Green Tea – Myth or Magical. You decide.

Green Tea – Myth or Magical. You decide.

Green Tea is reported as having numerous benefits. The most interesting for those of you that are trying to lose weight is its body fat burning properties.

In this blog we’ll explore this benefits and a few more…

So, what is Green Tea then?

Basically green tea is the least processed of four different types of tea; green, oolong, black and white, all of which come for the Camellia sinensis bush. Interesting stuff this!!

Unlike the other tea variants, green tea leaves are steamed.

Processing them in this way preserves the compound epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is a powerful antioxidant that gives green tea many of its health properties. Right, so there’s the anti-oxidant stuff.

Green Tea and weight loss, and more importantly fat burning.

Many research studies have shown that drinking green tea can have a positive effect on our body weight.These studies indicate that green tea helps us shed unwanted fat by helping to:

Increase our metabolism (if you’ve read some of my other stuff you’ll already know this burns more calories throughout the day).

Increase our body’s ability to burn fat (fat oxidation).

While some of green tea’s effect on our metabolism is known to come from the caffeine it contains, green tea doesn’t have as much caffeine as coffee but helps the body burn more energy than coffee, so we know that the effect doesn’t just come down to its caffeine levels.

A number of studies have provided some evidence for this effect. They have indicated that the combination of green tea catechins and caffeine (found in all types of tea) produces a ‘thermogenic effect’, boosting the rate at which calories are burned at rest and also increasing the rate of fat oxidation

In a nutshell, the reason green tea may help with fat oxidization is combination of the caffine (found in all teas) and the green tea catechins ( found in green tea!!).

A study performed at the University of Birmingham showed that average fat oxidation rates were 17% higher after ingestion of green tea extract than after ingestion of a placebo. Likewise, the contribution of fat oxidation to total energy expenditure was also significantly higher by a similar percentage following ingestion of green tea extract. This implies that ingestion of green tea extract can not only increase fat oxidation during moderately intensive exercise but also improve insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance in healthy young men.

So what other health benefits does Green Tea have?

From the above it seems fat loss increased when we consume green tea. Green Tea is believed to have many other health benefits as well.

Among the most impressive of these are:

Reduce our risk of developing many forms of cancer

Inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

Lower total cholesterol levels.

Improve the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Help reduce the risk and treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Reduce the risk of experiencing cardiovascular disease.

Treat impaired immune function.

Help prevent tooth decay.

Prevent food poisoning,

You can do your own research on these if it applies or is of interest to you. Myth or Magical, you decide.

In order to enjoy these health benefits and others, researchers recommend drinking green tea on a regular basis. In fact, many recommend drinking between 5 and 10 cups per day to get the full benefits from drinking green teas.

Is green tea good for everyone?

It is thought that not everyone should drink green tea or large quantities of green tea like those recommended by many researchers.

Because green tea does contain relatively high amounts of caffeine, it has been recommended that anyone with the following conditions speak with their doctor before starting to consume green teas:

Heart problems or high blood pressure.

Kidney disease.

Hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid).

An anxiety or nervous disorder.

Bleeding or blood clotting disorder.

Any condition requiring you to take blood thinning drugs.

Plant related allergies.

If you are pregnant or could become pregnant.

If you are breast-feeding a baby.

Because green tea contains relatively large amounts of caffeine it is suggested that it is not consumed by children, obviously.

This bit’s got to be here:

In addition to avoiding green tea if you suffer from any of the medical conditions listed above, anyone taking medication should also consult their doctor before starting to consume green tea to make sure it is compatible with the drugs they are taking.

People who don’t take medication or have any of the conditions listed above can still experience the following negative side-effects if they consume too much caffeine (including that contained in green tea):

Irritability.

Insomnia.

Heart palpitations.

Dizziness.

So there’s a bit of info on Green Tea. These are my views only. Thanks for reading.