In this article, we will discuss all the major benefits of green tea. Tea is the most common beverage consumed worldwide after water. However, 78% of the tea consumed is black tea and only 20% is green tea. Green tea is considered to be the healthiest beverage on the earth. Green tea is rich in nutrients and antioxidants that have a powerful effect on our body. It helps to improve brain function and fat loss. It also lowers the risk of cancer and many other diseases. Many studies have been done on green tea. Here are the top ten benefits of green tea.
Benefits of Green Tea:
1.) Green Tea Improves Health
One of the great benefits of green tea is that it improves overall health. It is not just a green liquid. There are many bioactive compounds in the tea leaves which make it a healthy drink, that contains a massive amount of important nutrients. It is rich in polyphenols like catechins and flavonoids, which acts as powerful antioxidants. These substances protect cells and molecules from damage by reducing the formation of free radicals in the body. These free radicals play a massive role in aging and all sorts of diseases. Antioxidant Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) is one of the most powerful compounds in green tea, which is found to be a component which helps in treating many diseases. And it may be one of the main reasons, green tea has such a strong medicinal properties.
Green tea also has small amounts of important minerals that are beneficial for health. Try to pick a higher quality brand of green tea, because some of the cheap quality brands may contain an excessive amount of fluoride. It is said, even if you pick a lower quality brand, the benefits still far outweigh any risk.
2.) Improve Brain Function and Make You Smarter
Caffeine, a known stimulant, is the key active ingredient of green tea. Which don’t just keep you awake but also sharps your brain. It does not contain too much caffeine to cause “jittery” effect but contains enough to produce a response. Caffeine affects in the brain, it blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter known as Adenosine. This way, it actually improves the firing of neurons and the concentration of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. Intensive research and study have been done on caffeine before and consistently lead development in various aspects of brain function, such as improved mood, attention, reaction time and memory.
Gren tea doesn’t only contains caffeine but also has the amino acid L-theanine, which is responsible for cross the blood-brain barrier. L-theanine boosts the activity of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA, which has anti-anxiety effects. It also enhances dopamine and the production of alpha waves in the brain. It is seen in various studies that caffeine and L-theanine can have synergistic effects. These two components together are particularly potent at improving brain function. It is one of the top benefits of green tea. It gives you a much milder and different kind of “buzz” than coffee, because of the L-theanine and the smaller dose of caffeine in it.
3.) Increases Fat Burning and Improves Physical Performance
If you are looking for the ingredients for a fat burning supplement, green tea is one of the best of that. This is because green tea has been found to increase fat burning and increase the metabolic rate, in human controlled trials. In a study on 10 healthy men, energy expenditure was increased by 4% by green tea. In an another study, it was shown that oxidation of fat was increased by 17%, which indicates that green tea may selectively enhance the burning of fat.
However, In some studies on green tea don’t show any enhancement in metabolism, so the effects may depend on the individual to individual. Caffeine itself has also been found to improve physical performance by mobilizing fatty acids from the fat tissues and making them usable as energy. Caffeine has been shown to increase physical performance by 11-12%, on average (18, 19) in two different review studies.
4.) Antioxidants in Green Tea May Lower the Risk of Cancer
Cancer is one of the world’s leading causes of death. Uncontrolled growth of cells causes cancer. It is a known fact that oxidative injury contributes to the development of cancer. And antioxidants can have a shielding effect. Antioxidant is one of the major ingredients of Green tea, so it is understood that it could reduce the risk of cancer, which it appears to do:
Breast Cancer: It is the most common cancer in women. A meta-analysis of observational studies shows that those women who drank the most “green tea” had a lower risk of developing breast cancer by 22%.
Prostate Cancer: It is the most common cancer in men. One study shows that men drinking “green tea” had a lower risk of developing prostate cancer 48%.
Colorectal Cancer: A study was done on 69,710 Chinese women, found that “green tea” drinkers had a 57% lower risk of colorectal cancer.
It is seen from many other observational studies that those who drinks green tea are significantly less likely to get various types of cancer. Putting milk in your green tea is a bad idea because it can reduce the antioxidant value.
5.) Lower Your Risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Besides protecting your brain in old age, green tea also improves your brain functions in the short terms. It is one of the best benefits of green tea. The most common neurodegenerative disease in humans is Alzheimer’s disease, which is a leading cause of dementia. The second most common neurodegenerative disease is Parkinson’s disease. It includes the death of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain. Various studies have been done in test tubes and animals, which shows that catechin, which is found in the rich amount in green tea, can have distinct shielding effects on neurons, mainly reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
6.) Green Tea Can Kill Bacteria
The catechins found in green tea have another biological effect as well. It is shown in various studies that catechins can kill bacteria and restrain viruses like the influenza virus, reducing your risk of infections. The primary harmful bacteria in the mouth is Streptococcus mutans. It causes plaque formation in the mouth. It is a leading contributor to cavities and tooth decay. Various studies show that the catechins can inhibit the growth of streptococcus mutans. Consumption of green tea is helpful for improving dental health and lowers the risk of caries. It is also found in some studies that green tea reduces bad breath, which is one of the awesome benefits of green tea.
7.) Lower Your Risk of Type II Diabetes
300 million people are affected by Type ll diabetes worldwide. It is a disease which has reached epidemic proportions in last few decades. This disease involves increased blood sugar in the context of insulin resistance or an incapability to produce insulin. In multiple studies, it is shown that green tea is effective in improving insulin sensitivity and lessens the level of blood sugar. One study was carried out in Japanese individuals and found that those who consumed the green tea most, had a 42% lower risk of developing Type ll diabetes. In an analysis of 7 studies with a total of 286,701 individuals, those who drank green tea most had an 18% lower risk of becoming diabetic
8.) Reduce Your Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
One of the biggest causes of death worldwide is Cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke. It is known by multiple studies that green tea can improve some of the major risk factors for these diseases. This involves LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides. Green tea also improves the antioxidant capability of the blood, which restrains the LDL cholesterol particles from oxidation, which leads towards heart disease. Studies show that those who drank green tea have a 31% lower risk of cardiovascular disease.
9.) Green Tea Can Help You Lose Weight
One of the common effects of green tea is to boost the metabolic rate in the short-term, indicating it could help you lose your weight. Multiple studies show that green tea helps to decrease fat of the body, especially in the abdominal area. One study was carried out among 240 men and women that went on for 12 weeks. A significant decrease in body fat, waist circumference, body weight and abdominal fat was seen in that study. However, in some cases, there was no statically significant increase in weight loss was seen with green tea, so this should be taken with a grain of salt.
10.) Green Tea May Helps You Live Longer
Death is inevitable, we all have to die eventually. However, studies show that green tea drinkers are at a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, which makes sense that it could help you live longer. It is definitely one of the best benefits of green tea. In a study of 40,530 Japanese adults, green tea drinkers (5 or more cups per day) were significantly less likely to die during an 11-year period:
- Green tea lowers the risk of death from heart disease by 31% in women, 22% in men.
- Green tea lowers the risk of death from stroke by 42% in women, 35% in men.
- Another study was carried out in 14,001 elderly Japanese individuals aged 65-84 years which yields that those who drank the most “green tea” were 76% less likely to die during the 6-year study period.