Healthy Love Bites

Green Tea Facts

Anyone here likes green tea?

Since the bygone era, Chinese community has done thorough research on green tea’s medicinal properties and its benefits. Compared to various food and drinks, the amount of health benefits that are found in green tea is way beyond one’s belief. Generations to generations, green tea knowledge has been passed on and now, 4, 000 years after its discovery, this tea is still one of the most common remedy used to help treat illnesses.

Tea and coffee mug

Let me share with you some facts about green tea:

•Reduces the risk of having cancer by inhibiting the growth of cancer cells especially in the colon, pancreas, rectum, bladder, esophagus, and stomach without harming healthy cells

• Helpful for those who have rheumatoid arthritis

• Reduce the risk of having hypertension and elevated blood pressure

• Reduces the cholesterol level in the body

• Increases metabolism

• Helps body to fight viruses and bacteria by improving the defense action of the immune system

• Green tea also helps destroy free radicals

• Helps in reducing fatigue and stress due to its calming action

• Helps in fighting cardiovascular diseases (CVD)

• Green tea is also known for its anti-bacterial & anti-viral properties

• The secret of green tea is its catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which is a type of powerful antioxidant

• EGCG is twice as powerful as reservatol whose action is to lower the incidence of heart disease

• Green tea comes from Camelia sinesis plant

• What sets green tea apart from other tea is the way it was processed, green tea leaves are steamed which prevents the important compounds from being oxidized

• By contrast, other tea brands are made from fermented tea leaves; which result the ineffectiveness of other types of tea compared to green tea

• New evidence suggests that green tea helps dieters by eliminating fat from the body and helps the body burn more calories compared to caffeine or a placebo

• Green tea can even help prevent tooth decay

• The bacterial actions of green tea can help prevent food poisoning

• Wide variety of beauty products now contains green tea are available in the market that claims to have great effect in beauty and wellness

• Green tea capsules are now available in health stores for those who don’t want to drink tea

• A cup of green tea contains caffeine level of 20 to 70 milligrams

• There are several kinds of green tea that are available in the market they differ on the amount of caffeine content

Smiling girl

With everything good, it must have sounded unbelievable. Now, here’s the downside of green tea:

Till present, studies and researches on green tea have proven a lot of benefits and medicinal properties but when it comes to harmful effects of green tea, there are reports that it contributes to insomnia or difficulty of sleep experienced by users. Green tea is advised to be taken at least 3 to 4 cups daily and not to be taken as substitute for water.

Caffeine is the ingredient found in green tea that contributes to sleeping difficulty but its caffeine contents is less compared to that of coffee and black tea. Other components of green tea must also be controlled for it can contribute to liver problems.

For pregnant mothers and for under medications it is important to ask your doctor before consuming the beverage for some components of green tea might have reactions with other compounds found in medications.

Look out for more information on green tea soon.