Green tea can help prevent heart attack and liver disorders. The same benefits were not found in black tea, the variety drunk in the West.
Frequent green tea drinkers have lower cholesterol levels, and those who drink more than 10 cups a day also had protection against liver complaints.
Researchers from the Saitama Cancer Centre Research Institute in Japan are so excited by their findings that they are now researching the tea as a cancer preventative.
They studied the tea-drinking habits of 1,371 men in Yoshimi, Japan in what is one of the first studies of its kind. Earlier tests of green tea on animals had shown similar results (BMJ, March 18, 1995).