Benefits of Green tea

People have been drinking infusions of tea for thousands of years, beginning in China and India. Today, tea is consumed more widely than any other beverage in the world except water. Billions of people drink tea, and a large number of studies show tea to have many health benefits.

There are three main varieties of tea: green, black, and oolong. All three varieties are made from the leaves of the same species of plant called Camellia sinensis; the difference is in how the tea leaves are processed. Green tea is made from unfermented leaves, while oolong tea is made from partially fermented leaves and black tea is fully fermented.

Green tea is one of the healthiest beverages you can consume. It’s sugar free, doesn’t have any calories, and is loaded with antioxidants that provide copious health benefits.

Active Ingredients

Green tea contains Tannins (Catechins),Caffine,B Vitamins B1,B2, niacin and pantothenic acid, Vitamin C, Vitamin E,Theanine,Flourine,Saponins.

Drinking green tea has a long list of benefits. In fact, research shows it can help you:

Improve Brain Function And Mental Performance

While the stimulants in tea can keep you awake, they can also make your brain function better. The main stimulant, caffeine, is present in tea at enough of a dose to provide a lift for most people without causing the increased anxiety and “jitters” associated with too much coffee. Additionally, the amino aide L-theanine has a relaxing effect while simultaneously increasing alertness, which, in combination with caffeine, can increase brain function and help you be more productive.

Protect Your Brain And Prevent Cognitive Decline

Not only can drinking green tea improve brain function in the short term, it may also protect your brain in the long term. In particular, data show it may help stave off Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease and a leading cause of dementia. Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, resulting in the death of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain.

Burn Fat

Clinical studies suggest that green tea may boost your metabolism and help you burn fat. Green tea can also help you lose weight and lower your risk of becoming overweight or obese. Much of this effect is likely due to caffeine, but other compounds in tea may also contribute to this effect. By helping you selectively burn the fat you have stored in your body for energy, green tea may help you feel fuller and maintain a more steady energy level, resulting in less hunger cravings and less calories consumed.

Lower Your Risk Of Type II Diabetes

Type II diabetes is a disease that has reached epidemic proportions over the past few decades and now afflicts hundreds of millions of people worldwide. And yet, it is almost completely preventable and mostly reversible in its early stages by strictly cutting the intake of sugar (carbohydrates).Green tea can lower and help stabilize your blood sugar levels (glucose levels); in fact, studies show that green tea can even improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels. One study among Japanese individuals found that those who drank the most green tea had a very significantly lower risk of developing type II diabetes.

Maintain A Healthy Cardiovascular System

Studies have shown green tea drinkers have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. Other studies show that black tea has similar effects. In fact, researchers estimate that the rate of heart attack decreases measurably with the consumption of just a few cups of tea per day.Research also shows that green tea lowers total cholesterol, improving the overall cholesterol profile.

Boost Your Physical Performance

Green tea also seems to boost physical performance, increase exercise endurance, and decrease reaction time, and there are many, many such studies showing these effects from caffeine, although other ingredients in green tea may aid this effect. Caffeine, and green tea’s, ability to mobilize fatty acids in fat tissue to make them more easily available for use as energy also seems to aid physical performance.

Lower Your Risk Of Various Types Of Cancers And Diseases

Several population-based clinical studies have shown that both green and black teas may help protect against cancer. Early clinical studies suggest that the polyphenols in tea, especially green tea, may play an important role in the prevention of cancer. Researchers also believe that poly phenols help kill cancerous cells and stop them from growing.

Breast Cancer

A meta-analysis of observational studies found that women who drank the most green tea had a lower risk of developing breast cancer: the most common form of cancer in women.

Pancreatic Cancer

One large-scale clinical study compared green tea drinkers with non-drinkers and found that those who drank the most tea were less likely to develop pancreatic cancer, particularly women, who were 50% less likely to develop the disease.

Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common type of cancer in men. One study found that men drinking five or more cups of green tea had only about half the risk of developing advanced prostate cancer as those that drank less than one cup per day.

Colorectal Cancer

A study of 69,710 Chinese women found that green tea drinkers had a much lower risk of developing colorectal cancer.

While they don’t prove cause and effect, multiple other observational studies have shown that green tea drinkers are significantly less likely to get various types of cancer than those that don’t drink green tea.

Improve Your Dental Health

Some studies show that the catechins in green tea can kill bacteria and inhibit viruses like the influenza virus, potentially lowering your risk of infections.

One of the primary species of harmful bacteria in the mouth is Streptococcus mutans. It causes plaque formation and is a leading contributor to cavities and tooth decay. Studies show that the catechins in tea can inhibit the growth of Streptococcus mutans.

Prevent Infection And Illness

Since some of the bioactive compounds in green tea are anti-viral and anti-bacterial, in much the same way as green tea can kill bacteria in your mouth, it can also inhibit bacteria and viruses in your bloodstream and throughout the rest of your body. Similarly, green tea may inhibit viral and bacterial infection via your nasal passages. All this means that green tea may help prevent colds and the flu, and furthermore seems to be able to alleviate the symptoms of colds and the flu once you are sick.

Aid Digestion

Some data have shown green tea can aid digestion, improve bowel health, and reduce IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease). Green tea may act by reducing inflammation in the gut associated with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the two types of IBD.

Improve Bone Mineral Density

There is some data to suggest drinking green tea may make your bones stronger. This may be because it is alkaline-forming in your body, helping prevent the leaching of minerals from your bones to counteract blood acidity and maintain proper blood pH.

Hydrate

Tea doesn’t dehydrate. Even though it is a commonly-held belief that anything with caffeine is dehydrating, this is false.

Yes, caffeine is a diuretic, but water is also a diuretic. The volume of water of a cup of tea overcomes any dehydrating effect from the caffeine in the tea.

Improve Your Mood And Help You Relax

The amino acid L-theanine in green tea increases the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which has anti-anxiety effects. L-theanine also increases dopamine and the production of alpha waves in the brain, aiding relaxation, decreasing stress, and helping reduce depression.

Ameliorate The Symptoms Of Arthritis

Some of the compounds in green tea are anti-inflammatory, and there is evidence to suggest their anti-inflammatory effects can improve the symptoms of arthritis.

Maintain Healthy, Youthful-Looking Skin

Green tea can prevent wrinkles and the signs of aging because the antioxidants in green tea are able to fight free-radical damage. Similarly, the anti-inflammatory properties of green tea can help prevent damage to skin from all sorts of harmful environmental stressors.

Support Your Skin During Sun Exposure

The polyphenols in green tea, especially EGCG, have been shown to have a particularly powerful effect in supporting skin cells and cellular DNA in the presence of UV radiation from sunlight.

Live Longer

Drinking green tea can lead to a higher quality life and a reduced risk of dying from any cause. Of course, since green tea drinkers are at a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and various cancers over a given period of time, it makes sense that green tea could help you live longer.