There has been archeological evidence uncovered that seems to suggest that people have been drinking tea for far longer than you might imagine. Artifacts suggest that as many as 500,000 years ago primitive peoples stepped tea leaves in water to drink.  China and India were the first known nations to actually cultivate tea for the purpose of consumption. Now millions around the world consume at least a daily “cuppa” but scientific studies have suggested that from amongst the three main types of tea – green, black, and oolong – green tea offers the most health benefits.

The different between the teas is in the way that they are processed once harvested. Green tea is made using unfermented leaves and thus retains a higher level of the powerful antioxidants that the tea leaves have been found to contain.

Antioxidants are substances that attack free radicals that damage cells and tamper with DNA. As well as occurring naturally in the body free radicals are increasingly found in the modern environment, in smoke, dust and smog, increasing the levels present in most people’s systems. Scientists believe that these free radicals not only accelerate the natural aging process but may also have a hand in causing cancer and heart disease.

Chinese medicine has been utilizing green tea for a number of purposes for centuries, long before the concept of free radicals was understood. It is recommended for vitality, digestive health and to regulate a number of the body’s systems.

A growing number of people are consuming green tea in one form or another as part of a weight loss regime, as a number of clinical studies have suggested that green tea stimulates the metabolism which in turn helps the body burn off excess fat more quickly and efficiently.

According to many alternative health experts and nutritionists in order to gain the maximum benefits from green tea you need to consume approximately eight standard size cups of the beverage a day. As this may be a little more than some people can stomach there are a growing number of green tea supplements available, which provide green tea extract in pill or powder form.

For those who are concerned about monitoring their caffeine intake green tea does indeed a certain level of natural caffeine , as do all teas, but the levels are lower than in the average cup of coffee.