I'm a green tea drinker.
Not for the love of the taster - no way ! It tasted like 'indianish'. I drink it because I was told that it is good for me. Or, to be honest the real reason I go for it because I believe it helps keep my weight in check. But recently, I decided to look into it a bit deeper and see what are all these other benefits of green tea people talk of.
Here’s a list of some of its amazing benefits — benefits that you may not have been aware of. Some of these benefits are still being debated, so please do your own research if you want to use green tea for medicinal purposes.
- Weight Loss. Green tea increases the metabolism. The polyphenol found in green tea works to intensify levels of fat oxidation and the rate at which your body turns food into calories.
- Diabetes. Green tea apparently helps regulate glucose levels slowing the rise of blood sugar after eating. This can prevent high insulin spikes and resulting fat storage.
- Heart Disease. Scientists think, green tea works on the lining of blood vessels, helping keep them stay relaxed and better able to withstand changes in blood pressure. It may also protect against the formation of clots, which are the primary cause of heart attacks.
- Esophageal Cancer. It can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer, but it is also widely thought to kill cancer cells in general without damaging the healthy tissue around them.
- Cholesterol. Green tea reduces bad cholesterol in the blood and improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol.
- Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It is said to delay the deterioration caused by Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Studies carried out on mice showed that green tea protected brain cells from dying and restored damaged brain cells.
- Tooth Decay. Studies suggests that the chemical antioxidant “catechin” in tea can destroy bacteria and viruses that cause throat infections, dental caries and other dental conditions
- Blood Pressure. Regular consumption of green tea is thought to reduce the risk of high blood pressure.
- Depression. Theanine is an amino acid naturally found in tea leaves. It is this substance that is thought to provide a relaxing and tranquilizing effect and be a great benefit to tea drinkers.
- Anti-viral and Anti-bacterial. Tea catechins are strong antibacterial and antiviral agents which make them effective for treating everything from influenza to cancer. In some studies green tea has been shown to inhibit the spread of many diseases.
Its not only that, I read about how it helps people to prevent bad breath. Try to make your own toothpaste to see how it works so far. The natural properties in the tea will curb mouth-odour and help prevent the plaque-forming from attach the teeth.
Another thing to point out is that there is caffeine in green tea, so if you are sensitive to caffeine then one cup should be your limit. Green tea also contains tannins which can decrease absorption of iron and folic acid. So if you're pregnant or trying to conceive then green tea may not be ideal for you.
Well roughly conclude that green tea is packed with beauty and health benefits that everyone can enjoy. Exposure to pollution, smoke and excess sunlight increases the number of free radicals in the blood, but the potent antioxidants found in green tea add strong weight to the belief that green tea not only promotes good health but also makes you look younger.
Thus here, I highly recommend to all of you that already have the feeling of going for new habit, after you read all above even until this word, to go for the less-sugary green tea either in the readymade pack or tea-bag(please use less sugar/honey) or for Malaysian, go to the grocery shop find yourself a pack of Yeo's greentea, its less sugar yet still tastes good.
So, HAPPY GREEN TEA-ING !!