Tofu, yogurt, olive oil, apple cider vinegar… it seems like there are always a few “miracle products” out there that a thousand experts claim will transform your life and your health. The biggest of them all? Green tea. It seems like you can’t visit a health-related website or read a magazine without seeing a mention of the how this ancient drink can improve your health.
But is green tea all it’s cracked up to be? Or is this drink more about hype than helpfulness?
Green Tea and Your Health
The short answer to this is… yes, it looks like green tea does what the experts say. And maybe more. The medical community only began to confirm the beneficial effects of green tea about ten years ago. And as more studies are made into the effects of this tea, more health benefits have been uncovered.
The active ingredient in green tea, called EGCG, works to help prevent or reduce the effects of a huge range of different disorders and diseases, including:
Alzheimer’s: The EGCG in green tea decreases the production of a protein that contributes to the clogging of the brain see in Alzheimer’s patients. Drinking over two cups of green tea a day can reduce by half your chances of developing dementia.
Cancer: The statistics show that cancer rates are lower in countries where a lot of green tea is drunk. Why? Because the EGCG in green tea helps to prevent the growth of cancer cells and restrain carcinogens from activating. In particular, green tea helps to prevent bladder cancer, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, and breast cancer.
High cholesterol: Green tea helps to lower cholesterol levels because it inhibits cholesterol’s absorption into the body. Green tea is also effective at helping the body to rid itself more quickly of the cholesterol that’s already in the blood stream. To see the cholesterol-reducing effects of green tea, you’ll need to drink five or more cups a day.
Liver disease: Green tea helps to protect the liver from damage due to substances like alcohol and other toxins. It also helps to reduce the amount of fat in the liver by up to 55%.
Green Tea and Weight Loss
While the health benefits of drinking green tea are attractive, the weight loss benefits may even be more so. Green tea assists with weight loss in a variety of ways. First, it speeds up the body’s metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories more quickly. It also helps keep the body from storing the calories that you do eat as fat, and it naturally reduces your appetite.
The best way to lose weight with green tea? Replace as many of your daily liquids with green tea as possible. In order to see much weight loss from drinking green tea, it’s key to drink at least 4-5 cups a day. And since plain green tea has no fat or calories, you know that you are always drinking something healthy for your body that won’t get in the way of your diet.
Green tea really is all that the experts say– and the limits if its health benefits haven’t even been reached. While you do have to drink plenty of it in order to see its benefits, it’s worth it to drink as much green tea as possible. You never know what you might improve… or even prevent.
Datepad
