Green Tea goes mainstream

[Lisa]

Green tea goes mainstream
7/13/2006 7:57:09 AM
Daily Journal

By Sandi P. Beason
Daily Journal

You may have seen it at the grocery store, on the tea isle, but perhaps that shelf is empty.

Lately, green tea products are getting more and more popular, for a variety of reasons.

"I drink a combination of plain green tea and a lot of organic green tea," said Sherry Abraham. "My main reason was for the anti-cancer properties to it."

Green tea comes in several forms - liquid, powder, capsule and, of course, as loose tea or in tea bags. The U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institute of Health give it a "C" grade for its benefits to sufferers of arthritis, asthma and cancer, or to improve fertility and memory, and prevent tooth decay and high cholesterol.

The C rating means it has been tested, but its effectiveness has not always been proven, according to its Web site.

Abraham, a breast and colon cancer survivor, said her friend Judy Hester got her started drinking it two years ago and all her checkups have been good. She credits other healthful activities, too.


Antioxidant

"I am no expert, but there are a lot of wonderful antioxidant properties" in green tea, said Dr. Jeanette Zurawski, who practices at Alternative Medicine and Acupuncture in Tupelo. "That's the biggest reason people like it."

Oxidation in the body has a lot to do with the development of dementia and other aging changes, she said.

"Us Americans typically don't get enough antioxidants in our food," she said. "We eat a lot of fast food, and prepared foods do not have a lot either. It's in fresh fruits and veggies."

Zurawski said typically she doesn't recommend green tea but will answer her patients questions if they ask.

"I'm a coffee drinker myself," she said. "I tried switching, but I can't give up my coffee."

Donnie Christian, pharmacist at Super D on West Main, said his store sells green tea capsules among its vitamins and supplements. But for a long time, you mainly found it in liquid form, he said.

"Anything in a liquid form works faster," he said.

Green tea is "a real strong antioxidant and fat burner," said Mark Welch, owner of Sunshine Health Foods. "It's become popular in the last few years."

Most people buy it for weight loss, he said. It has caffeine, but also an amino acid that calms you down, he said.


Long history

Green tea is made from the dried leaves of an evergreen shrub, Camellia sinensis. Its use dates back 5,000 years in China.

One cup of the tea has roughly 50 milligrams of caffeine, depending on the strength of the tea and size of the cup. Coffee contains 65 to 175 milligrams of caffeine per cup.

AriZona brand diet green tea is the best seller at Tupelo's West Main Kroger, said grocery manager Joey Whittaker, but Celestial Seasonings is also popular.

"Last year a rock band came through Tupelo and bought all the AriZona green tea," he said. "Everyone else has got it now, but we were one of the few that had it at that time. Somebody in the band liked it."


Appeared originally in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, 7/13/2006 8:00:00 AM, section A , page 1