5 Benefits of Green Tea

The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea for thousands of years, and have used it to treat everything from headaches to disease. This miracle tea is made from first steaming or pan frying leaves from the Camellia Sinesis shrub, and then drying the leaves. The difference between green tea and other tea is that green tea is dried but not fermented, keeping all the beneficial components and chemicals intact. Here are five advantages to drinking green tea.

1. It helps fight cancer. Green tea contains EGCG which increases the production of cancer fighting enzymes in our bodies.

2. It speeds up metabolism, aiding in weight loss. Green tea does contain caffeine, although significantly less than a coffee does. This caffeine is said to have an effect on metabolism, speeding it up and creating a thermogenesis effect. What this effect does is burns calories through heat production in the body. The other advantage to drinking green tea instead of coffee is that it is gentler on the body, and you will not be adding any sweeteners to it.

3. It aids in digestion: Having a cup of green tea after a meal is a great way to speed along digestion as the tea contains certain compounds which help your body break down food easily.

4. It contains antioxidants. As green tea is the least processed tea, it contains the most antioxidants out of any other tea and is said to be a great for age suppression. Some face creams even contain green tea antioxidants and is great for sensitive skin.

5. It aids in diseases prevention and control. One study concluded that the risk for cardiovascular disease was cut by more than a quarter when the subjects drank green tea. The benefits of green tea are also found to be greater for women.

Although green tea is great for you, some people dislike its bitter taste. You can buy green tea in capsule form if you prefer-this is also a good option as it contains a significant amount more of the beneficial ingredients than a cup of the tea does. Also, in order to reap the benefits out of drinking the tea, studies have found you need to drink at least 3-4 cups a day.