Many nutritionists and dietitians advise starting your day with a cup of steaming green tea let us examine Green tea benefits and have good reasons to drink it daily.
What Is Green Tea?
Green tea is made from special kind of tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) that do not go the process of oxidation.
Why Is Green Tea Considered Healthy?
For centuries the health benefits of green tea is hailed by people. Several studies suggests it has medicinal properties and positively affects our health. Green tea is made up of unoxidized leaves and is rich in antioxidants and beneficial polyphenols.
In addition, it has less caffeine in comparison to Black tea. Thus, it causes less of a ‘slump’ after consumption. It offers you energy to focus, but there is no intense caffeine kick.
Green tea contains bioactive compounds that reduce inflammation and fight cancer. Catechin, known as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, protects the cells from cell damage.
Antioxidants present in green tea fights free radical damage and slows the process of aging. Science has tested evidence on the ability of green tea to treat various diseases.
It offers a multitude of Health Benefits, from improving concentration to preventing cancer to lowering blood pressure. Let us dive into the Benefits of drinking green tea.
What Are Green Tea Benefits For our Body and Mind?
Improves The Functions Of The Brain – Green tea keeps you alert and improves the Brain’s functions. Caffeine is the key active ingredient in green tea that acts as a stimulant. It contains less but enough caffeine to cause jittery effects and provide you with stable energy.
In addition, by blocking inhibitory neurotransmitters known as adenosine, Caffeine Affects the brain and increases concentration.
Apart from being a brain-boosting beverage, green tea also contains the amino acid l-theanine that has an anti-anxiety effect and increases dopamine production that improves mood. A combination of caffeine and l-theanine enhances brain functions.
Promotes Weight Loss – Green tea boosts metabolic rate and increases fat burning. Caffeine present in green tea improves physical performance and mobilizes fatty acids to make the energy available.
In addition, drinking green tea increases satiety and makes you eat less, thus you consuming fewer calories.
Reduces the risk of cancer – Theories are that green tea kills cancer cells without damaging the healthy cells.
Researchers have found that the presence of polyphenols in high concentrations in green tea has an inhibitory effect on the growth and development of carcinogen-induced tumors. In addition, antioxidants present in our superfood beverage
Fights oxidative damage and reduces the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, cancer of esophagus and colorectal cancer.
May prevent type 2 diabetes – Type 2 diabetes is caused due to elevated Blood sugar levels either due to the pancreas’s inability to produce insulin or insulin resistance.
According to a few studies, green tea improves insulin sensitivity and reduces blood sugar, thus lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Prevent cardiovascular diseases: Green tea is anti-inflammatory and improves the level of total blood cholesterol. In addition, it increases the antioxidant capacity of the blood and protects the low-density cholesterol particles from oxidation, thus preventing cardiac diseases.
Increase longevity: The compounds present in green tea fights free radical damage that makes you look younger and protect you from certain diseases such as heart disease and cancer; this makes sense that green tea may help you live longer.
How Much Green Tea One Should Drink In A Day
According to the National Centre of Complementary and Integrative health, drinking 8 cups of green tea a day is safe, but green tea contains caffeine.
Too much caffeine may disrupt your sleep and cause health issues such as anxiety, insomnia, dizziness, headache, shakiness, restlessness, and abnormal heart rhythm. So, how much green tea you should drink depends upon how much caffeine you can tolerate.
How Much Caffeine Green Tea Contain?
Consuming 400 mg of caffeine per day is considered safe. Eight ounces or one cup of green tea contains 28 mg of caffeine approximately.
This is half of of the caffeine present in a cup of Black tea However, there may be a slight difference in caffeine content depending upon the green tea variety and brand.
Can You Drink Green Tea On Empty Stomach?
No doubt, green tea is one of the healthiest beverages. Still, it is not the best to drink it on an empty stomach as you may experience nausea due to the presence of tannin. Tannin increases stomach acidity and makes you feel sick or causes stomach ache.
What Is The Best Time To Drink Green Tea?
The best time to drink green tea is between meals. Avoid drinking green tea with meals as it may interfere with iron absorption.
Final Note – Great deal is known about Green tea benefits, still more research is needed to expand our knowledge on this topic. We will keep you updated with recent researches.
