One of the things I am including in my book is green tea. Drinking green tea has ginormous benefits. It has become one of my new favorite power foods and that's why I'm giving you a sneak peek here. Some of the benefits of drinking green tea include:
- cancer risk reduction and inhibition of cancer cells
- reduced levels of cholesterol in the blood
- wide range of immune boosting properties
- antioxidants
- kills bacteria in the mouth reducing tooth decay
- weight loss through increased metabolism
- and much more
If you were to do research on most anything else claming to have great health benefits, you would most likely find a wealth of information about what you were looking for, but you would also likely find a wealth of information refuting the claims of the benefits of that particular food of product. Not so with green tea. Every day new studies are being released describing some new benefit of green tea but there are vitually no articles about how bad green tea is for you, because it isn't. It really is that good for you.
So what makes green tea so wonderful? Well, there are a few things. First, it is a young tea. This means that the leaves are picked and quickly packaged into the tea bags. Also, the leaves are plucked from the new sprouts at the top of the plant. On the other hand, black tea is aged and more processed and it will stain your teeth much more than green tea ever will. Secondly, green tea has much less caffeine in it than black tea. It is to your advantage to reduce frivolous caffeine intake as much as possible. Caffeine has various long term side effects which I will describe in my book (which will be finished soon). Reduce coffee consumption and increase green tea consumption. Lastly, green tea is packed full of valuable antioxidants. Antioxidants are extremely important in combating illness. They neutralize the harmful waste products that the body's cells produce and safely transport them through the blood for excretion. This also increases mood and energy.
The last thing I want to say is to NOT be lazy and get the green tea pills or the ready to drink green tea bottle or jugs in the grocery store. To get the maximum benefits, get traditional tea bags, heat some water on the stove top and steep the tea. The green tea capsules are more concentrated than you need and have added caffeine. The ready to drink green teas are STOCKED with sugar and other additives and preservatives. You could never add as much sugar to your own tea as the manufacturers of the pre-packaged kind would.
I suggest trying to get at least 1 cup of green tea per day, but shoot for 2-3. Each cup of green tea doubles as a glass of water as well. Limit the amount of sweetener you add. Celestial Seasonings has a variety of blends and one of my new favorites is their Japanese Green Raspberry Gardens. It smells delicious and tastes so good that I usually don't even need to add any sweetener! You can't beat that.
Next time you're at the store, pick up some green tea! Also, don't forget to register as a follower to this blog (to the right) and then leave your thoughts below in the comment section!
10 comments:
Hey Kris, I usually get the Starbucks Iced Green Tea (venti) and have them add 3 packets of Splenda, I just want to know what you think about that, is that ok?
I would say that is ok as long as you aren't drinking several other drinks where you add Splenda as well. Although Splenda is 0 calories, it's still white and refined. It's chemically engineered and unnatural. It's not terrible, just don't overdo it.
In other words, if you also drink coffee, or other teas and you add splenda to them as well, that's a bit too much splenda.
Also, be sure to stay away from the lattes and frappuccino's. Thay make green tea flavors, but don't be fooled. They're packed with sugar and fat. Get those only as occasional treats. :)
I don't like tea...what do I do?
If you absolutely can not stand tea, there are 2 other options. The first are green tea capsules that you can get at almost any health food store. The second is green tea liquid concentrate. I got this from GNC. It's in a little bottle with a medicine dropper. You add one dropper full of the stuff to any drink and you're good to go. You can't even taste it all unless you add it to plain water.
I'd really get one of those two. Green tea is too good and has too many benefits to pass up!
How's chammomile?, its the only tea I will ever drink
Chammomile is good. Any herbal tea is. But it doesn't have the amount of antioxidants that green tea does. Also, chammomile tea makes you sleepy whereas green tea gives you energy.
Why do you only drink chammomile?
I really like green tea and think it has many benefits. There are several products that now include green tea such as One A Day vitamins. I would be careful with adding a lot of extra to the tea. I try to get mint green tea and sweeten it with a little bit of honey.
I drink chammomile because it is the only kind of tea that tastes good to me. I have had oolong and that is good also, but any other I dont like. And chammomile doesnt make me sleepy.
Drinking my green tea now Kris. I learned something I didn't know from my acupuncturist today. Many green teas contain twice the amount of caffeine as a cup of coffee. I had not heard this before and I am an avid tea drinker. I also love white tea. I have a beautiful organic green tea brought to me from India that I don't have to add any kind of sweetener too, not even honey. Just my random thoughts of the day I guess. Back to my tea, catch you later!
That's great Laura! I drink green tea every day. I just want to say that, yes, some green teas can have more caffeine than coffee, but generally they do not. Be easy with the caffeine. I would alternate regular green tea with decaf if you can. Caffeine has several effects (long term) which I discuss in my book. So, moderation in everything!
Green tea is too good to pass up. Happy drinking!
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