There is often a gap between theory and reality, especially with health claims from dietary supplements.  This is primarily because scientific proof lags way behind the “common knowledge” of traditional and alternative therapies. It is aways exhilarating when the scientists finally catch up. This is the case with green tea.

The consumption of green tea was shown to reduce mortality (death!) from all causes and cardiovascular diseasein elderly Japanese. This long-term study began in 1999 with 22,200 participants, who had a long history of drinking green tea, throughout the Shizuoka region of Japan. Over 14,000 people were studied again in 2002 and 2006. The results were remarkable:

Those, who consumed less than one cup of green tea per day suffered 42.3 overall deaths per 1000. Never-the-less, this represented a benefit of 55% lower than those, who did not drink green tea.

Those, who drank 7 cups or more of green tea per day suffered only 14.4 overall deaths per 1000. This is a huge savings of 75% lower than those, who did not drink green tea.

In terms of specific diseases, the following results from green tea consumption were observed:

• the risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced (consistant with previous studies in the literature);
• decreased risk of colorectal cancer mortality (first cohort study to show this relationship).

So we can conclude that we’ve been right all along. Green tea is not only good for you, it can help prolong your life. The proof is in the pudding.

Suzuki E, et al. Green tea consumption and mortality among Japanese elderly people: the prospective Shizuoka elderly cohort. Ann Epidemiol. 2009 Oct;19(10):732-9.