‘Tis the season for sipping hot teas. Drinking a mug of green tea is an easy way to boost your immune system and receive other health enhancers. This popular tea is a favorite, world-wide, second only to black tea. Drinking its powerful antioxidants provides vast health benefits, which include ridding the body of cell damaging free radicals, lowering the risks of certain cancers, promoting healthy gums, oral health, heart health, and reducing chances of stroke, and psychological stress. Green tea has antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties to strengthen your immune defenses, and has been found to halt the production and spread of tumor cells.
Green tea and white tea are made from steaming, instead of fermenting the leaves of the Camellia sinesis tea plant. These minimally processed teas contain more essential compounds than black tea. Green Tea also contains less caffeine than coffee or black tea.
Benefits of Drinking Green Tea
- Bolsters Immune Function. Green tea’s natural antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties work to strengthen your immune defenses against illness and infections.
- Promotes Heart Health by lowering the risk of heart disease and stroke.
- Lowers Risks of Various Cancers, such as breast, skin, colon, liver, lung, prostate, and stomach, as noted by the Cleveland Clinic, academic medical center.
- Boosts Brain Health. Sharpen and extend the health of your brain with green tea. Research shows that drinking green tea may reduce age-related memory decline and protect against Alzheimer’s. A recent study of 1,000 people over the age of 70 found that those consuming the most green tea showed the least signs of cognitive decline. Another study of almost 14,000 people 65 years old and up found that drinking green tea daily could extend one’s ability to independently perform normal daily activities, like dressing and bathing, as they continue to age.
- Glaucoma Prevention and Eye Health. According to HealthDay reports, tissues in the eye absorb the protective catachins (antixoidants) in green tea. The catachins naturally consists of health-enhancing vitamin C, vitamin E, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Green tea consumption could protect the eye against oxidative stress. The antioxidant properties of tea extracts are considered to be effective in protecting against the formation of age-related cataracts, according to a study published by the NIH, National Library of Medicine.
- Prevents Tooth Decay & Gum Disease. Antioxidant-rich white and green tea has anti-inflammatory effects which fight gum disease and cavity-causing bacteria in the mouth.
- Diabetes Prevention. Green tea helps regulate blood sugar and improve insulin activity.
- Stress Reducer. Some studies suggest that green tea reduces mental fatigue and psychological distress, and eases depression in the elderly.
- Weight Loss. A study in Switzerland found that drinking two to three cups of green tea daily causes an additional 80 extra calories to be burned each day, without increasing the heart rate. Thus, green tea aids weight loss by elevating your metabolism, and increasing fat burning.
To capitalize on these vast health benefits, drink a cup or two of hot or iced green tea daily. Just add a green tea bag to your favorite mug, and fill with piping hot, but not boiling water. Sweeten to taste as desired and allow the tea to cool slightly before drinking. Perk the benefits and flavor by adding cinnamon and raw honey, if desired.
What health goals are you looking to support? As a writer, retaining good vision is important to me. Drinking green tea is a simple way to bolster my eye health and more. Wish I hadn’t stopped drinking it, but I’m back on board now. The benefits are so vast. Have you had a cup of green tea today? I just had one.
By Deborah S. Tukua, author and freelance writer.
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