Green tea – from far Asia straight into our healthy diet
Nothing improves our mood and warms us up in long autumn or winter evenings more than a cup of aromatic tea. Most often we drink black varieties or earl grey with bergamot aroma but our body will benefit the most when we reach for green tea which has many valuable health promoting and even slimming properties. It is therefore worth immediately including it in your daily diet, even though its taste may not be to everyone’s liking.
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Green tea – composition and health benefits
This drink arrived on our continent from Asia, it comes from ancient China, where it has been known for almost 4500 years. It was there that they invented pouring boiling water over green leaves and making a tasty infusion out of them, used to relieve the symptoms of many ailments. When we talk about green tea, we don’t usually think of just one kind, but different varieties, differing not only in taste, but also in caffeine content and other nutrients. In this plant there is really a lot of them, and we find, among others:
- a large amount of vitamins, A, B, vitamin C, vitamin D and E;
- microelements such as calcium, zinc, copper, potassium, fluorine and manganese;
- powerful antioxidants, polyphenols and catechins.
This composition directly implicates the health properties of green tea, also confirmed by doctors of various specialities, who point to its positive anti-cancer effects, or prevention of cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, stroke and heart attack. It can be successfully used in the treatment of stomach disorders, has a beneficial effect on digestion and metabolism, also inhibits excessive absorption of bad cholesterol or increase in blood sugar levels. It is worth appreciating even for its anti-aging properties, that is why it is included in numerous creams, gels or even tonics and soaps for face washing.
Many specialists also point to its immunity-boosting properties, due to the presence of polyphenols and catechins, which, reinforced with vitamins, are able to protect us from most infections, especially dangerous in the autumn-winter period. Drinking green tea, we can count on a significant increase in mental performance, concentration and memory, and the high content of serotonin can quickly improve mood. To some extent, it also prevents the development of Alzheimera disease, and delays the degenerative progress of senile dementia.
Green tea – weight loss properties and possible side effects
For all healthy lifestyle enthusiasts, green tea has become an indispensable part of the daily diet, and at the same time,an essential element of any successful weight loss treatment. It has no energy value, so it does not provide the body with unnecessary calories. Its slimming properties are due to the presence of polyphenols and catechins which are important for the proper absorption of nutrients. These substances also reduce fat tissue at a rapid pace, regulating and accelerating metabolic processes taking place in the liver, influencing the intensification of thermogenesis processes, i.e. raising body temperature which facilitates burning excess calories. All these properties have been confirmed by research, but it should be remembered that the best effects can be achieved by drinking tea at night and the one from the so-called second brewing. The first brew has a stimulating effect, so we may have serious problems with falling asleep.
Of course, green tea, even drunk in large quantities, will not cause that weight will start to fall immediately, and this will happen only if we combine it with a light diet, from which we remove everything that is fattening and unhealthy. If we exaggerate the amount of this drink, we must also reckon with some rather troublesome side effects:
- anaemia, because green tea inhibits the absorption of iron supplied with food;
- negative effect on foetal development, which is why pregnant women should not drink it;
- dizziness and nausea, especially when it interacts with medications used to treat diseases of the nervous system;
- increased blood pressure and heart rhythm disorders;
- calcium leaching, which increases the risk of osteoporosis.
Green tea – brewed or in tablets?
There are many ways to consume green tea, and it’s safe to say that every culture, not just Eastern ones, has its own. In Asia, especially in Japan, it’s a whole ceremony, governed by strict rules, but it’s so complicated that it’s better to simply pour hot but not boiling water over a measured amount of leaves and drink it with taste. Nothing stands in the way of making it even better by adding tasty and healthy additions, such as a slice of lemon, mint leaves or finely grated ginger root.
It’s a good idea to take a look at some of the best ginger salads out there, but if you’re still interested in the benefits of this plant, you’ll want to check out some of the ginger supplements that come with it. This is what you can find in our ranking of effective slimming pills. You will find there something suitable for you, which will make it easier for you to fight with overweight and get rid of all the folds of fat.