Why Is Green Tea So Good For You?!

Green tea, the extremely popular newcomer in the super food sector, has a large variety of health benefits for staying fit and healthy. Green tea includes a plant nutrient called epigallocatechin, gallate or EGCG, which is accountable for the antioxidant properties of green tea as well as its ability to burn fat. There are many reasons to begin drinking green tea or to continue drinking it if you already regularly drink it. Here are just some of the benefits that I have found…

Green tea can burn fat

It can increase the speed of your metabolic rate because of the antioxidants within the tea help the liver to function more effectively. Studies have shown that green tea is so efficient that drinking it 3 times or more a day while remaining the same diet can burn up to 200 more calories a day.

Green tea can protect your body against cancer

There is increasing evidence to suggest that green tea contains compounds that help to combat cancer. This compound is called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which I have previously mentioned, and it does this by helping in the growth of blood vessels.

It helps to prevent cardiovascular disease

EGCG also helps to avoid fat build-up within arteries, which in turn prevents cholesterol from building up. This is a main factor in preventing cardiovascular disease.

Green tea has many health benefits

Green tea is used as treatments in the Far East, for a wide variety of illness’ and problems ranging from arthritis to weight loss. It also helps to prevent many diseases, including the ones that I have previously mentioned.

Green tea can also prevent bad breath

Although this is not directly a health benefit, it is a great addition to the many other benefits of drinking green tea. This is scientifically proven due to it containing a natural anti-bacterial agent, which can help kill oral bacteria that cause cavities and bad breath.

Therefore for all you out there trying to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle, green tea is something that can really help you in this process. If you don’t like the taste of it there are many which involve a combination of green tea and fruit such as cranberry, lemon and strawberry which make it have a much sweeter taste.

For more information on green tea and leading a healthy lifestyle in general, you can find out more on the healthy living tips blog.

Green tea side affects

Green tea drinkers when they first start can often complain of side effects. This can happen when introducing any new food to a diet, such as when vegetarians start eating meat again or vegans dairy.

For starters, tea in general provides caffeine, as does green tea. Whilst many of us are addicted to and rely on caffeine to get us through the working day, new drinkers may notice a number of issues such as restlessness and sleeping problems when they first introduce it into their system.

The main issue with green tea, again especially affecting new drinkers, is stomach pain related! Studies have found that “tea is a potent stimulant of gastric acid, and this can be reduced by adding milk and sugar.”

It is unlikely however that you are going to add milk and sugar to your green tea, so drink small amounts at first – especially if you have a sensitive stomach in the first place.

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Written by Sophie Ayres, directory of the UK Healthy Living Tips blog. You can follow her on Twitter here.