Look up the healthiest beverages on the planet and you are most likely to see green tea on the top of the list.
For the last centuries, many people have praised the drink for its health properties that are beneficial for the body. Its effects on weight loss, digestion, skin, and preventing cardiovascular diseases are incredible.
The International Institute of Sustainable Development reported that tea is next to the most consumed beverage in the world next to water. Culture and weight management both contribute to its popularity from the past 2000 years. The drink is also convenient to make. You just need to pour hot water on the tea leaves and you’re ready to go!
Green tea remains to be a soothing and revitalizing drink perfect for the cold season. Its aroma has a refreshing taste to it that it blends well with cakes, chocolates, and other types of sweets (in little amounts would be a great treat!). Generally, anyone with known stomach problems, anemia, iron deficiency, liver disease, and troubles sleeping should drink this tea moderately. Seek your doctor’s advice for the recommended tea intake specifically for you. Depending on the guidance from medical professionals, you can go for either the tea bags or the loose tea leaves.
In this article, Cognitive Health and Wellness Institute shares the top benefits of this anti-inflammatory drink. Learn more how this natural drink can help improve your diet and overall health.
Is green tea good for you
This tea is made from the Camellia sinensis plant from steaming and pan-frying its leaves. The leaves are then dried, not fermented, so it still keeps polyphenols intact. These molecules are responsible for the many health benefits you can get from drinking green tea.
Overflowing with compounds that promote immune health, the US FDA even approved a topical ointment extracted from green tea leaves to treat genital warts. Also, if you regularly drink tea, it can help reduce risk of various diseases. Some of which are heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes.
Who should not drink green tea
Did you know that green tea contains caffeine? Hence, if you have anxiety disorders, this might not be good for you. Also, if you have bleeding disorders, the risk of bleeding increases due to the caffeine content. For those with heart conditions, it is not advisable to drink lots of this tea because it may cause irregularity in your heartbeat.
Generally, anyone with known stomach problems, anemia, iron deficiency, liver disease, and troubles sleeping should drink green tea moderately. Seek your doctor’s advice for the recommended intake specifically for you. Depending on the guidance from medical professionals, you can go for either the tea bags or the loose tea leaves.
Benefits of green tea
If you haven’t heard yet, green tea is one of the superfoods that can boost your healthy diet and lifestyle. It’s also great for body detox and acts as an anti-inflammatory drink.
Here are the other health benefits of this popular drink:
- Weight loss. EGCG helps prevent oxidative damage to your cells, consequently causing a rise in metabolism.
- Protects against cancer. EGCG also helps inhibit growth of tumor cells to reduce the risk of cancer.
- Supports brain health. Its active components help stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Reduces inflammation. EGCG suppresses inflammatory cytokines which helps lower cases of inflammation-related diseases.
- Helps prevent bone damage. The antioxidants in this tea can help protect the risk of fracture and support bone density.
- Fights bacteria, fungi, and virus to increase your immunity. Its antibacterial, antifungal, and antivirus effects of help boost your health immunity to fight against infection.
- Balances blood sugar. It helps improve lipid metabolism and balance your metabolic rate.
- Prevents diabetes. It can improve glucose metabolism, thus, preventing spikes in blood sugar.
- Improves heart health. This drink helps prevent stroke and cardiovascular diseases, lower cholesterol levels, and speed up heart recovery.
- Defends skin from aging. Antioxidants found in this tea helps protect skin from wrinkles and harmful effects of free radicals causing aging.
Other benefits:
- Destroys harmful free radicals in fatty livers
- Relaxes muscles to reduce severity of asthma
- Kill food poisoning toxins and bacteria
Side effects of drinking green tea
Many of the side effects of this drink revolve around consumption of too much caffeine. For example, pregnant women aren’t encouraged to have green tea because it may cause birth defects, or worse, miscarriage.
Too much of it can cause restlessness, loss of appetite, nausea, irritability, skin rash, dehydration, and heart palpitations. There are also risks in coronary heart disease, cholesterol elevation, hypertension, insulin sensitivity, etc. There’s a study that shows it could stop the effectiveness of certain medications for blood pressure and the heart.
Other side effects of drinking green tea include reducing iron absorption in your body, sleep interference, upset stomach, and headaches.
What happens if you drink tea everyday
There are other types of tea (black, oolong, and white) but there are more flavonoids in green tea. These are plant-based antioxidant chemicals which make green tea of higher quality than other kinds. This tea is the most beneficial because it is least oxidized when processed, too.
Drinking green tea everyday is ultimately dependent on your individual health needs. Different people have different personal health conditions so how much you consume also depends on what your body can tolerate. A cup of tea each day should be fine.
Like drinking too much coffee, too much tea can cause dental stains. Worse, it can discolor and eventually cause dental plaque. Thus, it’s important that you brush your teeth within 24 hours of drinking green tea.
Generally, though, the health benefits outweigh the risks and/or disadvantages. In another study, these benefits are summarized as follows: cancer prevention plus anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antiviral, anti-arthritic, antioxidative, and neuroprotective effects.
Cognitive Health and Wellness Institute encourages you to only drink green tea in between meals, not on an empty stomach. It’s also incorrect to have it with your meal because it may affect your body’s response to iron absorption. As always, a healthy, balanced meal is key to proper nutrition.
Resources:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-10-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-green-tea
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2855614/
https://www.asweetpeachef.com/benefits-of-green-tea/
https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea
https://www.everydayhealth.com/diet-and-nutrition-pictures/life-sustaining-reasons-to-drink-green-tea.aspx
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/269538