Drinking green tea is becoming more popular over here in the West however, it has been the beverage of choice in Asia for thousands of years. Currently, green tea is the number one beverage most consumed world wide.
Besides it being a tasty alternative to traditional black tea and coffee, it is also extremely healthy for you. So what makes green tea especially beneficial to our health?
It has long been known that green tea contains high levels of antioxidants which help to destroy free radicals that lead to disease, primarily through cell damage and cell death. These antioxidants such as catechins and polyphenols act on our body in different ways.
One catechin in particular is called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and is responsible for the majority of the healthy benefits achieved from drinking green tea.
So what are some of the health benefits of drinking green tea?
There have been many studies on the effects of green tea over the years and more are being carried out all the time. Here are just some of the known benefits of this green tonic.
Boosts the immune system
Research suggests that green tea can be very beneficial in keeping your immune system strong due to several ingredients found in the tea. Green tea contains vitamin C and E but scientists attribute the drinks immunity tonic more so to the antioxidants it contains, specifically EGCG.
Researchers estimate EGCG to be up to 100 times more potent than both vitamin C and E.
Improves the functioning of our brain
With it’s combination of caffeine and antioxidants, green tea can not only help to improve alertness, typically associated with caffeine consumption, but it has also been found to actually improve various cognitive functions. Abilities such as as improved memory and elevated problem solving abilities are some benefits a person can achieve from regular green tea consumption.
Boosts the metabolism
Studies have shown that by drinking green tea regularly (about 4 cups per day) can help boost the metabolism and actually help the body to burn fat. Furthermore, the action of green teas fat burning capabilities targets the abdominal area in particular. This area can be especially hard to shift excess pounds from so green tea can be a great assistant in trimming your tummy fat!
Helps lower cholesterol
Besides burning excess belly fat, green tea has also been found to act on cholesterol in the body in a few different ways. The polyphenols in green tea are expected to be responsible for stopping cholesterol from being absorbed through the wall of the intestines. Not only this, but scientists believe that polyphenols are also able to help the body get rid of excess cholesterol and triglyceride that has been accumulated.
All this is great news for your heart and can also help to lower the risk of heart disease.
Improves the digestion
The various vitamins found in green tea are suspected to be the reason for it’s action on the digestive system. The presence of B vitamins in particular help our bodies to deal with proteins, carbohydrates, fats and liquids more efficiently and improve our bodies ability to absorb the needed nutrients from our food.
With the combination of vitamin C and EGCG, drinking green tea regularly can also assist our bodies in eliminating waste more efficiently.
Help to nourish and improve your skin
The antioxidants and vitamins in green tea help to nourish your skin and keep it healthy. These helpful nutrients also help to fight various underlying causes of several skin conditions.
Tip: Although it is very helpful for your skin to be drinking green tea on a daily basis, it is also beneficial to apply it topically (on the skin) to affected areas for acne sufferers. This way the skin will also absorb the antioxidants directly and get to work on the skin condition.
