Green Tea’s Impact On Our Health and Weight Loss
Green tea is one thing that people have used for several thousand years, dating back to the first settlements in China. Its cultivation was one of the first crops that the Chinese historically began, and for good reason. There are many anthropologists that claim that inhabitants of China were so productive for so many millenia in part because of their regular drinking of tea, and many of the benefits that goes along with that. There are several ingredients as part of green tea that significantly reduce a person’s risk of cancer. A compound called catechins are powerful antioxidants and found heavily in green tea. They go through our body and neutralize free radicals, helping to cure diseases and prevent illnesses from even beginning. Many of these benefits are seen to their full effect, as green tea leaves are only minimally processed. Beyond these fantastic cancer and heart related benefits that this tea offers, there are a plethora of other things as well, such as improving cholesterol, weight loss, and even dental health.
A Healthy Heart
There have been quite a number of studies in recent years about green tea and its impact on long term cardiovascular health. A famous study actually examined the impact of regular green tea use and cardiovascular risks. What was found was that drinkers of the tea actually had much lower risk of disease. Antioxidants in green tea are dilators, helping to improve flexibility in our blood vessels. This helps to avoid risks related to “clogging” of arteries as we age, and it also decreases the chances of developing atherosclerosis, or most types of cornary diseases. Physicians and researchers continue to examine more benefits to this, but so far the results seen are very positive.
Reduce Your Cholesterol
Many people struggle to maintain a healthy level of cholesterol. As people have likely heard many times, LDL cholesterols are very bad, leading to obesity, heart disease, hypertension and even diabetes. Beyond the benefits of switching to a healthy diet, researchers have actually found several other ways to cut this risk with things like green tea. Doctors have been recommending green tea now for cholesterol reduction for many years as the catechins found in the substance actually help cut the cholesterol our body stores in our blood vessels. Green tea is known to reduce cholesterol considerably, and in addition it’s been shown to help prevent the occurrence of blood clots in patients. This is just another one of the many benefits of this tea.
Losing Weight Effectively
Tons of Americans every year try to lose weight, and have difficulties doing so. Green tea has been show in studies on this topic to offer some help in this regard as well. Green tea helps to encourage what is called “thermogenesis” which increases your metabolism and burns your calories for energy. Things like caffeine or polyphenols do much the same thing, but at higher dosages like found in green tea (and with other unique ingredients) the results are even more significant. Increased metabolism means more energy which means more burned calories.
Maintain Your Dental Health
You may think of all of the “acids” that are typically found in coffees or teas and imagine them to be bad for your teeth. Though it’s important to brush regularly, having green tea is actually a very healthy thing for your mouth. Green tea naturally contains fluoride, an ingredient known to help keep your enamel strong. It also helps avoid plaque building up on your teeth, and helps prevent general tooth decay. This fluoride is a natural ingredient that green tea leaves pick up as they grow.
Can Even Help Prevent Cancer Risk
When cancer begins, it’s caused by mutation in our cells (damage usually to the DNA in replication or from another source). In order to help reduce your risk of having cancer you need to control the development of free radicals in your body. Antioxidants are what help this. Green tea contains numerous antioxidants, such as polyphenols or epigallocatchin 3 gallate. Polyphenols react immediately with any free radicals they find, reducing their charge and keeping them from damaging our cells. Whereas this epiogallocatechin 3 helps to damage the rate of reproduction within cancer cells and help kill cells if they grow abnormally. These effects certainly make green tea one of the most unique additions we can make to our daily diets to improve our lives.