Is it the Green Tea or the Locale?

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

13 Sep 2006 10:48 AM

Green tea is a wonderful drink that of late we hear a great deal about in news about health and fitness. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association states that Japanese green tea could definitely reduce the risk of heart disease. However, the study did not find any relationship between drinking green tea and reducing cancer rates.

The FDA still states that they have found 'no credible evidence' to indicate that green tea reduces risk of heart disease. In fact, the evidence is rather sketchy other than the fact that unsweetened green tea is better for you than say soda or coffee. If you add sugar or sweetener to the green tea, however, those effects may be diminished.

There is evidence, however, provided by the Harvard School of Public Health that where a person lives can materially impact their health and their lifespan. The Japanese diet is very different from the American diet. Japanese individuals are also born with a different metabolic rate and biological chemistry. Our DNA is very similar, obviously because we are all human - but environment and diet also play a key role in our fitness levels.

So - should you drink green tea? Sure. It can help reduce your risk of heart disease, but you also need to modify your diet and exercise regularly in order to strengthen your heart muscle. There is no one singular cure-all for your health and fitness, it's a cumulative effect and how you live and how you take care of yourself will play an important role in your heart health.

Do you drink green tea?

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Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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