The Challenge: Finding a health-boosting drink
The Science: Green tea can benefit your body in a huge number of ways
The Solution: Try drinking green tea every day
When it comes to much-loved hot drinks, it’s time for coffee to step aside, because green tea is well and truly having its moment in the limelight.
Green tea is absolutely brimming with antioxidants just waiting to nourish your body. And in recent years, the antioxidizing powers of this hot drink has earned the attention of scientists and researchers across the world, who’re intrigued about the health benefits it can offer.
As such, the drink has boomed in popularity. So much so, that fitness fanatics and health enthusiasts are turning to it in their millions to complement their lifestyle. But what does green tea really have to offer? And does it actually deliver health benefits or is it all just hype?
In this article, we’ll look into the research surrounding this popular hot drink to find out exactly what benefits you may experience from enjoying a steaming hot cup of green tea.
Antioxidizes your body
Green tea is jam-packed full of tiny antioxidants called polyphenols, which are responsible for so much of the health benefits we receive from the drink. In fact, just about every benefit on this list comes back to these handy little compounds.
The specific polyphenols within green tea are called catechins, of which the most highly researched is epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG.
EGCG’s have been shown to protect the cells within your body, by defending against oxidative stress [1]. This is key as it may help to protect against common diseases and help support metabolic processes.
While a cup of your regular green tea is brimming with health-boosting catechins, if you’re really looking to utilize these antioxidants you may want to check out matcha green tea. This stronger variant on the usual strain has also grown in popularity in recent years, and research shows that it can contain up to 137 times the amount of catechins found in the more common strain [2].
Japanese green tea is briefly steamed which stops the oxidation process in the tea leaves resulting in a tea that is full of aroma and amino acids. Japanese green teas have a rich flavor and a bright emerald color.
May enhance exercise performance
These antioxidizing effects of green tea can also have a positive impact on your physical performance – which is ideal if you’re into fitness.
Research suggests that the catechins within green tea can help to delay the onset of fatigue when working out, due to their cell protecting qualities [3]. That means you should be able to fit in a little more exercise, before you start to feel muscle pain.
As such, this has been linked to longer workouts and more efficient recovery [4]. If you do the math, more time spent in the gym and shorter healing periods can quickly add up to greater results from your workouts.
Shown to promote weight loss
Losing weight can come with a whole host of health benefits. It may be able to help you in your weight loss process.
There are two elements that promote weight loss within green tea – catechins and caffeine.
As we already know, catechins are a key player in boosting your health and wellbeing, but with caffeine in the mix too, science shows you can see accelerated weight loss results [5].
Both caffeine and catechins trigger a state of thermogenesis, which heats your body and subsequently increases the calories you burn [6]. So, you should burn more calories than you normally would, even while at rest.
In one 12-week double-blind trial, overweight women who supplemented with green tea extract were found to have lost significantly more weight than those who took the placebo [7].
As such, you’ll see green tea in a huge number of metabolism support supplements, Fat Burners 2019 is a good place to starting looking at supplements and their ingredients.
Could protect brain health
On top of that, green tea is also a firm favorite among neurohackers and is therefore a popular choice in a range of nootropic supplements due to its brain-boosting abilities.
The protective qualities of those nifty EGCG’s also extend up to the brain as well as offering benefits to the muscles in your body. Research suggests that this additional protection could help with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s [8].
In healthy adults, it’s been linked to enhancing cognitive function, with a particular aptitude for improving memory and recall [9].
May improve blood sugar levels
Green tea may also help your body to metabolize energy more efficiently, which should have a positive influence on your blood sugar levels and overall health.
The EGCG’s inside has been shown to improve your sensitivity to glucose, which means you require a lower blood sugar level [10]. Having good blood sugar levels is essential to maintaining general health and keeping illnesses like heart disease at bay.
Green tea has the potential to seriously boost your health in a range of ways. Those antioxidants are powerful little compounds and can help to protect your body against a range of potential issues.
On top of that, green tea can aid in boosting your cognitive function, improve exercise performance, and even help you lose weight – all of which are key to living a healthy lifestyle.
Author Bio
Lauren Wood
Lauren is a health and fitness enthusiast, with years of experience as a powerlifter. She’s also a passionate writer and has written for a number of lifestyle and health websites. Lauren currently writes for heyspotMeGirl.com.