For centuries, the Asian cultures have enjoyed the health benefits of green tea. Finally, the West is catching on and is discovering the healing properties of this simple beverage. In the past, it has been used to treat headaches, depression, general malaise and other disorders. The Chinese have used green tea as a medicine for at least 4,000 years.

Currently, research is being conducted in Asia and in the West to find evidence of the health benefits that are associated with green tea. The evidence is staggering.

Research at the University of Purdue showed that there is a compound in green tea that inhibits the growth of cancer cells.

Research has shown that drinking green tea can be helpful for people with cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, infection, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and impaired immune function.

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute published a study in the 1990s that showed that consuming green tea actually offered a 60% reduction to the risk of esophageal cancer.

Studies have shown that drinking green tea lowers cholesterol and improves the "good" cholesterol (HDL).

Green tea has certain properties that give it its healing abilities. It is very rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly EGCG. EGCG, epigallocatechin gallate, is a very powerful antioxidant. It inhibits the growth of cancer cells and can actually kill them, yet it does not harm healthy tissue. It has also been shown as being quite effective in lowering LDL cholesterol - the "bad" cholesterol. It has also been shown to inhibit the abnormal formation of blood clots which are the leading cause of heart attack and stroke.

At this time, the only drawback to green tea, its only negative side effect, is that it contains caffeine. This can lead to insomnia. The good news is that green tea contains less caffeine than coffee. Try to look for the decaffeinated versions of green tea if you are worried about the caffeine.

It is also believed that green tea may also help people who are trying to maintain a healthy body weight. There was a study conducted at the University of Geneva in Switzerland that gave men a combination of caffeine and green tea extract. These men burned more calories than men who had only caffeine or were given a placebo. Additionally, green tea has been shown to prevent tooth decay. Its bacteria destroying properties help prevent food poisoning as well as killing the bacteria that causes dental plaque.

Glyconutrients supplements are another way to help your body get healthy antioxidants into the body. In fact, studies have shown that glyconutritionals help the body to create its own natural antioxidants.