Will the Real Green Tea Please Stand Up?

Recently there's been a lot of hoopla in the news about the benefits of green tea leaf extract, a substance that has been used for thousands of years in the Orient to maintain health.

Scientists have unveiled studies that demonstrate that this extract protects cellular health, fights free radicals, and even helps maintain heart health. In fact, green tea seems to have so many benefits that it seems to be showing up in almost every kind of supplement.

The Big "But" About Green Tea
But, and here's a big but, all green teas are not the same. In fact, some products are using substances that are not green tea at all. Scientifically, green tea is the unfermented leaf of the plant Camellia Sinensis. This particular plant contains active ingredients called polyphenols, and it's these polyphenols that provide all those great health benefits.

Green Tea: How Companies Are Getting Around the FDA
Unfortunately, many supplement manufacturers are not using Camellia Sinensis but instead another plant commonly called Mormon Tea, Ma Huang, or Ephedra. In the last few years ephedra has caused a number of deaths and has since been outlawed for use in supplements by the FDA. To get around this regulation, many companies are now labeling ephedra as green tea since it is both green in color and technically can be made into tea.

To ensure that you get all the benefits of the polyphenols in the real green tea, read supplement labels carefully. If they don't say Camellia Sinensis leaf then be wary! You may be getting ephedra instead. This substitution is most commonly found in diet and weight loss supplements, and can cause increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, stress on the adrenals and much more. In the same quantities, Camellia Sinensis does not seem to have any of these effects. Make sure you get the real McCoy when shopping for green tea products!

For a great source of green tea leaf extract (plus a whole lot of other wholesome organic antioxidant ingredients), consider Alpha Gold from Simplexity Health. Alpha Gold contains:

• Super Blue Green Alpha Sun to facilitate overall good health
• Vitamin-rich bee pollen helps enhance stamina and vitality.
• Hawaiian noni, a plant known to ancient Polynesian healers, provides beneficial support for an effective immune system.
• Turmeric contains curcumin, which helps protect against environmental contaminants and helps nutritionally support healthy cell regeneration.
• Gluten-free sprouted wheat grass juice contributes a variety of nutrients and is naturally rich in enzymes.
• The catechin-rich green tea powder is an ancient and excellent antioxidant, and is considered caffeine-free (it would take 40 capsules of Alpha Gold to equal the caffeine content of one cup of decaffeinated coffee).

You can order Alpha Gold and other Simplexity Health products here.

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