Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea has a multitude of health benefits. The beverage comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant. Green tea, black tea, and oolong tea come from the same plant, but each type is processed differently. Unlike black tea and oolong tea, green tea is not fermented. People steam green tea leaves at a high temperature instead of putting the leaves through a fermentation process. The steaming process maintains the nutrients found in the tea leaves while the fermentation process destroys some of the nutrients. In an article published in 2014 by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, it states, “During this process [of steaming], it is able to maintain important molecules called polyphenols, which seem to be responsible for many of the benefits of green tea.” While black tea and oolong tea have their own benefits, green tea is superior. It is healthier, and it has many more benefits than the other types of tea. In fact, it is one of the healthiest things you can drink.

So what is green tea’s biggest benefit? "It's all about the catechin content," says Beth Reardon, RD, a Boston nutritionist. Catechins are a type of antioxidant that fights and prevents cell damage. As I mentioned earlier, green tea is not processed as much as the other types of tea, so it's rich in catechins. Along with the benefit of antioxidants and other minerals found in green tea, there are so many more.

List of Benefits

• Contains many antioxidants
• Contains small amounts of caffeine
• Acts as a natural energy drink
• Aids in weight loss by increasing the rate at which you burn fat
• Improves blood flow
• Lowers bad cholesterol
• Helps lower risk of heart problems
• Helps prevent formations of plaque linked to Alzheimer's Disease
• Promotes greater activity in the brain
• Contains minerals important to health
• Can lower the risk to certain types of cancer
• Reduces inflammation

I have been drinking green tea for many years now. I am not a big coffee fan, so I one day I tried green tea and was hooked on it. It has small amounts of caffeine, and when combined with small amounts of hone or sugar, it acts as a natural energy drink. It doesn't provide quite the kick as coffee, but it sure does give me enough energy to last the morning. I drink a cup of green tea just about every morning. While I cannot feel these benefits taking place, I do feel refreshed after drinking a cup. Paired with my active and healthy lifestyle, I am feeling better than I ever have before. At the end of this article I will link to my two favorite brands of green tea.