13 Green Tea Benefits You Might Not Know About

Green tea is a drink that has been around for thousands of years, and it’s very beneficial for our bodies.

It is an un-oxidized tea, named for its green colored leaves and the green tinged color of the tea once brewed. It is by far the most commonly consumed tea in all of China, if not all of Asia.

The use of green tea leaves first originated in China over 3,000 years ago. They were originally used just for chewing and eating, but over time, people began to use their leaves and buds in cooking and in their warm water to flavor it.

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It undergoes the least amount of oxidation because it has a very short processing time. Not only does this give green tea a lighter flavor than black tea, it also results in the high catechins content. Catechins are a type of antioxidant and natural phenol, which is responsible for many of the benefits that green tea possesses.

How Much Green Tea Should You Drink?

How much green tea do you need to drink in order to reap all the benefits? The answer is, as much as you feel comfortable drinking.

Drinking green tea shouldn’t feel like a chore, something you are forcing yourself to do. Otherwise, you will begin to despise drinking it.

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Green tea has small amounts of natural caffeine in it, so if you are very sensitive to caffeine, it’s best to limit your intake of it.

A good amount of green tea to drink in order to receive the benefits would be 2-5 cups a day.

Here is a list of some of the many benefits that green tea provides:

The Top 13 Health Benefits Of Green Tea

1. Helps Treat Diabetes

Green tea is beneficial for diabetics because it contains high amounts of polyphenols, which are antioxidants. These polyphenols have anti-oxidative properties, and therefore they can protect against inflammation and carcinogens.

This is great for preventing type 2 Diabetes from even forming in the first place.

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Green tea also contains a substance called egcg which helps to sensitize cells in the body so they can metabolize sugar better.

Better sugar metabolism means better regulation of blood glucose levels, which prevents high insulin spikes.

2. Helps Keep Your Skin Healthy

Green tea can help keep your skin smooth and healthy. It improves the skin’s complexion by flushing out toxins from the skin.

Green tea also aids in the healing process of blemishes and scars. The high antioxidant content helps to reduce inflammation, as well as reduces the effects of anti-aging.

Therefore, green tea can prevent saggy skin, wrinkles, sun damage, and more.

3. Can Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease

There are two main compounds that play a major role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. These are hydrogen peroxide and beta-amyloid, which is a protein.

Green tea can help prevent this disease because the polyphenols in green tea have neuroprotective properties. They bind with the toxic compounds in order to protect the brain cells.

4. Can Delay the Onset of Parkinson’s Disease

Similarly to how green tea can prevent Alzheimer’s, it can prevent Parkinson’s as well. One specific antioxidant in green tea, egcg, is especially beneficial for the brain.

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It prevents the brain cells from dying and keeps them strong and healthy. egcg also reduces compounds that lead to lesions in the brain, ultimately preventing Parkinson’s disease.

5. Can Help Prevent Heart Disease

Drinking green tea has been proven to improve heart health. It does this by protecting the delicate cells that line the blood vessels in our body.

The European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation discovered that people who drink green tea have better blood vessel function just 30 minutes after drinking it.

Green tea also prevents heart disease by improving the function of endothelial cells, which is beneficial because endothelial cell dysfunction plays a major role in the development of clogged arteries. Therefore, green tea can prevent atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) as well.

6. Reduces Cholesterol

Did you know that green tea also has the ability to reduce cholesterol in your bloodstream? It lowers your bad cholesterol (ldl) while leaving the good cholesterol in your body (hdl) untouched.

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It also prevents the absorption of bad cholesterol in the intestines.

7. Reduces the Risk of Esophageal Cancer

Green tea can help reduce the risk of esophageal cancer. This is due to the high antioxidant content that it contains.

The antioxidants and flavonoids in green tea have been shown to kill certain cancer cells without damaging any of the healthy tissue surrounding them. They can also fight off damaging free radicals in the body.

8. Promotes Oral Health

Green tea contains many compounds that can control inflammation and fight bacterial infection, especially in the mouth.

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It prevents cavities by controlling bacteria and lowering the acidity of saliva and dental plaque. Its anti-inflammatory properties also prevent gum disease.

Green tea can even make your breath smell better because it kills the microbes that make our mouth smell.

9. Keeps Blood Pressure Down

Green tea contains compounds in it that can naturally lower your blood pressure. This is due to the high amounts of catechins it contains.

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10. Helps You Lose Weight

The main weight loss benefits from green tea come from the health-boosting antioxidant egcgthat it contains.

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Green tea helps to speed up your metabolism, which in turn helps you burn more calories throughout the day, naturally. In time, this leads to weight loss.

A higher metabolism also means that your body becomes more efficient at burning fat. Green tea also contains some caffeine, which is a natural stimulant that has been proven to aid with fat burning and improves exercise performance.

11. Fights Bacteria and Viruses

Green tea has many antibacterial and antiviral properties. Drinking green tea boosts the body’s immune system due to the high level of antioxidants that it contains.

Antioxidants fight free radicals and toxins in our body, but they also attack bacterial cells.
Therefore, green tea can help fight off infections and sickness. It also prevents illnesses, diseases, and viruses from spreading in your body and can help fight them off.

12. Helps With Depression

By now we know that green tea has an incredibly rich source of antioxidants. Consuming high antioxidant foods is great for depression, however, green tea has specific depression fighting properties due to an amino acid it contains called theanine.

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This provides drinkers with stress relief and relaxation, which can be beneficial for people who suffer from depression.

13. Improves Brain Function

Green tea contains some natural caffeine. Not only does this help stimulate you and keep you awake, it can make you smarter.

In the brain, caffeine blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine. By doing so, it increases the firing of neurons and the concentration of neurotransmitters.

It also contains an amino acid called L-theanine, which works synergistically with caffeine to improve overall brain function.

There are many quality green teas available on-line, and stocking up on it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Just drinking 2 cups of green tea a day could literally have a profound effect on your physical and mental wellbeing, and may even prevent some of the more life-threatening and mentally devastating diseases. A small measure really, for such tremendous benefits.

These Are The Best Health Benefits Of Green Tea

1. Helps treat diabetes
2. Helps keep your skin healthy
3. Can prevent alzheimer’s disease
4. Can delay the onset of parkinson’s disease
5. Can help prevent heart disease
6. Reduces cholesterol
7. Reduces the risk of esophageal cancer
8. Promotes oral health
9. Keeps blood pressure down
10. Helps you lose weight
11. Fights bacteria and viruses
12. Helps with depression
13. Improves brain function