Benefits of green tea

I’m sure you’ve heard countless times that you should drink more water and reduce your caffeine intake. However, studies have shown that tea and coffee (in moderation) actually do have health benefits, and they do count towards your recommended daily water intake.

I am not really a hot drink fan, I much prefer to drink cranberry juice or water (boring I know) but when it does come to hot drinks, nothing beats a good old hot chocolate. However, I have been getting more and more into drinking green tea. My love for it began whilst out having sushi, I ordered a cold green tea, and quite liked it. Since then, I’ve switched to the hot variety.

It’s no secret that green tea has a plethora of health benefits; it increases metabolism, which is great if you are trying to lose weight, it can also prevent bone loss, and is also rich in antioxidants, which help protect the body from free radicals - naturally occurring particles in the body associated with accelerated ageing and an increased risk of major diseases. Exposure to pollution, smoking and excess sunlight increases the number of free radicals in the blood.

According to the Harvard Health Publications green tea is the best source of a group called catechins. In test tubes, catechins are more powerful than vitamins C and E in halting oxidative damage to cells and appear to have other disease-fighting properties. Studies have found an association between consuming green tea and a reduced risk for several cancers, including skin, lung, colon and bladder.

My personal preference is Tick Tock Green Rooibos Tea, because it is caffeine free. Green tea actually contains less caffeine than coffee, but if you like caffeine, you can get caffeinated green tea varieties.

Whilst we’re on the subject of tea, BBC1 aired a documentary recently about Britain’s Favourite Supermarket Foods, which included a tea test and showed that a cup of tea, brewed for seven minutes, provided the best health benefits. And although they used good old fashioned English tea, I think you can brew green tea for five to seven minutes to achieve the maximum health benefits and flavour (any longer and it will taste bitter).

I know quite a few green tea fans and hopefully, after reading this post, you’ve been persuaded to try it if you don’t drink it already. And if you already do drink it, keep going, your skin and health will thank you for it.