Simply Darjeeling!

In the September issue of Blood: Journal of the American Society of Hematology a scientific letter appeared about the possible effectiveness of green tea in curing amyloidosis, a medical condition in which amyloid proteins are abnormally deposited in organs and tissues of the body. The author Werner Hunstein, a renowned professor emeritus of hematology, who suffers from amyloidosis himself, traces the effects of green tea in improving his own illness. Hunstein was diagnosed with amyloidosis in 2001, and the aggressive chemotherapy treatment that followed left him shattered. That he managed to recover his strength and go back to normal in his daily life, Hunstein attributes to green tea. When he began to drink large amounts of green tea (usually about two liters per day), his condition improved significantly; the deposition of amyloid proteins was stopped, and his heart resumed beating more strongly.

In a letter to Teekampagne, our parent company, Professor Hunstein revealed that the green tea which proved so beneficial to his health was Teekampagne’s Darjeeling Green Tea.

(Werner Hunstein, “Epigallocathechin-3-gallate in AL amyloidosis: a new therapeutic option?” Blood, 15 September 2007, Vol. 110, No. 6, pp. 2216; “Hilft gruener Tee gegen krankhafte Eiweissablagerungen?” Neue Zuercher Zeitung, 19 September 2007.)

Green tea is an unfermented tea, naturally low in caffeine, and very soothing. It is very popular because of its mild and fresh taste and its many benefits to health, including

• Cancer prevention
• Heart disease prevention
• Stroke prevention
• Rheumatoid arthritis prevention and relief
• Allergy relief
• Weight loss

Jane Pettigrew, in her recent article “What Can Green Tea Do for You?,” summarizes the results of world-wide studies on the health benefits of green tea. Catechins, powerful antioxidants contained in green tea, might offer protection against various forms of cancer (e.g. breast cancer, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, skin cancer), heart disease, and arthritis, as well as against some bacteria and viruses. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the most powerful of these catechins, is believed to prevent cancer cells from growing, to inhibit the growth of some bacteria (e.g. E.coli, Helibacter pylori, Staphylococcus aureus), and protect the brain against memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s. According to a Japanese study, people who drink up to 10 cups of green tea daily reduce their risk of developing any form of cancer. Green tea, Pettigrew further reports, might also be helpful in reducing the effects of aging on the skin. Polyphenols lower the cholesterol level in the blood and reduce blood pressure. Thus, green tea is believed to protect against such diseases as stroke, heart attack, or atherosclerosis. A Duch study found out that five cups of tea a day can reduce the risk of stroke by up to 70 per cent.

(Source: Jane Pettigrew, “What Can Green Tea Do for You?”, TEA & COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL, October 2006, www.teaandcoffee.net)