Even with such a long history, the benefits of green tea are still being discovered. Each year, new studies are done to determine the health advantages associated with drinking green tea, and the results have been simply astonishing. Green tea has such a wide variety of benefits that it is often touted as a wonder tea.
Health Benefits
While there are many different benefits of green tea, most people would agree that the most important are the health benefits it provides to its drinkers. Because green tea is less-processed than oolong and black teas, it retains more of its antioxidants and thus offers more health benefits.
Some of green tea's most important health benefits include:
- Protection against cardiovascular disease - Cardiovascular diseases are often caused or worsened by having a high level of free radicals or toxins in the blood vessels, and the antioxidants in green tea inhibit those free radicals from being produced.
- Protection against cancer-Cancer spreads quickly because it encourages the rapid multiplication of abnormal cells. As with free radicals, green tea antioxidants slow the production of cells and the cancer's development.
- Increased bone density-Green tea both protects cells responsible for creating new bone as well as destroys cells that break down bone. The result is that green tea can build a person's bone density and help protect against osteoporosis.
- Promotion of fat loss-With its combination of antioxidants and caffeine, green tea has a unique ability to help its drinkers lose fat by inhibiting the enzyme that turns fatty acids into fat cells. Losing weight becomes much more manageable when drinking a daily cup of green tea.
- Protection against neurodegenerative disease-One of the most important benefits of green tea is its antioxidants' ability to remove iron from the blood and protect certain brain cells necessary for memory retention and spatial cognition. Studies have shown that green tea can decrease its drinkers' risk for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and dementia.
These are only a few of the amazing benefits of green tea; each day science discovers even more incredible health benefits for tea drinkers. With such an impressive amount of antioxidants, it makes perfect sense that green tea has become so popular, especially in today's health-conscious world. But green tea is not merely healthy; many people enjoy the tea's fresh taste of Spring and its soothing, calming affect. For most tea drinkers, the daily cup or two has become a relaxing ritual they cannot live without.