8 Great Health Benefits of Green Tea
Every day it seems like there is a new
natural remedy being touted by doctors, magazines, and your friends.
However, green tea doesn’t seem to be a passing fad: It has been
consumed all over Asia for centuries and over the last decade, tons of
research has linked green tea to a range of health benefits. Below are 8
of them:
1. Helps Prevent Multiple Cancers
Research on the benefits of green tea and cancer prevention is still in
the early stages, but the results are promising. Researchers suspect
that the polyphenols in green tea help to destroy cancer cells and stop
their progression, a very important role in the prevention of various
cancers.
In a study of 472 women suffering from breast cancer, those who drank
the most green tea experienced the least spread of the disease.
Researchers also found that women in the early stages of breast cancer
who drank at least five cups of green tea per day during their diagnoses
were less likely to have the disease recur after their treatment was
completed.
One Chinese study found that men who drank more than three cups of green
tea per day reduced their risk of prostate cancer by 70%. In another
study funded by the National Institute of Health, 79 men with prostate
cancer were told to either drink six cups of green tea a day or six cups
of water. After 3-8 weeks, the levels of prostate-specific antigen, a
protein that may indicate cancer, were lower in the men who drank green
tea than those who drank water.
2. Makes Your Heart Healthier
Green tea contains a significant amount of antioxidants and flavonoids
that help protect against heart disease by slowing the breakdown of LDL
cholesterol, improving blood vessel function, and preventing blood
clots.
The benefits of green tea also include lower rates of artery blockages.
For example, those who drink a cup or two a day have a 46% lower chance
of developing narrowed arteries. Increasing that to three cups a day
lowers the risk of having a heart attack by 43% and dying from a heart
attack by 70%.
Green tea can even help prevent a second heart attack. In a study of
1,900 patients recovering from heart attacks at Beth Israel Deaconess
Medical Center in Boston, the death rate among patients who drank at
least two cups of green tea per day was 44% lower than among non-tea
drinkers.
3. Soothes Arthritis
To decrease your aches and pains, try
sipping four cups of green tea per day. Green tea contains quercetin, a
chemical compound that acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory and
antioxidant.
In a recent study conducted at Case Western Reserve University,
researchers gave mice the equivalent of four cups of green tea a day,
then gave them a substance that would normally produce rheumatoid
arthritis. The tea-drinking mice were far less likely to develop
arthritis than mice that drank only water.
According to the Iowa Women’s Health Study, women who drink more than
three cups of tea a day are 60% less likely to develop rheumatoid
arthritis than those who don’t drink green tea.
4. Boosts Your Brain
Researchers from the Netherlands confirmed in a recent study that two
green tea compounds, L-theanine and caffeine, can significantly increase
levels of alertness and attention, building on what is already known
about the brain benefits of green tea.
This drink is less likely to make you jittery and anxious when compared
to other energy-boosting drinks because it contains lower levels of
caffeine.
In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,
researchers discovered that drinking just one cup of green tea per day
made people over the age of 55, 38% less likely to experience a decline
in cognitive abilities.
5. Fight a Urinary Tract Infection
Drinking just two or three cups of green
tea each day can help clear up a urinary tract infection. Green tea
contains antioxidants that one study found can help reduce bladder
inflammation. Other studies have shown that those who drink green tea
regularly have a 40% lower incidence of UTIs than those who don’t drink
green tea.
6. Relieves Allergies
Another benefit of green tea is that it is rich in flavonoids (plant
chemicals that help protect against inflammation). Therefore, if you’re
struggling with allergies, you should try drinking a couple of cups of
green tea per day to see if the sinus inflammation decreases.
7. Reduces Asthma Symptoms
Quercetin, an antioxidant found in green tea, has been shown to inhibit
the release of inflammatory substances from masts cells, which are
involved in allergic responses. This is exactly how asthma medication
works, so try drinking a couple of cups of green tea each day in order
to keep your asthma symptoms at bay.
8. Cuts Down on Stress
Since green tea has lower levels of caffeine than most other teas, you
might be able to drink the five cups per day that lowered psychological
stress in a large group of Japanese people in a recent study that was
carried out at Sendai’s Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine.
The researchers couldn’t identify any particular component of green tea
that might be soothing, but animal studies suggest that one compound,
EGCC, has both sedative and hypnotic effects that turn down the body’s
production of stress chemicals.