Green Tea is a well-known natural anti-oxidant. But, there are many health benefits of drinking green tea you might be unaware of. Check out!
Green tea is made from non-oxidized buds and leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant. It’s very high in antioxidants, as well as enzymes, amino acids, and phytochemicals.
It also has trace amounts of B Vitamins, Folate, Manganese, Magnesium and Potassium, and Caffeine.
The Benefits of Green Tea
1. Weight Loss
Green tea has caffeine and a flavonoid called Catechin, which helps in boosting your metabolism. It causes the break down of excess fat and increases the amount of energy your body uses. This will help you feel more energetic throughout the day while helping you decrease body fat. If you are looking to lose weight and follow a regular exercise and diet routine, drinking green tea would help you reach your goals faster.
2. Diabetic Control
Green Tea has polyphenols that help your body’s cells to break down sugar better. It also reduces oxidative stress, which results in the widening of your arteries that help decrease blood pressure, prevent clotting, and helps in lowering cholesterol.
These are all symptoms of Type 2 diabetes, which can be easily controlled by adding a green tea drink in your daily routine. Polyphenols also help regulate glucose in your body, which can assist in preventing or managing diabetes in patients.
3. Cancer Prevention and Therapy
Green Tea helps treat and prevent cancer in several ways:
- Boosts the immune system, which helps fight cancer.
- Green tea improves health and energy levels for general wellbeing.
- Gets rid of toxins in your body and allows repair where it’s needed.
- Reduces stress and provides peace of mind, which is essential in the treatment of cancer.
It is used widely as a supplement for cancer treatment across the world.
4. Anti-Inflammatory
The active ingredients in green tea that boast anti-inflammatory properties are a substance called EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate). These work to inhibit protein denaturation, resulting in decreased inflammation.
A chemical analysis (in vitro) showed that EGCG loaded particles are biocompatible and induce anti-inflammatory effects. What this means is that the Catechins in green tea help in treating wounds that suffer from inflammation, whether they be internal or external.
Some sources also state an ointment made from green tea extract that offers the same benefits.
This is also the reason why face washes that use green tea extracts lead to the face feeling ‘tightened’ as they are the anti-inflammatory effects of green tea in action.
5. Detoxification
Heart disease risk is proportionate to the level of pollution in which you expose your body. Your body absorbs pollution as “free radicals”. Then, these free radicals wreak havoc on healthy cells by causing oxidative stress on them.
Green Tea lowers the risk of heart diseases by regulating blood pressure. The catechins present in green tea help in warding off free radicals from damaging healthy cells, potentially starving off many illnesses.
It is a very well known fact that green tea is a great detoxifier. So why not add it to your daily intake?
6. Lowers LDL Cholesterol
Lower LDL cholesterol levels is one of the health benefits of drinking green tea every day. LDL cholesterol or bad cholesterol contributes to fatty buildups in arteries. These fat deposits lead to myocardial infarction (heart attack) or angina (heart pain).
LDL accumulates over years of eating fatty foods and using low-quality oils.
Green Tea is a natural remedy to this as a study of over 1,100 subjects shows that drinking green tea inversely affects the quantity of LDL and fasting sugar levels. So the more green tea you drink, the better for your heart!
7. Lowers Heart Disease Risk
A study of over 40,000 adults in Japan found that people who drank more than five cups of green tea a day had roughly 26% lower risk of death from a heart attack or stroke. They also had a 16% lower risk of death from all other health diseases than people who drank less than one cup of green tea a day. This might be of the additional assumption that people who drink green tea are more conservative about their health and more sensitive to health issues.
In any case, it’s better to be on the safe side and consume this refreshing drink to keep your heart healthy and strong and reduce the risk of inflamed arteries.
8. Reduces Risk of Stroke
Higher green tea consumption was associated with inverse risks of CVD and stroke subtypes. What this means is that drinking green tea can reduce the chances of Cardiovascular Disorders. These affect your heart and lead to strokes. Green tea is called a diet reagent, so it is used to replaces the need for heavy appetite. Lower appetite means a lesser chance of obesity, and low obesity means reduced risks of CVD and strokes.