6 Benefits of Green Tea Consumption

Green tea has been used as a standard drink in Asian countries for hundreds of years. It is often touted as helping to maintain youth and vitality. It has come to the attention of the Western world in recent years, and  more and more people are discovering its health benefits.*

Green tea is still grown and manufactured in Asia. It is cultivated, dried, pressed and processed from a variety of different trees. Some companies still do the work by hand.

Want to know why you may benefit from drinking it? Keep reading.

The appearance of green tea at three different stages (from left to right): the infused leaves, the dry leaves, and the liquor. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Antioxidant protection – Green tea contains a high concentration of antioxidant substances called polyphenols. These substances can retard some of the signs of aging. They also help neutralize free radical action in the body that can lead to cataracts, cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, joint problems and wrinkling.

2. Weight loss – Some studies have shown that green tea extract led to increased weight loss in study participants. It has been proposed that drinking a cup a day can help increase your metabolism so you burn more calories even at rest.

3. Dental health – Drinking green tea might be good for your body beginning with your mouth. It has been suspected that substances in green tea actually neutralize the bacteria in the mouth that can lead to tooth decay and dental plaques.

4. Disease prevention – Studies are being conducted that show promising results for those with Parkinson’s disease. Drinking green tea may be able to help prevent the condition. Green tea can help prevent the breakdown of nerve cells in the brain leading to a depletion of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for movement in the body.

Green tea (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

5. Infection management – If it can work on the bacteria in the mouth, it can help in other areas of the body as well. Green tea has been shown to help reverse sepsis in laboratory mice. Drinking green tea may boost your immunity to fight off infections.

6. Heart disease – Regularly drinking green tea may help you control your risk of heart disease. It has been shown that substances in green tea help to reduce the levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood by blocking its oxidation. Not only that, but it also may help to improve levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and keep the arteries pliable and clear.

Are you looking for ways to improve your health? Green tea may be a healthy addition to your diet.

* This article is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be considered as medical advice.

Video - Why Green Tea Is Healthy

This short video explains some of the health benefits of green tea, and what makes it so good for you. Other types of tea have similar benefits, but green tea is less processed than many other teas (except for white tea), so it has less caffeine, but more antioxidants. (For more info, see Monday's post on the health benefits of green tea.)

Also, when it comes to caffeine, an interesting tidbit that isn't mentioned here is that green tea contains a compound that actually mitigates caffeine's effect on the brain, which is why you feel alert after drinking green tea, but usually not "wired" like you would feel after drinking coffee. This means you don't get the spike and "crash" like you would with coffee or other drinks that contain caffeine.

Green tea truly does work well with the body for most people, and offers many great benefits that are hard to find elsewhere. If you're a coffee addict, try switching one cup per day with green tea instead, and gradually you may be able to break your coffee addiction and replace it with a much healthier beverage.

Healing Quest: Nutrition Tip - Green Tea
www.healingquest.tv The health benefits of green tea are explored.

6 Healthy Benefits of Green Tea

While green tea has been used in Eastern cultures for over 4,000 years, only recently has it been recognized for its medicinal properties in Western culture. Here are just 6 of the many health benefits that green tea can provide. 

Vietnamese green tea leaves (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1. Protects your smile.  Green tea contains bacteria fighting agents that kill the help stop plaque production.  Less plaque means you have cleaner, healthier teeth and gums.  Another plus, it also kills the bacteria responsible for bad breath.
2. Helps prevent cancer.  EGCG is a powerful antioxidant found in many teas, but is present in much larger concentrations in green tea.  Antioxidants combat chemicals that are naturally produced in the body that can cause cancer and other health issues.  Studies have shown one substance in green tea can slow the growth of cancer cells.  While research hasn’t been done on every type of cancer, green tea has shown that it may reduce the risk of one cancer up to 60 percent.  It has also been shown it may reduce the recurrence of certain other cancers as well.
3. Promotes a health heart.  The EGCG in green tea has also been shown to lower total cholesterol levels.  Specifically, it lowers “bad” cholesterol more than it does “good” cholesterol.  EGCG also helps prevent against heart attack and stroke by inhibiting the production of blood clots.  Green tea also helps to lower levels of stress hormones in the body, leaving you more relaxed.  Being stressed out can cause damage to the heart along with the rest of your body.  Drinking green tea could help keep your heart beating a lot longer.
4. Boosts immune system function.  While green tea can help fight bacteria in your mouth, it can also help fight diseases in the rest of your body.  Green tea contains an amino acid that helps fight bacteria and improve the immune response in your body.  If you regularly drink green tea, you may find you get sick a lot less.
5. Eases/prevents rheumatoid arthritis pain.  Green tea is not only beneficial in easing the symptoms of this painful disease; it has also been shown to help prevent you from ever getting it.  In China, where more people drink green tea regularly, there is a much lower incidence of rheumatoid arthritis.  
6. Promotes weight loss.  When you eat a lot of carbohydrates, your body responds by producing a lot of insulin; leaving you tired and craving more food.  Green tea has been shown to help keep blood sugar at lower levels so you don’t produce as much insulin.  This can help you eat less and lose weight - and also may reduce chances of developing diabetes.  Studies have also found that green tea can speed up how fast your body metabolizes certain foods.  And the faster your metabolism, the faster you slim down. 

Green tea (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While these are all great health benefits, you should realize that drinking green tea every so often is probably not going to make a big difference to your weight - and you may not see other drastic changes in your health either.  Many of the studies that produced results had participants drinking up to 10 glasses of green tea a day!  If you find you’re just can’t drink enough green tea, there are supplements available that are green tea based; however, the best option is the real thing, and even including a glass or two of green tea in your daily routine can benefit your health in many ways. 

Note: This blog is for informational purposes only, and does not provide or substitute for medical advice. One should consult one's medical care practitioner before adding green tea or any other dietary supplement to your diet.