10 Benefits of Green Tea
Green tea has been known for its various benefits to mankind. Tea in general is the second most consumed fluid after water. From ancient days, people have been drinking tea where 80% of tea consumed is black tea while the remaining 20% is green tea. The difference lies in the process of tea making. The main reason why green tea has more benefits is due to the fact that it is less processed.
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Increase energy levels, mood and concentration
Tea, like coffee, contains caffeine. Caffeine is a good stimulant to help one concentrate and focus on the current tasks. However if you are easily affected by caffeine, with symptoms such as heart palpitation, do limit your intake on green tea or coffee.
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Weight loss
There have been many testimonies online that attributed their weight loss to green tea consumption. While it is not based 100% on evidence, it may help to decrease some weight and help with one's diet. Drinking more tea helps you to feel fuller therefore resulting in lesser food consumption during meal time. The difference with drinking plain water alone is, some people prefer to drink something of taste rather than plain. However, keep in mind that it should be without sugar.
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More antioxidants
Antioxidants are known to protect the body against disease and are an important part of a healthy diet. In green tea, flavonoids are the most active major polyphenols. The most active of which are catechins and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) which function as powerful antioxidants.
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Heart benefits
A large population study in Japan showed that drinking 2-5 cups of green tea a day could reduce mortality and reduce mortality caused by cardiovascular disease.
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Lowers cholesterol
Some studies show that green tea consumption could reduce total cholesterol or LDL (nicknamed as bad cholesterol)
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Lowers risk of stroke
Consumption of green tea as part of one’s diet has shown to reduce the risk of stroke.
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Type 2 Diabetes
Some studies show that green tea can help reduce type 2 Diabetes while others showed no difference. Therefore, the results are not conclusive.
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Inflammatory skin disease
Researchers found that it can help decrease the inflammation in red, scaly and flaky skin. This could help in treatment of psoriasis (an autoimmune disease where the skin cells multiply too rapidly) as well as dandruff.
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Memory/ Dementia
Thought to enhance brain cognitive function and memory as well as reducing the risk of Dementia and/or Alzheimer
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Cancer benefits (controversial)
Researchers have not identified the direct link between green tea and reducing the cancer risk but studies have shown that countries who consumed more green tea has a lower number of cancer cases compared to countries who consumed less.
There are many benefits of green tea, albeit some still need more evidence to back it up. Key point to remember when drinking tea:
Because it contains tannin, it can interfere with iron absorption. Therefore, it is highly recommended to not drink tea after an iron-rich meal at least for an hour.
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Reference:
Picture credit:
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https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-green-tea
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https://nutrition.org/what-role-does-nutrition-play-on-vascular-dementia/
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https://magazine.medlineplus.gov/article/cholesterol-the-good-the-bad-and-the-unhealthy
