Green tea is the healthiest beverage on the planet. It is loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that have powerful effects on the body. Starting your day with a cup of green tea can be greatly extremely beneficial and will keep you fresh and energized for the whole day. Green tea though not very appealing to the taste buds has a lot of health benefits. This includes improved brain function, fat loss, a lower risk of cancer and many other incredible benefits.
Green Tea is the second most consuming beverage in the world after water. All types of tea, except herbal tea, are brewed from the dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis bush & the level of oxidation of the leaves determines the type of tea. Green tea is a type of tea whose leaves have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process .
Unlike coffee, green tea is regarded as one of the healthiest beverages, owning to its low amount of caffeine content in it. The high amount of antioxidants content in green tea can help a person to attain a healthy body, skin, and hair. More importantly, if you want to shed some weight, you should go for green tea.
Originated from China, Green Tea has its production spread across Asia. Green tea is made from un-oxidized leaves and is one of the less processed types of tea and thus has maximum content of antioxidants and beneficial polyphenols.
Let’s analyze some health benefits of Green Tea:
Green tea is synonymous with health today. It offers various benefits, some of the most important ones being better heart health, weight loss, and prevention of serious disease like cancer and diabetes. This tea also helps improve depression symptoms.
1.Green Tea Lowers The Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes
Green tea controls and regulates the glucose levels in the blood which slows down the process of the rise in blood sugar levels after the intake of food. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), is the key polyphenol (antioxidant) in green tea. Through a complex biochemical reaction, EGCG in green tea helps sensitize cells so they can metabolize sugar, which is beneficial for both Type 1 and 2 diabetics.
Korean study has shown that drinking 6 or more cups of green tea can cut the risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 33 percent. But do consult your doctor regarding the dosage-as 6 cups of green tea a day may not be healthy.
2.Green Tea Fights Some Cancers
Green tea helps in reducing the risk of esophageal cancer. It kills the cancer cells without at all damaging the healthy tissues that are present in these cells. As per study,it helps prevent a range of cancers including cancers of the lung, skin, breast, liver, colon, and pancreas. The constituents of green tea prevent cancer cell proliferation and can even accelerate recovery.
3.Promotes Weight Loss
The most popular benefit of green tea is that it helps in weight loss. Green tea antioxidants help in increasing the metabolism and polyphenol particularly helps in intensifying the fat oxidation levels and also helps in intensifying the rate in which the body converts the food into calories.
Are you gaining some extra pounds? Green tea could be among the superfoods you want to include in your diet. Numerous studies have concluded that the properties of green tea can help you lose weight when consumed as part of a healthy diet because green tea increases energy expenditure and fat oxidation.
4.Prevents Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s:
Green tea also helps in delaying the deterioration caused by diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Researchers found that polyphenols can help prevent the buildup of brain-damaging proteins, as well as help prevent memory loss. It helps in restoring damaged brain cells and also helps in preventing healthy cells from dying. A study published in the Natural Medicine Journal found that participants who took daily 360-mg capsules of green tea extract along with 60-mg of I-theanine (an amino acid also found in tea) had improved memory and attention spans, even if they had started to lose both.
5.Helps in stimulating Smooth digestion
The antioxidants in green tea can promote digestive health. The catechins in green tea slow down the activity of digestive enzymes. It means the intestines don’t absorb all of the calories consumed, and this means an added advantage–enhanced weight loss.
EGCG in green tea also improves colitis symptoms. Colitis is an inflammatory disorder that disturbs the digestive health. Green tea also offers vitamins B, C, and E – which are important for digestion.
6.Regulates Cholesterol levels
Drinking green tea also helps in reducing the bad cholesterol levels in the blood. It also helps in improving the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol. Green tea catechins can also help prevent atherosclerosis, a major cause of cardiovascular disease. These catechins were found to inhibit the condition. Further studies have found that though green tea lowers bad cholesterol levels, it doesn’t affect good cholesterol.
7.Regulates Blood Pressure:
The long-term intake of green tea was associated with improved blood pressure levels. Green tea also helps in reducing the blood pressure. Polyphenols help reduce oxidative stress and cause vasodilation which decreases blood pressure, prevents clotting, and reduces cholesterol. Studies suggest drinking 3 to 4 cups of the tea to help regulate blood pressure.
Blood pressure is usually caused by angiotensin-converting enzyme (or ACE), an enzyme secreted by the kidneys. Most drugs for blood pressure act as ACE inhibitors. But green tea, unbelievably, is a natural ACE inhibitor. It prevents the action of this enzyme and helps lower blood pressure.
Green-teaHere are some of the lesser known benefits of having green tea:
Improves Dental Health: Green tea kills bacteria and inhibits viruses like the influenza virus, potentially lowering your risk of infections. Due to the presence of catechins in it lead to improved dental health , maitains oral hygiene and removes bad breath.
Prevents Depression: As per a study, people who took about 3 to 4 cups of green tea in a day were far less likely to feel depressed. This property of green tea can be attributed to the amino acid L-theanine, which stimulates release of chemicals like serotonin and dopamine to fight depression symptoms. There is an amino acid by the name of Theanine which is naturally found in the green tea leaves. Caffeine in green tea can also play an important role in depression treatment-along with helping relieve stress and anxiety.
Healthy Heart Guaranteed: Green tea contains catechins, polyphenolic compounds and other nutrients that have numerous protective effects, particularly on our cardiovascular system. Consumption of green tea helps to prevent the risk of any cardiovascular diseases in the body.
Helps in Skin Care: The anti-oxidant and the anti-inflammatory properties of green tea help in reducing the wrinkles of your skin. It also helps in reducing the effect of aging on the skin of an individual. Green tea also helps in protecting the skin against the damages caused by the Sun.
Boosts Immunity: The catechins in green tea play a major role in boosting immune function. The tea protects against oxidants and radicals, thereby enhancing immunity. The EGCG in green tea has the ability to increase the number of regulatory T cells. And these help improve immune function and suppress autoimmune diseases.
Green tea works wonders for your health. You don’t have to believe what we say. Just try yourself. In order to enjoy all the benefits associated with the beverage you should always ensure buying it from a reputed e-store or online. The green tea bought from trustworthy e-commerce portals gives you the assurance of quality as well as the best price.
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