Health & Beauty Benefits of Consuming Green Tea
Health & Beauty Benefits of Green Tea
Although water reigns supreme as the world’s most popular healthy drink, Green Tea comes in a close second. Among the healthiest foods and beverages available for consumption, Green Tea is chock full of potent antioxidants and nutrients that provide amazing, health and beauty benefits.
The Chinese have long believed that Green Tea has the potential to prevent and cure disease and promote wellness. Although this belief has been long-held amongst a number of Asian cultures, modern research has proven these effects to be more than cultural quirks. Green Tea has been scientifically proven to improve health outcomes and reduce disease risk, and has hence become very popular in the health food world.
With all the proven benefits, many people are still unaware of how powerful Green Tea is for their health and beauty. Many opt for shelling our serious cash for top of the line products for health and beauty. What if I told you spending copious amounts of money on such products simply was not necessary? Through regular consumption, Green Tea can enhance your health, beauty, and vitality through some key biological mechanisms.
Health & Beauty Benefits Green Tea Consumption:
Antioxidants
Green tea’s high antioxidant content is made possible by a class of antioxidants known as polyphenols. Specifically, Green Tea is high in the polyphenols flavonoids and catechins, both of which reduce cellular inflammation that can cause premature aging, wrinkles, and dull skin, and allow disease processes to proliferate. The most powerful antioxidant in Green Tea, Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) may have a medicinal effect on the body. EGCG has been used to treat various diseases. However, prevention is always better than treatment, and consuming Green Tea as a part of a healthy lifestyle can improve your health and beauty outcomes.
Weight management
Turn around a box of weight loss supplements and check out the ingredient list: it’s likely Green Tea will be amongst the ingredients listed. While the majority of metabolism booster and diet pills are potentially dangerous and are unproven fads, Green tea can potentially increase your metabolism by boosting your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body burns calories). When you’re eating nutritionally dense food and engaging in sufficient exercise, drinking 2-3 cups of Green tea to daily can keep your metabolic rate operating at its peak. Thereby aiding in weight loss and weight maintenance.
Cancer Prevention
At its root, cancer occurs when molecules known as free radicals create cellular inflammation and damage DNA. This damage is also known as Oxidative Damage, which then creates an environment that allows cancer to proliferate through the body.
Although research on Green Tea and cancer is ongoing, a large number of studies have found reduced risk amongst individuals who regularly consume Green Tea.
Green Tea has also shown to improve disease outcomes for those already afflicted with cancer. In a study of nearly 500 women in treatment for various stages of Breast Cancer, those who regularly consumed Green Tea experienced far less proliferation of the disease, promoting the likelihood of recovery and remission (1).
Boost Brain Power
Thanks to its moderate caffeine content, when ingested Green Tea stimulates blood flow throughout the body, increasing blood flow to the brain. This leads to increased alertness and concentration. Green Tea can also improve concentration and mental endurance through its modulation of blood sugar. Fluctuating blood sugar can leave you tired, irritable, and otherwise unable to concentrate. Green tea has the ability to stabilize blood sugar, improving insulin sensitivity and preventing rapid spikes in blood sugar that may otherwise lead to an energy crash.
Antibacterial
Green Tea has been praised for is antibacterial properties and prevention of cavities. It may also interfere with the bacterium that causes halitosis. Traditionally, Green Tea was consumed after a meal to leave the mouth feeling fresh and clean.
Lowers High Cholesterol
The healing properties may also lead to lowering high cholesterol. Those who regularly consume green and black teas can expect a reduced risk for heart disease. The antioxidants in green, black, and oolong teas can help block the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol, increase HDL (good) cholesterol and improve artery function. A Chinese study published recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed a 46%-65% reduction in hypertension risk in regular consumers of oolong or green tea, compared to non-consumers of tea. (2)
Points to Remember:
Antioxidants keep you healthy and beautiful – there is an abundance in Green Tea.
Always choose a high quality organic Green Tea for maximum health and beauty benefits.
Adding lemon to your brew can aid in nutrient and antioxidant absorption.
You should consume Green Tea 2-3 times each day to reap maximum benefits.
Although the caffeine in Green tea is relatively low compared to other beverages, caffeine-sensitive individuals can opt for high-quality, organic Green tea extract.
1. Pianetti S, Guo S, Kavanagh KT, Sonenshein GE. Green tea polyphenol epigallocatechin-3 gallate inhibits Her-2/neu signaling, proliferation, and transformed phenotype of breast cancer cells. Cancer Res. 2002;62(3):652-655
2. Harvard Health Publications, Benefits of Drinking Green Tea, 2004 http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/benefit_of_drinking_green_tea
