In an age where people are becoming health conscious and understanding the importance of diet and nutrition, Green tea has become very in vogue, and for good reason too. Green tea is now recognized as one of the healthiest beverages on the planet due to being loaded with antioxidants and nutrients that have a powerful impact on the body. There is evidence to suggest it also improves mental functioning, alongside the marked physical health benefits including fat loss, a lowered incidence of illness and disease and many other incredible benefits. Below is a list of seven health benefits which have been confirmed by research studies, all of which will enlighten and encourage you to drink green tea.
Help to Reduce Acne
You probably didn’t know that green tea can help with acne too, but it can! Drinking green tea has a number of effects that can help prevent acne, including reduced inflammation levels, less sebum (which causes acne) and boost your immune system. This is like a powerful trio punch to help reduce your acne.
Improved Health
Green tea contains several bioactive compounds which have a high nutritional value, and is loaded with polyphenols such as flavonoids and catechins. These are powerful antioxidants which can help protect cells from damage and reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, which often contribute to aging and can higher the incidence of disease. Green Tea’s incredible medicinal properties are probably its biggest and most attractive attribute.
Improved Brain Functioning
Green tea can make you smarter, especially since one of its active ingredients is caffeine, a known stimulant. Though it contains smaller amounts than coffee, it is an optimum quantity to bring about benefits without the ‘jittery’ effects associated with high intake. Caffeine is known to block adenosine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, thus increasing the firing of neurons and the concentration of neurotransmitters. With an increase in brain functioning, mood, reaction time, and memory associated with caffeine, it additionally contains L-theanine. This increases the activity of GABA, a neurotransmitter which has anti-anxiety effects and works in cooperation with caffeine to improve brain functioning.
Increased Fat Burning and Improved Physical Performance
Green tea has been shown to boost metabolic rate in human controlled trials, where energy expenditure was up 4% in a study of 10 healthy men. Other research suggests that fat oxidation can be increased by 17%, suggesting green tea has the ability to selectively increase fat burning.
Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Green tea can improve brain functioning in the short term, but also have a profound long term impact on your brain in old age. Dementia is commonly linked with the neurodegenerative disease Alzheimer’s, which occurs when the neurons responsible for producing dopamine die. Studies have shown that catechin compounds in green tea can have a protective effect on neurons, thus lowering the incidence of this disease.
Killing Bacteria
There is evidence to suggest that the catechins in green tea can also inhibit viruses and kill bacteria, thus reducing your risk of infections. Streptococcus mutans is one of the most harmful bacteria in the mouth, and is a leading contributor to cavities and tooth decay. Green tea can inhibit the growth of this bacterium, and is thus associated with improved dental health.
Lower Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes has become an epidemic in recent years, afflicting more than 300 million people worldwide. The disease involves having elevated blood sugar levels and developing a resistance or inability to produce insulin. Green tea can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels, and one study showed that among nearly 300,000 participants of a study, Green tea drinkers had an 18% lower risk of becoming diabetic.
Reduced Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
Cardiovascular diseases are the biggest cause of death in the world, and Green tea has been associated with improving some of the main risk factors for these diseases, including cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. It also increases the antioxidant capability of blood, reducing one part of the pathway towards heart disease. With the overall health benefits and effects on risk factors, it is not surprising to hear that green tea drinkers have a 31% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
As you can see from this article there are multiple reasons why you should start drinking Green tea, and though this is an exhaustive list, there are plenty more reasons to adopt a Green tea lifestyle, so please continue researching.
