The Health Benefits of Green Tea

Let’s talk a bit about one of the most underrated superfoods in the world, the green tea. Legend says green tea was discovered by Shennong, the Emperor of China, and long-renowned for its medicinal benefits. History is witness, green tea has been consumed through the ages and yet the extensive health benefits of green tea are still not fully acknowledged.

Unsung is the origin of green tea. All teas are made from Camellia Sinensis leaves, it’s the processing that commands its type. That being said, green tea happens to be one of the least processed tea, hence the high intensity of antioxidants and polyphenols.

How is Green Tea Made? 

Processing begins with tea leaves being handpicked and heated via steaming or pan firing. Then they’re dried and, finally, packaged and sent out for delivery.

What seems to be a fairly simple process, brings you a cup of the most fragrant and flavourful tea, handpicked from the hills of China and India. Now, it’s widely known that green tea is the healthier beverage out there but just how healthy are we talking?

Health Benefits of Green Tea

As a starting point, green tea compared to black tea and coffee has a very small caffeine content. But as already mentioned, green tea is packed with antioxidants and has literally zero calories. You heard me right! Not only is it full of nutrients and antioxidants, but it’s also completely calorie-free.

Green tea also has some calming and relaxing attributes, which may be a reason why  it is thought that 87% of the young adult population prefers it over other beverages.

Let’s dive into the health benefits of green tea for a second; now, for my weight watchers, as we ascertained already, green tea aids in fat burning and has a null calorie count.

Not just that, evidence suggests that this tea has a barrage of other health benefits. From improving heart health and preventing cardiovascular diseases to increasing immunity, reducing signs of ageing and improving oral hygiene, it does it all.

Green tea is a great regulator of blood pressure and contains healthy bioactive compounds, which are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and immunoprotective. It also has nutrients that help make your digestion process better.

It’s not widely known but good gut health not only dictates your physical and organ health but also your skin: the key to better skin, green tea! It has proved to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and rejuvenate your skin; antioxidants are great for your skin, flushing out toxins and increasing good blood flow.

Great for your mental health, great for physical health and great for your gut health, this seemingly innocent beverage has it all.

Know your Green Tea: Colour, Types & Forms

Contrary to popular belief, green tea is not always green. Avid green tea drinkers will tell you that they’re usually a pale yellow colour or a bright green.

Every year, over 600,000 tons of green tea is produced and consumed across the globe. For a beverage that is so widely consumed, it’s only sensible to know the different types of green tea.

The types of green teas differ from colour, processing, the origin of the leaves, climatic conditions of the plantation, etc.

Sencha, Tencha Gyokuro and Konacha are some of the most common green tea variants. Gyokuro happens to be one of the most underrated and in contrast, we have Matcha, one of the most famous green teas in the world.

Matcha is consumed in virtually every edible form, from teas to cakes to jellies, matcha is in it all.

Finally we have Fukamushicha, an amalgamation of Sencha, Gyokuro and Kabusecha.

All things considered, all these various forms of green teas are just as good and healthy as each other.

With a variety of this tea comes various manners of consuming it. The most obvious and common way of consuming it, is by itself, in its liquid form. The other ways include adding lemon and honey and mint and honey. Both lemon and mint are packed with vitamins and minerals and give this tea an over the top superfood prowess. Green tea, as it is, is a healthy drink, these elements just elevate those health benefits.

More or Less: How much green tea is good for you?

They say that all good things must be consumed in moderation; not too much and not too little. Incidentally, this also applies to our trusted green tea here. Yes, it has a lot of amazing, incredible health benefits but too much of consuming green tea does the opposite of what’s prescribed.

Myth-busting time!

Drinking excessive amounts of green tea is not going to improve your health! Consuming more than prescribed green tea can result in anaemia and other health effects. That being said, it’s always important for consumers to be conscientious and aware of what they’re putting in their bodies and avoid excesses. Even drinking too much water can be damaging to your health, for example!

Now, if you’re reading this while sipping on your favourite cup of green tea and want to know more about it; you might want to check out a more comprehensive version of this article and acquaint yourself further.