My parsley is flourishing and I am actually feeling health benefits as I eat it: I become interested in its properties and the benefits of other herbs.  And I started doing quite a bit of reading.  I learned that parsley is an antioxidant. 

An antioxidant is what they call a free oxygen molecule provided my many herbs, garlic, fresh veggies and tea.  Tea!  That got my interest; I am an avid tea drinker.  Anyway, the antioxidants combine with free radicals, stopping these free radicals from combining with our cells and DNA, causing havoc – like aging, heart disease and cancer. Green tea, I found, is an especially effective antioxidant.

Green and black teas come from the same tree or shrub – only the tip of the branch, first two leaves and tiny stem are harvested.   After picking, green tea is preserved right away, which leaves the leaves full of potent antioxidants.  Black tea is dried and allowed to ferment or oxidize dulling the beneficial effect. 

The most important components of green tea are the polyphenols; the major polyphenols are flavonoids including catechin, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate.  Experiments conducted in vitro and in animal cancer models strongly suggest that these polyphenols offer protection from cancer.   In Japan the custom of having green tea with meals is thought to be the reason for that country’s low cancer rate.