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.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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7 Discoveries Showing How the Brain and Body are Linked

The brain is a part of our body, so of course, it's connected and influenced by our body, you may think. And while this basic assumption is definitely at the heart of the findings we will discuss here, the ways in which our brains are interconnected with the other organs and systems of our body can be quite unexpected, with things like hydration level and specific foods having a profound influence on our mind. But it isn't only our gut or cardiovascular system that can influence how well our brains work: our experiences and habits are just as important to our mental health and cognitive performance. These 7 neuroscientific discoveries illustrate how our brain, our body, and our experiences are all meaningfully interconnected and have a strong effect on our health and well-being.

1. Your Brain’s Health and Functioning is Dependent on Your Gut Health

 

The idea of the gut-brain connection has been around for a while, but the more scientists learn about the specific ways our guts influence our brains, the more we get to understand the holistic importance of a healthy diet. More specifically, we now know that a poor diet is a contributor to mental illness, particularly anxiety and depression, but it may also alter our cognitive abilities.

For example, a diet high in sugar was shown to impair our cognitive abilities in the short term, causing brain fog. The long-term effects of sugar are no less alarming, as there is evidence linking depression and a high-sugar diet. On a more positive note, a healthy diet was shown to have a beneficial effect on depression.

2. Mental Tasks and New Experiences can Boost one’s Brain Health

One of the most significant neuroscience discoveries of the past decade is the idea that our brain is malleable and new experiences, training, and learning can improve its functioning. In neuroscience, this notion is known under the term 'neuroplasticity', and, as you might expect, the

human brain is most pliable in childhood, but it continues being shaped by our experiences throughout our lives.

This is why reading, playing and listening to music, painting and many other types of mental training are all so beneficial for our cognitive health and help us maintain a sharp mind for longer. More interestingly, recent scientific research focusing on the ways we can use neuroplasticity to our advantage also showed that we can improve our memory by simply engaging in new enjoyable activities and trying new things.

3. Both Too Much and Not Enough Sleep Can Affect Your Cognition

 Sleep is one of the favorite topics in neuroscience, with numerous studies suggesting that both too much and not enough sleep can impair our memory, creativity and cognitive tasks, such as concentration and problem-solving. The largest-ever sleep study was conducted in 2017, with over 10.000 participants tested, and it concluded that the previous hypothesis was true and sleep does affect our decision-making and concentration even in the short term.

However, the same study concluded that memory performance is NOT affected by sleep, although admittedly they did not look at the long-term effects of sleep. Still, it’s best to get an average of 7-8 hours of sleep every day to stay in top shape.

4. Healthy Body, Healthy Mind: the Effects of Exercise on Our Brain

Your brain needs exercise, we discussed that in the second point but turns out that regular old exercise, too, can boost your cognitive health and help retain a sharp mind in your senior years. One study even suggested that exercise helps delay dementia by 15 years!

Apart from being an excellent preventative measure of Alzheimer’s and dementia, however, exercise can help us boost our cognitive performance and thinking skills, too. As for the kind

human brain is most pliable in childhood, but it continues being shaped by our experiences throughout our lives.

This is why reading, playing and listening to music, painting and many other types of mental training are all so beneficial for our cognitive health and help us maintain a sharp mind for longer. More interestingly, recent scientific research focusing on the ways we can use neuroplasticity to our advantage also showed that we can improve our memory by simply engaging in new enjoyable activities and trying new things.

5. Chronic Stress Can Shrink Your Brain

 

You probably heard that a little stress is useful for our brain from time to time, and it may be true, but most of us don’t get just a little stressed, don’t we? And that’s exactly the problem. When we are stressed out day after day, our prefrontal cortex, the steering wheel of our brain, gets affected, making us less alert and worse at performing cognitive tasks, all because of cortisol, the infamous stress hormone.

Another brain area affected by stress is the hippocampus, which helps us learn and remember things. Ultimately, chronic stress can even cause mood swings, irritability, mental illness (e.g. anxiety, depression, addiction) and was even found to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. In extreme cases, constant stress was even shown to be able to shrink the brain volume, particularly the cortex. 

6. Mindfulness May Help Keep Your Brain Younger for Longer

Mindfulness training is a hot topic both in psychology and neuroscience nowadays, but it’s not a new invention, as both yoga and meditation rely heavily on the idea of self-awareness and mindfulness. There’s a massive amount of research showing that mindfulness can make you more resistant to pain, help you deal with mental illness and even prevent cortical degeneration caused by dementia and aging.

So if there’s one thing you should start doing, that’s some sort of mindfulness practice, be it yoga, meditation, or mindful breathing.

7. Your Water Intake Affects your Brain

A dehydrated brain is a sluggish brain, one that can make it difficult for you to focus, maintain attention, and engage in problem-solving tasks. A 2018 study found that losing as little as 2% of body weight for adults can instantly affect all these mental faculties. Keep in mind that losing that much water is not uncommon, especially in the summer weather.

Also, kids and seniors are at a higher risk of suffering from dehydration. The conclusion is simple: always keep a full water bottle on hand, especially if you’re spending time in the sun, but don’t overindulge either. Why? This is because drinking too much water is as dangerous as dehydration, as it can dilute your blood and, in severe cases, can make your brain swell, which can be lethal.

How much water should you drink, then? Doctors generally recommend drinking around half a gallon (2 liters) of water a day for an average adult, which is about 8 glasses of water, but this may differ depending on your weight and diet. 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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https://gseasyrecipes.blogspot.com. feel free to view for easy, simple and healthy recipes    
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