Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea is one of the healthiest drinks on the planet, packed with numerous health-boosting and disease-fighting antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. After a bit of research, here's the list of benefits that should make you consider including it in you daily diet.

Why should you drink it?
1. Green tea helps reduce risk of cancer. Large amounts of antioxidants in green tea protect against cell damage caused by oxidative stress, which can be linked to cancer.

2. Green tea helps prevent heart disease and stroke by lowering cholestrol. Even after a heart attack, it prevents the death of heart cells and speeds up recovery.

3. Green tea contains antioxidants known as polyphenols, which fight against free radicals that damage cells. Thus, it helps to fight against aging and promotes longevity.

4. Thanks for polyphenols called catechins, green tea helps to burn fat by increasing fat oxidation and raising your metabolism naturally. Although it is not so substantial, but every little bit helps.

5. Antioxidants from green tea protects skin from harmful effects of free radicals, which causes wrinkling and aging. It also helps to prevent skin cancer.

6. Green tea can help prevent and reduce risk of rheumatoid arthritis. It helps to protect the cartilage by blocking the enzyme that destroys it.

7. Green tea contains high flouride content with helps to keep bones strong and preserve bone density.

8. Green tea helps to lower bad cholestrol level by improving the ratio of good cholestrol to bad cholestrol.

9. Green tea prevents fat gain by stopping the movement of glucose to fat cells. If you eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly and add green tea, it's highly unlikely that you'll gain fat.

10. Green tea improves lipid and glucose metabolism, prevents sharp increases in blood sugar levels and balances your metabolism rate. This is beneficial for diabetics.

11. Green tea helps to boost your memory and help with Alzheimer's. Although there is no cure for Alzheimer's, it helps to slow the process of reduced acetylcholine in the brain.

12. Antioxidants in green tea help prevent brain cell damage which can lead to Parkinson's disease.

13. Green tea helps protect against liver disease and failure. Research shows that antioxidants in green tea helps to destroy harmful free radicals in fatty livers.

14. Green tea helps to keep blood pressure down by repressing angiotensin, which can cause high blood pressure.

15. Blood sugar tends to increase with age but polyphenols and polysaccharides in green tea helps to lower it.

16. Polyphenols and flavenoids in green tea boosts the body's immunity system to fight disease and infections.

17. Theophylline in green tea relaxes the muscles supporting the bronchial tubes, reducing the severity of asthma.

18. Green tea destroys bacteria and viruses that cause dental problems. It also slows the growth of bacteria which causes bad breath.

19. L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea, helps to relieve stress and anxiety.

20. EGCG (Epigallocathechin Gallate) in green tea helps to relieve allergies.

21. EGCG can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells, according to Japanese scientists. This means it can stop the HIV virus from spreading.

22. Green tea helps to prevent and relieve inflammation.

Conclusion
In a nutshell, green tea contains anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, disease and cancer-fighting/prevention, health-boosting and fat-burning properties (although not significant, but I bet this got you attention =P). I drink green tea 1-3 times per day and it's already a norm for me. MAKE SURE you get the pure green tea (japanese or chinese) in sachets or dried leaves to brew. Don't get those pre-mixed, manufactured green tea in bottles or cans that contain additives and added sugar. Also, don't mix green tea with milk, as milk somehow disables the effects of its antioxidants, so you won't be able to benefit from it's health properties.

So, have YOU been drinking green tea lately? =)