5 Reasons to Drink More Green Tea

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I’m not one to rain on coffee’s parade, in fact I love the smell of freshly ground coffee and am partial to a good café late myself, but when it comes to the “goodness” factor, green tea my friends wins hands down. In fact, I’ve even heard it called the healthiest drink on the planet!

So, with the cooler weather blowing on our doorstep, here are some of the benefits of green tea and my top 5 reasons why you should wrap your hands around a warm cup of green tea start sipping…
 

1. Fight off Colds & Flus

With flu season upon us, staying well while others sneeze and sniffle around you can be tough but with the immune strengthening antibacterial and antiviral super powers of green tea, you can help fight off those nasty bugs.

Green teas are chock full of antioxidants. Whilst Matcha is the most nutrient rich green tea having up to 17 times the antioxidant properties of blueberries and 7 times more antioxidants than chocolate, your everyday green tea is still a great source of polyphenols and one particular goodie called Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG).

EGCG is a natural chemical which studies have found to be 25 to 100 times more potent than the antioxidants found in Vitamin C and E. It’s also the reason why green tea has been linked to other disease fighting and powerful medicinal properties.

2. Be Smarter

Drink more green tea and be smarter? Sounds a little too good to be true but according to studies, sipping on green tea can enhance your brain function and memory.

Green tea contains a magical combination of just the right amount of caffeine (less than what you’d find in coffee) and a little amino acid called L-theanine. Combined, these two components have been shown to improve brain function, without the jittery buzz that coffee can leave you with. Clever huh?

3. Be Slimmer

Green tea has been shown to boost your metabolic rate and to increase the burning of fat.

That doesn’t mean we can go out, eat what we want and wash it all down with buckets of green tea. It means that the polyphenols in green tea have been found to mobilise the fatty acids from fat issue and make them available for use as energy. Plus, the caffeine in green tea can increase your physical performance leading to more energy, exercise and burning of fat.

4. Be Healthier

Without making green tea sound like some sort of miracle drink, there are many reports and studies about the beneficial health properties of green tea and the diseases it can help reduce. Here are just some of them…

• Lower the risk of various types of cancer
• Lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
• Reduce your risk of heart disease
• Lower cholesterol levels
• Reduce the risk of high blood pressure
• Lower your risk of diabetes (Type II)
• Improve your dental health
• Lower your risk of infections

Whilst I believe there is a lot more that goes into preventing these diseases than simply what we drink, I do think that there has to be some merit to all the research done, that we can get amazing benefits from nature so why not make green tea a regular part of our diet and lifestyle.

5. Be Happier

Don’t worry…drink green tea! Doesn’t have the same ring to it, does it?

OK, so I’m not a song writer but I am an advocate for healing ourselves naturally so the next time you’re feeling blue, anxious, stressed out or just in need of a pick me up, why not try some big deep breaths, doing some good yoga stretches and drinking a cup of green tea.

The naturally occurring amino acid in green tea, called L-theanine, has been found to have a calming and soothing effect on people as it stimulates the production of alpha brain waves and alters levels of neurotransmitters in the brain such as serotonin and dopamine which affect our mood.

 

Take home message and Green Tea Challenge

With the benefits of green tea being so amazing, positive and well documented, it seems like drinking more green tea is a pretty simple thing we can all do in our life with lots to gain.

My personal choice is always choose a certified organic green tea and one that’s fairly traded as this will ensure that a) you’re not drinking any nasty chemicals (what’s sprayed on the tea stays on tea) and b) the producers, women and children on the tea farms are being fairly paid and have access to essential services like education and medical facilities.

Starting today, I’m on a Green Tea challenge. For the next month, I’m going to drink at least one cup of green tea each day. I’d love you to join me and let me know how you go.

Happy Drinking! xo