Green Tea Eases Rheumatoid Arthritis

Researchers have found that Green tea appears to act as a mild Cox-2 inhibitor. In addition to its cardiovascular and anticancer benefits, Green tea also seems to reduce inflammation and pain of rheumatoid arthritis. According to the Arthritis Foundation, about 2.1 million Americans have rheumatoid arthritis.

Historically, green tea is used in Chinese herbal medicine and dietary therapy to treat inflammatory conditions. It also has the ability to calm the stomach; relieve diarrhea, nausea and vomiting; treat headaches and help with treating damp stagnation leading to obesity.

Green tea stimulates the central nervous system, thus benefiting chemotherapy patients. It also reduces the risk of developing colon polyps and reduces total blood cholesterol.

One expert said the new green tea study was intriguing. "This study is very specific," said Stephen Hsu, an associate professor of dentistry, molecular medicine and genetics at the medical College of Georgia in Augusta.

Professor Hsu has found that green tea may help protect against certain autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and Sjogren’s syndrome, in which the body triggers an immune response, basically attacking its own cells.

Chinese herbal and dietary therapies are based on the concept of using the energetic properties of substances to counter the “nature” of a disease. Since green tea is bitter and cooling, it is easy to see how it can benefit most inflammatory conditions. There has been research that shows green tea mildly reversing MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) and PRSA (pefloxacin-resistant S. aureus), both dangerous infectious bacterial strains. Green tea is a safe herb. The only caution is that it contains caffeine and may interact with certain prescription medications.

Meridian Harmonics