Some of the best innovations, even natural ones, happen by accident.  Tea was introduced over 5,000 years ago in China, when tea leaves fell from a bush into Chinese Emperor Shen Nung’s pot of boiling water.  Being an avid herbalist, he tasted it.  Soon after, tea was touted as a healing elixir for the body.

Now, tea is second only to water as the most widely consumed beverage in the world. It has been used medicinally for centuries in India and China to remedy headaches, body aches and pains, digestion, depression, detoxification, as an energizer, to enhance immunity, and to prolong life.

Studies now indicate and confirm that tea may well be a healing elixir for the body.  Compounds in tea help protect against cancer and appear to counteract the chronic inflammation that contributes to heart disease, arthritis and other chronic illness.

Green tea contains a number of beneficial compounds, including volatile oils, vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, B6, C, and folic acid), minerals (manganese, potassium, zinc and fluorine), caffeine, and potent antioxidants called polyphenols. Tannins, large polyphenol molecules, form the bulk of the active compounds in green tea, with catechins comprising nearly 90 percent. The main catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), is more powerful as an antioxidant than vitamins C and E.