A note from Dr. Hendrix
I’ve always found it wonderful that something as simple as green tea could lend a hand to the body’s own immune defenses. This lesson is about how those antioxidants support the systems that keep us well. I share it because I want you to understand the quiet, everyday ways this leaf works with your body rather than against it.
Nature’s defense against malignancies
Drinking the right amount of antioxidants from fresh green tea leaves provides several health benefits. One particular benefit is improving the body’s immune system. Immunity is the ability of the body to fight off abnormal functions as well as preventing infections and diseases. The body does this with the help of organs like the spleen, thymus, lymph nodes and bone marrow. Each of these organs and systems help promote proper immune function by producing and storing specific immune cells.
Research has shown that consuming 400 milligrams of green tea antioxidants helps to not only stimulate the immune system secretion of certain molecules such as interleukin-1, but also helps to kill bacteria and viruses. The combination of killing bacteria and viruses along with increasing immune system activity gives our bodies a double dose of immune increasing power.
Green tea polyphenols, specifically EGCG, enhance the humoral and cell-mediated immunity that can easily ward off your every day bacteria and viruses. In addition to this specific mechanism of action, the antioxidants from green tea can also begin to help regulate certain cancers and the risk of cardiovascular disease. Next time you have a choice between beverages, choose a beverage that promotes wellness and health and tastes great as well!
