Green tea is often praised for its numerous health benefits—claimed as an all-natural weight loss aid, a brain-boosting beverage, and a cancer-fighting superfood.
But is there evidence to support these claims, or is it all just hype?
Green Tea For Weight Loss
Green tea is high in caffeine, an ingredient commonly found in weight loss supplements. It is also high in polyphenolic catechins. Caffeine and catechins work together to increase energy expenditure, stimulate fat burning, and ultimately promote weight loss.
Green Tea For Heart Health
The antioxidant polyphenols in green tea can improve your cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and artery calcification—3 big risk factors for heart disease.
Green tea may help reduce your overall risk of developing heart disease by improving these risk factors. This effect has been consistently demonstrated in epidemiological studies. People who drink green tea regularly appear to have a significantly lower chance of dying from cardiovascular diseases.
Green Tea For Brain Health
Green tea is associated with improved brain function and protection against cognitive decline.
Caffeine can temporarily stimulate you, which may help you focus and be more productive.
But even more impressively, the antioxidants in green tea can also help protect the brain from oxidative damage, which is thought to play a role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
Green Tea For Type 2 Diabetes
In a review of 7 studies examining the relationship between green tea and diabetes risk, totaling 286,701 study participants, it was found that tea drinkers are substantially less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
This effect seems to arise from green tea’s ability to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels, which are important factors in the development of type 2 diabetes.
Green Tea For Reduced Cancer Risk
There is compelling evidence that green tea can help protect against a few types of cancer.
Multiple studies have shown that green tea drinkers have a lower risk for breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colorectal cancer.
However, this anti-cancer effect is not yet conclusively proven. It may be that the actual effect is minimal, or perhaps the observed protective effect is due to other healthy lifestyle factors that are common in green tea drinkers.
Green Tea For a Long and Happy Life
A cup of green tea is a tasty treat that can uplift your mood, reduce your stress, and improve your sleep quality.
And by reducing the risks associated with all sorts of diseases and disorders, green tea can also help you live a longer and healthier life.
So if you’re looking for a delicious way to improve your physical and mental health, brew a delicious cup of green tea and enjoy!
