Benefits of green tea

Brain Enhancement

Drink tea and be smarter! Sound too good to be true?

Until last year, the effects of green tea on cognitive function were speculative, but with the improvements in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Dr. Stefan Borgwardt could view the increased connectivity in the cortices of the brain after consumption of green tea. Specifically, green tea drinkers showed increased connectivity in key parts of the brain associated with memory.

The study used healthy male volunteers and found that when given a soft drink containing green tea extract, those consuming green tea extract not only showed increased connectivity in parts of the brain, but improved performance on working memory tasks as well.

Let me go brew a mug real quick before I finish the rest here!

Anti-Anxiety and Relaxation

Green tea comes packed with l-theanine, and l-theanine may help you to relax and avoid anxiety.

So it appears you can drink green tea to help mellow you out, without falling asleep. I better gift some to my buddy.

Heart Health

According to the Harvard Heart Letter, Japanese adults who drank more than five cups daily were at 26% lower risk of heart attack or stroke. While research around mechanisms of action is limited, there were no red flags, so it can’t hurt.

 Fat Burner

“Green tea has thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se”. That’s what Dr. Abdul G. Dulloo, author of a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition said to WebMD.

Another piece in the Journal of Advances in Nutrition mentioned that a number of studies have witnessed how green tea can improve fat burning.

While overall research is still limited, given the health benefits of green tea, if it is a fat burner to boot, why not?

We already know that green tea is full of antioxidants, is good for both the heart and brain, and can help fight cancer, so why shouldn’t we drink it?

 Anti-Bacterial

Get sick, and the doctor gives you antibiotics. We’ve all been there, but are prescribed antibiotics the way to go? I think not! What about a natural remedy? Now I’m not saying green tea will cure you once you’re already infected (probably not), but it certainly can’t hurt.

Green tea contains other antioxidants called catechins. According to a study published in the Food Science Technology Bulletin, these catechins, specifically epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and epicatechin gallate (ECG), can hinder development of many bacterial species. 

While green tea isn’t a cure-all for all of your health woes, adding some to your diet could help you become healthier.