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Benefits of Green Tea - An Ultimate Guide to Unveil the Nature’s Love - Betta Health And Wellness

Benefits of Green Tea - An Ultimate Guide to Unveil the Nature’s Love

Benefits of Green Tea- An Ultimate Guide to Unveil the Nature’s Love

Green tea is considered one of the best beverages in the world due to its health benefits. Initially, it was used as a medicine in India and China. Now it is being used in America, Europe and all across the world due to its miraculous health benefits. In the world, 2.5 million tons of tea leaves are produced annually, and 20% of it is green tea.

A lot of people get confused about the source of green tea and black tea. The fact is that the same plant Camellia sinensis produce both of these drinks. These differ in post-production processing. For green tea production, camellia leaves are readily steamed. Steam inhibits fermentation and denatures enzymes responsible for the breakdown of color pigment. In contrast, fermented leaves result in the production of oolong tea and black tea.

Green tea leaves mainly contain protein, amino acid, carbohydrates, fiber, polyphenol, caffeine and pigments. Healthy bioactive component polyphenol accounts for 30% of dry weight and caffeine 0.4-10% dry weight.

Health benefits of green tea

Green tea has many renowned health benefits confirmed by researchers. So, let’s dive in to learn some of these exciting benefits of green tea. Most importantly how they can help us in our every day life:

  1. Fat burning and weight loss

Different brands emphasize the weight loss benefits of green tea in their advertisement. Is there any link between weight loss and this beverage? The answer is yes; tea contains two active ingredients: catechin and caffeine that increase metabolism and fat burning. 2-3 cup of this drink along with a good diet and exercise, surely give outstanding results. A study suggests that people who take green tea with exercise results in 17% increased fat burn compared to those who don’t.

  1. Antioxidant properties

Several endogenous and exogenous oxidants produce reactive free radicals in the living body. These free radicals react with DNA, lipids and protein etc. to cause cellular and tissue damage. Imbalance in the antioxidant and reactive oxygen leads to oxidative stress. Green tea contains natural antioxidant catechin epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) that balances the body’s free radicals. It reduces the risk of tissue damage and oxidative stress.

  1. Green tea and cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are responsible for most of the deaths in the World. The leading causes behind it are the high blood cholesterol level and high blood pressure. The polyphenol catechin present in green tea decreases the level of bad cholesterol in the blood and lowers the blood pressure. Furthermore, it decreases stroke risk. Researcher indicates that daily consumption of green tea results in a 5% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality.

  1. Alleviate the risk of cancer

The unplanned and uncontrolled cell growth in the living body is cancer. Green tea protects against several environmental cancer causes. Oxidative stress leads to inflammation which is a possible risk factor of cancer. The antioxidant action of polyphenol catechin antagonizes the oxidative stress and in turn, decreases the cancer risk. It also decreases tumor growth. Studies indicate women who consume green tea have a 20-30% lower risk of developing breast cancer. Furthermore, the people who drink daily a cup of this tea have 42% less possibility of developing colorectal cancer. It also minimizes the risk of oral, prostate, lung, stomach and pancreas cancer.

  1. Green tea and type 2 diabetes

The high level of glucose in the body leads to diabetes. The major causes of diabetes are insulin resistance or the inability of the body to produce insulin on a genetic basis. Type 2 diabetes is one of the deadliest diseases all over the world. Moreover, it leads to other complications such as heart problems, slow healing, obesity, neuropathy etc. Green tea can improve insulin sensitivity, lower fasting blood sugar level and reduce HbA1c (a sugar-binding hemoglobin) level in the blood. A study shows 18% lower risk of diabetes in tea drinkers.

  1. Improve brain function and memory issue

Our brain is the master organ of the body, which controls the whole body’s function, human personality and behavior. The key ingredients in the green tea caffeine, L-theanine, and catechins have noteworthy effects on brain-boosting. Caffeine increases the nerve impulse conduction. Caffeine, along with amino acid L-theanine, improves working memory, learning power, mood, activity and nerve responses. One of the active ingredients of tea catechin slows down the ageing process of the brain. The ageing process of the brain leads to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and memory loss.

  1. Anti-ageing and Skincare

Green tea has anti-ageing effects due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Besides, it protects the skin from harmful ultraviolet rays and sunburn. It slows down the wrinkles formation. Teabags of green tea used to treat dark circles and sunburns. It also used to treat the red, dry patches of skin caused by inflammation and uncontrolled cell growth.

  1. Boost immunity

Tea catechin acts as antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral. Green tea boosts your immunity to fight a lot of diseases from flu to even cancer. Antibacterial action of tea kills the mouth bacteria that cause bad breathing, tooth decay and tooth cavities. It is also used to treat influenza virus in its earlier stages.

  1. Green tea and bone density

Green tea improves bone density and ultimately protects the bones from fracture. The antioxidant properties inhibit the leaching of important minerals from bones. Tea catechin enhances the absorption of important minerals that strengthen our skeleton. Furthermore, anti-inflammatory properties also reduce the risk of bone disorder like arthritis. 

  • Increase life span

Studies indicate people who take green tea regularly tend to live longer. The possibility of a longer life span is due to the reduced risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and bone problems etc. Moreover, the people who take green tea regularly, tend to have a younger biological age of the body cells. Whereas the ratio is lower for a person who doesn’t takes green tea.

Some other benefits

  • First off, it lowers the LDL (bad) cholesterol and increases the good cholesterol level in the blood.
  • Secondly, it has been used for the treatment of diarrhea and typhoid in Asia from ages.
  • Drinking this beverage minimizes depression and stress.
  • It can relieve the headache.
  • Currently, green tea is being used in a number of food products, cosmetics, mouthwashes and pharmaceutical preparations.

Who should avoid Green Tea?

  • Green tea is helpful for healthy people. But certain conditions limit its consumption.
  • Caffeine sensitive people should limit tea consumption.
  • The polyphenol content of tea limits the absorption of dietary iron. Therefore, iron deficiency anemia patients should avoid green tea consumption.
  • Breastfeeding and pregnant women should limit the consumption of green tea one cup per day.
  • Heart patients should not consume it because caffeine content can increase heart rhythm.
  • Patients with kidney failure should avoid green tea, possibly due to the high level of aluminum in it.
  • If you are taking heart, blood pressure, anxiety and depression medicine, avoid tea consumption because it can interfere with the medicine action.

Green tea supplement can produce toxic effects, possibly due to the high concentration of catechin as compared to drink. Therefore, use supplements as per doctor prescription.

The bottom line

As per the miraculous benefits of green tea, experts recommend at least one cup of it daily. It is available in the form of powder, dry leaves and supplements. The benefits of green tea enable a person to burn fat, maintain body shape, alleviate the risk of cancer, diabetes, boost immunity, skincare and many more. However, one should not adopt green as the sole remedy. Healthy lifestyle, stress-free environment, regular exercise and green tea are the healthiest habits that help you stay away from diseases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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