Stomach disorders 
 

Green tea is a product made from the Camellia sinensis plant. It can be prepared as a beverage, which can have some health effects. Or an “extract” can be made from the leaves to use as medicine.

Green tea is used to improve mental alertness and thinking.

It is also used for weight loss and to treat  stomach disorders,  vomiting,  diarrhea, headaches, bone loss (osteoporosis), and solid tumor cancers.

Some people use green tea to prevent various cancers, including breast cancer,prostate cancer, colon cancer, gastric cancer, lung cancer, solid tumor cancers andskin cancer related to exposure to sunlight. Some women use green tea to fight human papilloma virus (HPV), which can cause genital warts, the growth of abnormal cells in the cervix (cervical dysplasia), and cervical cancer.

Green tea is also used for Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, diseases of theheart and blood vessels, diabetes, low blood pressure, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), dental cavities (caries), kidney stones, and skin damage.

Instead of drinking green tea, some people apply green tea bags to their skin to soothe sunburn and prevent skin cancer due to sun exposure. Green tea bags are also used to decrease puffiness under the eyes, as a compress for tired eyes or headache, and to stop gums from bleeding after a tooth is pulled.

Green tea in candy is used for gum disease.

Green tea is used in an ointment for genital warts. Do not confuse green tea with oolong tea or black tea. Oolong tea and black tea are made from the same plant leaves used to make green tea, but they are prepared differently and have different medicinal effects. Green tea is not fermented at all. Oolong tea is partially fermented, and black tea is fully fermented.

How does it work?

The useful parts of green tea are the leaf bud, leaf, and stem. Green tea is not fermented and is produced by steaming fresh leaves at high temperatures. During this process, it is able to maintain important molecules called polyphenols, which seem to be responsible for many of the benefits of green tea.

Polyphenols might be able to prevent inflammation and swelling, protect cartilage between the bones, and lessen joint degeneration. They also seem to be able to fight human papilloma virus (HPV) infections and reduce the growth of abnormal cells in the cervix (cervical dysplasia). Research cannot yet explain how this works.

Green tea contains 2% to 4% caffeine, which affects thinking and alertness, increases urine output, and may improve the function of brain messengers important in Parkinson’s disease. Caffeine is thought to stimulate the nervous system, heart, and muscles by increasing the release of certain chemicals in the brain called “neurotransmitters.”

Antioxidants and other substances in green tea might help protect the heart and blood vessels.

• Preventing dizziness upon standing up (orthostatic hypotension) in older people.
• Preventing bladder, esophageal, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. Women who regularly drink tea, including green tea or black tea, appear to have a significantly lower risk of developing ovarian cancer compared to women who never or seldom drink tea. In one study, women who drank 2 or more cups of green tea each day had a 46% lower risk of getting ovarian cancer than women who didn’t drink green tea.
• Reducing the risk or delaying the onset of Parkinson’s disease. Drinking one to four cups of green tea daily seems to provide the most protection against developing Parkinson’s.
• Low blood pressure. Green tea might help in elderly people who have low blood pressure after eating.
• Decreasing high levels of fat, like cholesterol and triglycerides, in the blood (hyperlipidemia).
• Reducing abnormal development and growth of cells of the cervix (cervical dysplasia) caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infection.

• Preventing colon cancer.