four hills and the unique feature is that the tea occupies only a third of the estate. It is a home to some of endangered species such as Bengal tiger, leopards and barking deer.
Long story cut short the tea estate has a cattle farm and bio gas plant where the sale of milk generates income and the compost helps to produce high quality fruits and vegetables. The Makaibari tea estate also has home stays for tourists which generate income for the workers. This farm produces one of the finest teas of the world.
Now back to our topic, green tea had its origins in China. Now, you get green tea as loose tea, tea bags, Indian, Japan and organic green tea. It has high amounts of flavonoids than those found in vegetable juices, fresh fruits or wine. These flavonoids have anti-oxidative and anti-carcinogenic functions.
Green tea fights against cancers of the bladder, breast, ovary, rectum, esophagus, lungs, pancreas, prostate, skin and stomach. Talking about cancers, here is an interesting bit of information, blind mole rats and naked mole rats has long life spans and are the only mammals never known to develop cancer. Coming back, Green tea protects against cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease. It prevents atherosclerosis by lowering LDL cholesterol triglycerides and lipid peroxides.
It protects people with acute cardiovascular disease. The specialty of green tea is that it contains epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG). This antioxidant offers powerful protection to heart muscles. It lowers blood pressure and reduces hypertension. The EGCG has anti-cancer properties. Its efficacy increases along with piperine a compound found in pepper.
Green tea fights against malignant brain tumors found in children. It lowers the risk of billary tract cancers. It improves the efficiency of cancer drugs while reducing their side effects. It improves insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes. It increases bone mineral density and for this benefit you have to drink green tea for five or more days a week.
It helps to reduce weight, protects against cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. It boosts brain cell production to aid memory and spatial learning. It reduces neurological complications linked to HIV. Green tea reduces the negative effects associated with smoking. It helps to fight glaucoma and other eye diseases. It promotes healthy teeth and gums.
Take care,
Swarnam
Photo of green tea by zirconicusso
Photo of tea garden by Sura nual pradid
Photos courtesy of www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Take care,
Swarnam
Swarnam