A compound in green tea called theanine has been shown to treat liver injury and boost the health of the immune system. This research comes from Anhui Agricultural University in China and showed that theanine can minimize damage to the liver caused by chronic inflammation in mice. It achieves this by increasing antioxidant enzyme activity in the liver. The study also showed theanine can improve the immune system in humans. The main antioxidant in your liver is called glutathione. It acts to reduce inflammation in your body and assists with removal of toxic compounds. The more glutathione you have in your body, the less inflammation you are likely to suffer with. Your liver produces glutathione from the protein called n-acetyl cysteine (NAC). Taking it in supplement form along with selenium is known to boost glutathione levels. More than ten percent of people in the world are suffering with chronic liver disease, and the incidence is rising. If you have elevated liver enzymes, fatty liver or hepatitis, it means your liver cells are being damaged. If this damage is allowed to continue, you are at risk of serious, irreparable harm. Tea is the only known source of the amino acid theanine. It is present in both green and black tea. When theanine is given to mice prior to ethanol (alcohol) exposure, it fully restored baseline liver function. This implies theanine can prevent alcohol induced liver damage. When it comes to humans, theanine has been shown to strengthen immune action, particularly in elderly people who are at higher risk of infections. Tea has so many health benefits. Many of its health-promoting properties are due to the antioxidants in green tea. It’s good to know that theanine is present in green, black and oolong tea. The only problem is most people don’t consume enough of it on a daily basis to obtain the therapeutic benefits. Most studies on its benefits require the consumption of 8 to 10 cups per day. I have included green tea extract in my liver tonic Livatone Plus specifically to help those individuals with liver inflammation and chronic liver disease. This way you can obtain its benefits in convenient capsule form. You can read about the other benefits of tea for the liver here. The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Reference