How is tea produced? In tea making young leaves and leaf buds are used, and the season in which leaves are picked and the age of the leaves determine the taste and name of the particular commercial brand. The leaves are dried immediately to produce green teas, or dried and fermented to produce black teas. This is the main difference between black and green tea production which predetermines tea health benefits, as many chemicals are preserved unchanged in green tea and are lost when black tea is fermented.
It does not mean that black tea is of no value for our health. There is an ancient adage that "tea is a miraculous medicine for the maintenance of health", which nowadays is confirmed by many studies. The main black tea health benefits are that black tea drinking is effective for the prevention of heart disease and cancer, it is of great help to keep our bones, teeth and gums in healthy condition, and that it retards the processes of aging. However, there are opinions that drinking too much black tea has negative influence on our skin, possibly because of caffeine ingredients. Still, nowadays this fact is mentioned not as often as the black tea health benefits.
As far as green tea is concerned, it contains a small amount of vitamins but a large amount of minerals considered essential for keeping sound health condition. The vitamins are carotene (antioxidant and protective qualities), thiamin (vitamin B1) and riboflavin (vitamin B2) (both are necessary to release energy from food), nicotinic acid and pantothenic acid (essential to release energy from fat and carbohydrate), vitamin B6 (participates in the metabolism of proteins) and ascorbic acid (a protector of our immune system). Green tea is a generous source of two minerals essential for health. These are manganese and potassium. Manganese participates in bone growth and body's development; 5-6 cups of green tea provide 45% of our daily requirement. Potassium is extremely important for maintaining a normal heartbeat.
One of the most vital tea health benefits is that it contains antioxidants called flavanoids. It has been already proved that these flavanoids play important role in protecting us from heart disease and cancer. Among other essential green tea health effects, we should mention the capability to lower the level of blood sugar in blood, the stimulation of the central nervous system and the general strengthening of our immune system. It is interesting to note that demographic research has proved that in the areas of green tea production and consumption, the rate of deaths caused by cancer and gastrointestinal disorders is comparatively low. That is why it is not surprising that the earliest Buddhists, the first regular drinkers of green tea, were of excellent health.
This magic drink is gaining more and more popularity today and can probably become one of the solutions to the problem of humankind health. However, this is not a direct recommendation to ignore the advice of your doctor and use the green tea only for health improvement. Green tea is not a medicine but a drink with some medical properties.