Green tea comes from the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant, which is a small shrub that is native to East Asia and India. While the drink has been enjoyed for centuries, even today, scientists continue to uncover new and exciting benefits of the beverage. Enjoying one or more cups of green tea per day could help you unlock some of these benefits.
Why Is Green Tea So Powerful?
Thiѕ type оf tеа iѕ touted аѕ оnе оf the world’s healthiest drinks. Thе health benefits оf green tea аrе due tо itѕ high content оf flavonoids. Green tеа аlѕо соntаinѕ catechins, a powerful antioxidant. Unlikе оthеr types оf tea, it оnlу соntаinѕ a small amount of caffeine. It iѕ аlѕо an excellent source of epigallocatechin-3 gallate (EGCG), a natural antioxidant thаt helps in treating vаriоuѕ diseases.
So there are definitely a lot of benefits for you to drink green tea.
As A Natural Source of Caffeine
Green tea is a natural source of caffeine, making it a great way to perk yourself up when you’re feeling tired. The good news is that green tea contains less caffeine than coffee, meaning that you can sip this beverage throughout the afternoon without significantly disturbing your sleep or suffering through the jittery side effects of caffeine overdose.
Lower Incidence of Heart Disease
Green tea may also be good for your heart. In a study of 40,530 Japanese individuals followed over seven years, drinking three to four cups of green tea per day was associated with a 31% lower risk of dying of cardiovascular disease.
This includes lowering your risk for including high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes. Heart disease is the world’s leading cause of death today. 17 million people die annually from this disease.
Studies show that drinking green tea can reduce some of those risk factors for this disease. For example it has been shown that green tea can reduce total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides. Green tea also dramatically increases the antioxidant capability of the blood, which protects the LDL cholesterol particles from oxidation, which is one part of the pathway towards heart disease.
Green Tea Can Boost Your Metabolism
The phytonutrients in green tea may also help you lose weight and keep it off. A 2009 meta-analysis of studies in this area found that drinking catechin-rich green tea significantly reduced body weight. Furthermore, people who drank green tea were more likely to maintain a healthy weight after significant weight loss.
One of these studies was a randomized controlled trial in 240 men and women that went on for 12 weeks. In this study, the green tea group had significant decreases in body fat percentage, body weight, waist circumference and abdominal fat. But not all randomized studies prove the benefits of weight loss.
As A Natural Antibiotic
Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is a strain of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that is often transmitted in health care settings. Unlike regular staph infections, MRSA is not easily treated with antibiotics. Thus, new avenues for treatment are needed. Some preliminary evidence indicates that green tea may be helpful in the fight against MRSA.
Lower Your Risk of Type II Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is becoming an epidemic in the United States, with nearly 10% of the population having this condition (American Diabetes Association, 2016). Drinking green tea could lower your risk. Compared to those who drank one cup per week, participants who drank more than six cups of tea per day had an astonishing 33% lower risk of type 2 diabetes . This effect remained even after researchers controlled for factors such as age, sex, and body mass index.
Reduce The Risk of Cancer
Green tea reduces risk of cancer. Anti-cancer properties hаvе bееn found in green tea.
Fоr example, thrоugh research, thе National Cancer Institute published in 1994, аn epidemiological study showing that regular drinkers оf green tеа reduce thеir risk оf esophageal cancer bу 60%.
The University of Purdue found thаt green tеа hаd thе ability tо inhibit cancer cell growth. And recently, a study showed that EGCG wаѕ аblе to shrink prostate cancer tumors in mice.
Green Tea and Brain Function
Green tеа саn increase activity in thе working memory area оf thе brain. With increased blood flow more healthy blood vessels саn reach thе brain. It аlѕо helps block thе formation оf plaques thаt hаvе bееn linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
A study showed that daily consumption of green tea, allover its catechin, which is a plant secondary metabolite, delays memory regression in and prevented memory regression. Catechin did also delay brain senescence.
These findings suggest that continued intake of green tea extracts, might promote your healthy ageing of the brain.
Good For Dental Hygiene
The compounds contained in green tea kill bacteria found in the mouth, stopping them from attacking your teeth. In this way, green tea helps to prevent cavities and gum disease, as well as decreasing the chances of inflammation.
The green tea magic also happens in your mouth. According to a study, green tea kills microbes that are responsible for bad breath. Apparently green tea beats mints, chewing gum and even parsley-seed oil at improving the smell of your breath.
Green Tea Packed With Vitamins
Vitamins have various effects on the human body. Although vitamins are essential nutrients, they cannot be produced within the body. Regularly drinking green tea, which is full of vitamins, is good for your health.
Vitamins, along with saccharides, lipids, proteins and minerals, are one of the five primary nutrients used by the body. Although vitamins are essential nutrients, they cannot be produced within the human body, and must be acquired through food.
There are 13 types of vitamins, which are classified into water-soluble vitamins, which dissolve in water, and fat-soluble vitamins, which only dissolve in fat. A deficiency in even one of these 13 vitamins can result in skin disorders, numbness in the hands and feet, sluggishness and fatigue.
Green tea is known for having more vitamins in higher concentrations than other foods, and this fact alone makes tea a superior beverage.
Prevents Eyes Disease
One study that was published in the February 2010 issue of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry investigated the effects of catechins on eye diseases and found that consuming more catechins may help protect the eyes from oxidative damage and vision loss. Scientists involved in the study found evidence that catechins can pass from the digestive tract of rodents to the tissues of their eyes and reduce oxidative stress for up to 20 hours after ingestion.
Types of Green Tea
There are a wide variety of green teas available around the world. The type called sencha is the most popular and usually the easiest to find. Other lesser known varieties of green tea include:
- Fukamushi Sencha (or Fukamushi Ryokucha)
- Gyokuro
- Kabusecha
- Matcha
- Tencha
- Genmaicha
- Hojicha
How To Brew Green Tea
1. Place your tea bag or high-quality tea leaves (purchase organic from a reputable company for the best tea) in your teapot.
2. Heat or boil water, but don’t let it completely boil and become too hot, as this can destroy some of the delicate compounds found in green tea leaves. The “ideal” temperature for brewing green tea is between 160 degrees Fahrenheit to 180 degrees F (traditionally standard Chinese green teas brew at a slightly higher temperatures). Pour hot water into the teapot to steep the leaves for only about 1–3 minutes. Larger leaves need more time to steep than finer, smaller leaves. At this point you can also add any fresh herbs you plan on steeping.
Once brewed, pour a little tea at a time into each cup in order to have the tea’s strength be evenly distributed. At this point, you can add some lemon juice or raw honey as the finishing touch.
Conclusion
It’s important to point out that while it might be very beneficial, drinking green tea alone likely won’t improve your life span or protect you from disease. Research suggests that a combination of lifestyle components account for the health benefits observed in people that drink tea. The problem with many studies that investigate the effects of green tea is that they are population studies rather than controlled clinical studies, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Comments
10 Replies to “The Health Benefits of Green Tea For Hypertension & More”
No. Tenzo organic match is just fine.
Does this need to be made with a specific matcha powder?
I have Tenzo Tea’s organic matcha but a lot of them look the same
https://tenzotea.co/products/organic-matcha-tenzo-tea
No Tenzo would be just fine.
Does this need to be made with a specific matcha powder?
I have Tenzo Tea’s organic matcha but a lot of them look the same
https://tenzotea.co
How much green tea is recommended daily for maximum benefit?
The recommend 600ml per day for max benefit. Eli
What green tea is good for high blood pressure
Actually Sandra, Any green tea or matcha green till will do. I do not have any recommendations for one rand over another. Eli
You only mention japanese green teas. What about chinese green teas?
Hi Federico, Yes Chinese green tea also. Eli