Vicony Tea Directory

Health Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world (water is the first) and has been used medicinally for centuries in China and Japan. That is because a number of beneficial health effects in green tea are attributed to regular consumption of green tea and dried/powdered extracts of green tea.

The health benefits of green tea beverage have been discovered. In total world consumption of tea, green tea makes up about 20% of the total. In China, on the other hand, green tea is the most popular.

Green tea is rich in antioxidants

Recent research suggests that beneficial antioxidants in green tea play a role in reducing the negative effects of bad cholesterol, lowering triglyceride levels and increasing the production of good cholesterol. They have also been shown to inhibit excessive blood clotting which may help against heart diseases and stroke. Further evidence has suggested that green tea plays a role in prevention of age-related and brain degeneration diseases, such as Parkinson and Alzheimer's. Its antioxidant properties are thought to reduce free radical damage and the breakdown of neurotransmitters. You'd think the benefits would be enough incentive, but wait,there's more! Lots more.

CUT YOUR CANCER RISK

Several polyphenols - the potent antioxidants green tea's famous for - seem to help keep cancer cells from gaining a foothold in the body, by discouraging their growth and then squelching the creation of new blood vessels that tumors need to thrive. Study after study has found that people who regularly drink green tea reduce their risk of breast, stomach, esophagus, colon, and/or prostate cancer.

SOOTHE YOUR SKIN

Got a cut, scrape, or bite, and a little leftover green tea? Soak a cotton pad in it. The tea is a natural antiseptic that relieves itching and swelling. Try it on inflamed breakouts and blemishes, sunburns, even puffy eyelids.

PROTECT YOUR SKIN

In the lab, green tea applied directly to the skin (or consumed) helps block sun-triggered skin cancer, which is why you're seeing green tea in more and more sunscreens and moisturizers.

STEADY YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE

Having healthy blood pressure - meaning below 120/80 - is one thing. Keeping it that way is quite another. But people who sip just half a cup a day are almost 50 percent less likely to wind up with hypertension than non-drinkers. Credit goes to the polyphenols again (especially one known as ECGC). They help keep blood vessels from contracting and raising blood pressure.

PROTECT YOUR MEMORY, OR YOUR MOM'S

Green tea may also keep the brain from turning fuzzy. Getting-up-there adults who drink at least two cups a day are half as likely to develop cognitive problems as those who drink less. Why? It appears that the tea's big dose of antioxidants fights the free-radical damage to brain nerves seen in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

STAY YOUNG

The younger and healthier your arteries are, the younger and healthier you are. So fight plaque build-up in your blood vessels, which ups the risk of heart disease and stroke, adds years to your biological age (or RealAge), and saps your energy too. How much green tea does this vital job take? About 10 ounces a day, which also deters your body from absorbing artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.

LOSE WEIGHT

Oh yeah, one more thing. There have been over two dozen green tea weight loss studies done in the last 10 years that prove that green tea does indeed help you lose weight.

See Also:

• Tea Storage
• Tea Infusion Skills
• Tea and Water
• Green Tea Effect Study
• Health Benefits of Oolong Tea
• Caffine and Tea
• Tea Polyphenols
• Black Tea Effect Study