There are many health benefits that have long been associated with Green Tea, however the British Dietetic Association and NHS have been working together to gather evidence in order to confirm or deny the ‘myths´.
These include investigations into claims that Green Tea increases weight loss, reduces cholesterol, helps to combat cardiovascular disease, and even helps to prevent cancer and Alzheimer’s disease.
It is the contents of green tea which provides the drink with its nutritional benefits.
Green tea contains: Vitamin B, Folate, manganate potassium, magnesium, caffeine and antioxidants.
For thousands of years green tea has been used in traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as a remedy to treat anything from headaches to depression. The tea originates from China and is widely used as a remedy throughout Asia.
Green tea seems to have the most health benefits compared to other teas, it is said that this is down to the way it is processed. Although Green, Black tea and Oolong tea comes from the same Camellia Sinensis plant they are all produced using different methods. Fresh leaves from the plant are steamed to produce green tea, while the leaves of black tea and oolong involve fermentation. As a result of avoiding the fermentation process green tea retains the maximum amount of antioxidants and polyphenols, which are the key substances that offer health benefits.
Green tea is a zero calorie drink which is often associated with weight loss, it is believed that the catechins in the tea helps to stop the body producing fat, boost metabolisms and reduce the sugar absorption in the body.
The NHS confirm that the antioxidants, catechins and caffeine in green tea helps to speed up a person’s metabolic rate. It is this that helps the body to burn more calories.
Although there is evidence that the green tea may boost your metabolism the effect of this is proven to be very small. However as most people drink green tea without milk or sugar it is considered healthy as well as being low calorie.
A study in 2013 discovered that daily consumption of green and black tea helps to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. It is thought that the reason for this is because of the catechins. The NHS state that results from the trials were short term and claim that long term tests need to be done to back up these findings.
Although there is scientific evidence proving that green tea does improve certain aspects of a person’s health, there is nothing stating how much needs to be consumed in order to benefit from the positive effects.
New research has confirmed that drinking five cups of tea per day may improve brain function. New Data has revealed that the caffeine found in tea may help to reduce blood flow to the brain, which can increase the way a brain functions.
So it seems that green tea has more to offer than its refreshing taste, you can now relax and enjoy drinking green tea knowing it’s healthy and zero calorie.
