Zorba Paster: Green Tea May Be Good For Our Health

Dear Doc: I drink lots of green tea. Every day I have a couple of cups. Not only do I drink it for the lovely flavor, but also because I heard it has health benefits. What’s the scoop? — U.B., from Jacksonville

Dear U.B.: Green tea is an Asian salubrient, thought to bring vim, vigor and good health. Recent research on mice published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry shows the wisdom of the Chinese might just be right.

The studies involved mice. All were fed a typical American diet featuring the equivalent of burgers and fries. Half received a green tea extract (those little mice fingers just couldn’t hold a cup and saucer of real green tea).

The tea-fed mice were less likely to become obese and not as likely to develop insulin resistance, a critical factor in the development of diabetes. They also had more natural gut flora.

We are just beginning to realize the importance of gut bacteria. Some believe the obesity epidemic we have today is from a bad gut biome — bacteria that basically increase our appetite, thus putting on the pounds. Some think eating all that fried food and consuming drinks made with high fructose corn syrup and other sweet carbohydrates are the culprits.

My spin: Green tea is great. It’s great if it keeps you from drinking any sweetened drink, and this research shows it might be great for your health. If you’ve never tried it, then brew a cup. Drink it hot or over ice. Anything that keeps us from sweet drinks is good for our health.