Green Tea Book, The

by: Lester A. and Dolby, Victoria Mitscher

Garden City NY: Avery Publishers 1998, $9.94, Paperback
ISBN: 0-89529-807-4

Reviewed by: Jacqueline M. Newman
Summer Volume: 1998 Issue: 5(2) page(s): 20 and 21

The Chinese recognized tea as a healer more than four thousand years ago. Green tea in particular has been prized as a traditional tonic. This book explores scientific studies trying to substantiate and/or refute this claim; more of the former, few of the latter.

The authors, an organic/physiological chemist with more than two hundred original research articles and a health educator/contributing editor and columnist, for Better Nutrition and Natural Living Today, team up concentrating on 'China's Fountain of Youth,' the subtitle of this book.

Eleven chapters detail general information. Some are titled: Antioxidants, Longevi-tea, and A Cup of tea keeps the dentist away. Others speak of The hottest histric beverage, cancer prevention in a teapot, tea's effect on cardiovascular disease, and more. There are no recipes, just several hundred references, and almost every one from journals that send articles out to be refereed before printing tham.

Special items include twelve specific health benefits and the caffeine and theophylline content of coffee, tea, and chocolate beverages. There are also milestones in the history of tea from the first written record in 2737 BCE to date, green tea's role in a long and healthy life, types of and how to brew tea, and a terrific tea glossary.

To all the readers who have written with questions about the health effects of this beverage, this book is for you!

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