8 Reasons to Drink Green Tea

Paula Gallagher on
Green tea has many health benefits.

Green tea has many health benefits, including being high in antioxidants. The newest research on the benefits of drinking tea, including green tea, suggested that drinking at least four daily cups of black, green or Oolong tea lowered a person’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 17% over the span of a decade. They also found that it decreases heart disease and increases longevity.

The health benefits of drinking tea may have to do with polyphenols, compounds found naturally in plants that provide antioxidants. The most prominent polyphenols in green tea, catechins, may be particularly helpful in warding off disease by protecting cells from damage. When green tea leaves are fermented to make black tea, the catechins convert to theaflavins, another form of antioxidants.

Some Benefits of Green Tea

Here are some other reasons to drink green tea:

    1. It may help with weight loss. Its active ingredient, EGCG, increases the rate at which fat is burned in your body.

    2. It targets belly fat. Research at Tufts University indicates that EGCG in green tea, like other catechins, activates fat-burning genes in the abdomen to speed weight loss by 77%.

    3. It keeps energy stable by balancing blood sugar levels. EGCG improves insulin use in the body to prevent blood sugar spikes and crashes that can result in fatigue, irritability, and cravings for unhealthy foods.

    4. Research shows it may be helpful against lung cancer. In an April 2010 study published in Cancer Prevention Research, EGCG was found to suppress lung cancer cell growth.

    5. It may halt colorectal cancer. In numerous other studies, EGCG appears to inhibit colorectal cancers.

    6. In research, it appears to cause prostate cancer cells to commit suicide. A March 2010 study in Cancer Science indicated that EGCG aids the body by causing prostate cancer cells to commit suicide.

    7. It may prevent skin damage and wrinkling. EGCG appears to be 200 times more powerful than vitamin E at destroying skin-damaging free radicals. Free radicals react with healthy cells in the body, causing damage, so lessening their numbers may help reduce wrinkling and other signs of aging.

    8. It contains a potent antioxidant that kills free radicals. Because it is a potent antioxidant it can positively impact a lot more than skin cells. Free radicals are increasingly linked to many serious chronic illnesses like arthritis, diabetes and cancer.

    If you are not a tea drinker or do not like the taste of green tea, you can get many of the benefits by taking a supplement.

    *Thanks to care2.com for these great points.

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