11/28/2016

10ProvenBenefitsofGreenTea

10ProvenBenefitsofGreenTea
ByKrisGunnars,BSc|8,659,693views
Greenteaisthehealthiestbeverageontheplanet.
Itisloadedwithantioxidantsandnutrientsthathavepowerful
effectsonthebody.
Thisincludesimprovedbrainfunction,fatloss,alowerriskof
cancerandmanyotherincrediblebenefits.
Hereare10healthbenefitsofgreenteathathavebeenconfirmed
inhumanresearchstudies.

1.GreenTeaContainsBioactive
CompoundsThatImproveHealth
Greenteaismorethanjustgreenliquid.
Manyofthebioactivecompoundsinthetealeavesdomakeitinto
thefinaldrink,whichcontainslargeamountsofimportant
nutrients.
Itisloadedwithpolyphenolslikeflavonoidsandcatechins,which
functionaspowerfulantioxidants(1).
Thesesubstancescanreducetheformationoffreeradicalsinthebody,protectingcellsandmolecules
fromdamage.Thesefreeradicalsareknowntoplayaroleinagingandallsortsofdiseases.
OneofthemorepowerfulcompoundsingreenteaistheantioxidantEpigallocatechinGallate(EGCG),
whichhasbeenstudiedtotreatvariousdiseasesandmaybeoneofthemainreasonsgreenteahas
suchpowerfulmedicinalproperties.
Greenteaalsohassmallamountsofmineralsthatareimportantforhealth.
Trytochooseahigherqualitybrandofgreentea,becausesomeofthelowerqualitybrandscancontain
excessivelevelsoffluoride(2).
Thatbeingsaid,evenifyouchoosealowerqualitybrand,thebenefitsstillfaroutweighanyrisk.
BottomLine:Greenteaisloadedwithbioactivecompoundsthatcanhavevariousbeneficial
effectsonhealth.

2.CompoundsinGreenTeaCanImproveBrainFunctionand
MakeYouSmarter
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10ProvenBenefitsofGreenTea

Greenteadoesmorethanjustkeepyouawake,itcanalsomakeyou
smarter.
Thekeyactiveingredientiscaffeine,whichisaknownstimulant.
Itdoesntcontainasmuchascoffee,butenoughtoproducearesponse
withoutcausingthejitteryeffectsassociatedwithtoomuchcaffeine.
Whatcaffeinedoesinthebrainistoblockaninhibitoryneurotransmitter
calledAdenosine.Thisway,itactuallyincreasesthefiringofneurons
andtheconcentrationofneurotransmitterslikedopamineand
norepinephrine(3,4).
Caffeinehasbeenintensivelystudiedbeforeandconsistentlyleadstoimprovementsinvariousaspects
ofbrainfunction,includingimprovedmood,vigilance,reactiontimeandmemory(5).
Howevergreenteacontainsmorethanjustcaffeine.ItalsohastheaminoacidLtheanine,whichis
abletocrossthebloodbrainbarrier(6).
LtheanineincreasestheactivityoftheinhibitoryneurotransmitterGABA,whichhasantianxietyeffects.
Italsoincreasesdopamineandtheproductionofalphawavesinthebrain(7,8,9).
StudiesshowthatcaffeineandLtheaninecanhavesynergisticeffects.Thecombinationofthetwois
particularlypotentatimprovingbrainfunction(10).
BecauseoftheLtheanineandthesmallerdoseofcaffeine,greenteacangiveyouamuchmilderand
differentkindofbuzzthancoffee.
Manypeoplereporthavingmorestableenergyandbeingmuchmoreproductivewhentheydrinkgreen
tea,comparedtocoffee.
BottomLine:Greenteacontainslesscaffeinethancoffee,butenoughtoproduceaneffect.
ItalsocontainstheaminoacidLtheanine,whichcanworksynergisticallywithcaffeineto
improvebrainfunction.

3.GreenTeaIncreasesFatBurningandImprovesPhysical
Performance
Ifyoulookattheingredientslistforanyfatburningsupplement,
chancesarethatgreenteawillbeonthere.
Thisisbecausegreenteahasbeenshowntoincreasefatburningand
boostthemetabolicrate,inhumancontrolledtrials(11,12).
Inonestudyin10healthymen,greenteaincreasedenergy
expenditureby4%(13).
Anotherstudyshowedthatfatoxidationwasincreasedby17%,
indicatingthatgreenteamayselectivelyincreasetheburningoffat
(14).
However,Idliketopointoutthatsomestudiesongreenteadontshow
anyincreaseinmetabolism,sotheeffectsmaydependontheindividual(15).
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10ProvenBenefitsofGreenTea

Caffeineitselfhasalsobeenshowntoimprovephysicalperformancebymobilizingfattyacidsfromthe
fattissuesandmakingthemavailableforuseasenergy(16,17).
Intwoseparatereviewstudies,caffeinehasbeenshowntoincreasephysicalperformanceby1112%,
onaverage(18,19).
BottomLine:Greenteahasbeenshowntoboostthemetabolicrateandincreasefat
burningintheshortterm,althoughnotallstudiesagree.

4.AntioxidantsinGreenTeaMayLowerYourRiskofVarious
TypesofCancer
Canceriscausedbyuncontrolledgrowthofcells.Itisoneoftheworlds
leadingcausesofdeath.
Itiswellknownthatoxidativedamagecontributestothedevelopment
ofcancerandthatantioxidantscanhaveaprotectiveeffect(20).
Greenteaisanexcellentsourceofpowerfulantioxidants,soitmakes
perfectsensethatitcouldreduceyourriskofcancer,whichitappears
todo:
Breastcancer:Ametaanalysisofobservationalstudiesfound
thatwhomenwhodrankthemostgreenteahada22%lowerrisk
ofdevelopingbreastcancer,themostcommoncancerinwomen
(21).
Prostatecancer:Onestudyfoundthatmendrinkinggreenteahada48%lowerriskof
developingprostatecancer,whichisthemostcommoncancerinmen(22).
Colorectalcancer:Astudyof69,710Chinesewomenfoundthatgreenteadrinkershada57%
lowerriskofcolorectalcancer(23).
Multipleotherobservationalstudiesshowthatgreenteadrinkersaresignificantlylesslikelytoget
varioustypesofcancer(24,25,26).
Itisimportanttokeepinmindthatitmaybeabadideatoputmilkinyourtea,becauseitcanreduce
theantioxidantvalue(27).
BottomLine:Greenteahaspowerfulantioxidantsthatmayprotectagainstcancer.Multiple
studiesshowthatgreenteadrinkershavealowerriskofvarioustypesofcancer.

5.GreenTeaMayProtectYourBraininOldAge,LoweringYour
RiskofAlzheimersandParkinsons
Notonlycangreenteaimprovebrainfunctionintheshortterm,itmayalsoprotectyourbraininoldage.
Alzheimersdiseaseisthemostcommonneurodegenerativediseaseinhumansandaleadingcauseof
dementia.
Parkinsonsdiseaseisthesecondmostcommonneurodegenerativediseaseandinvolvesthedeathof
dopamineproducingneuronsinthebrain.

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Multiplestudiesshowthatthecatechincompoundsingreenteacanhave
variousprotectiveeffectsonneuronsintesttubesandanimalmodels,
potentallyloweringtheriskofAlzheimersandParkinsons(28,29,30).
BottomLine:Thebioactivecompoundsingreenteacanhave
variousprotectiveeffectsonneuronsandmayreducetheriskofboth
AlzheimersandParkinsons,thetwomostcommon
neurodegenerativedisorders.

6.GreenTeaCanKillBacteria,WhichImproves
DentalHealthandLowersYourRiskof
Infection
Thecatechinsingreenteahaveotherbiologicaleffectsaswell.
Somestudiesshowthattheycankillbacteriaandinhibitviruseslikethe
influenzavirus,potentiallyloweringyourriskofinfections(31,32,33,
34).
Streptococcusmutansistheprimaryharmfulbacteriainthemouth.It
causesplaqueformationandisaleadingcontributortocavitiesand
toothdecay.
Studiesshowthatthecatechinsingreenteacaninhibitthegrowthof
streptococcusmutans.Greenteaconsumptionisassociatedwith
improveddentalhealthandalowerriskofcaries(35,36,37,38,39).
Anotherawesomebenefitofgreenteamultiplestudiesshowthatitcanreducebadbreath(40,41).
BottomLine:Thecatechinsingreenteamayinhibitthegrowthofbacteriaandsome
viruses.Thiscanlowertheriskofinfectionsandleadtoimprovementsindentalhealth,a
lowerriskofcariesandreducedbadbreath.

7.GreenTeaMayLowerYourRiskofTypeIIDiabetes
TypeIIdiabetesisadiseasethathasreachedepidemicproportionsinthepastfewdecadesandnow
afflictsabout300millionpeopleworldwide.
Thisdiseaseinvolveshavingelevatedbloodsugarlevelsinthecontextofinsulinresistanceoran
inabilitytoproduceinsulin.
Studiesshowthatgreenteacanimproveinsulinsensitivityandreducebloodsugarlevels(42).
OnestudyinJapaneseindividualsfoundthatthosewhodrankthemostgreenteahada42%lowerrisk
ofdevelopingtypeIIdiabetes(43).
Accordingtoareviewof7studieswithatotalof286,701individuals,greenteadrinkershadan18%
lowerriskofbecomingdiabetic(44).
BottomLine:Somecontrolledtrialsshowthatgreenteacancausemildreductionsinblood
sugarlevels.ItmayalsolowertheriskofdevelopingtypeIIdiabetesinthelongterm.
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8.GreenTeaMayReduceYourRiskof
CardiovascularDisease
Cardiovasculardiseases,includingheartdiseaseandstroke,arethebiggest
causesofdeathintheworld(45).
Studiesshowthatgreenteacanimprovesomeofthemainriskfactorsfor
thesediseases.
Thisincludestotalcholesterol,LDLcholesterolandtriglycerides(46).
Greenteaalsodramaticallyincreasestheantioxidantcapabilityoftheblood,
whichprotectstheLDLcholesterolparticlesfromoxidation,whichisonepart
ofthepathwaytowardsheartdisease(47,48,49).
Giventhebeneficialeffectsonriskfactors,itisnotsurprisingtoseethatgreen
teadrinkershaveuptoa31%lowerriskofcardiovasculardisease(50,51,
52).
BottomLine:Greenteahasbeenshowntolowertotaland
LDLcholesterol,aswellasprotecttheLDLparticlesfrom
oxidation.Observationalstudiesshowthatgreentea
drinkershavealowerriskofcardiovasculardisease.

9.GreenTeaCanHelpYouLoseWeight
andLowerYourRiskofBecomingObese
Giventhatgreenteacanboostthemetabolicrateintheshort
term,itmakessensethatitcouldhelpyouloseweight.
Severalstudiesshowthatgreentealeadstodecreasesinbodyfat,
especiallyintheabdominalarea(53,54).
Oneofthesestudieswasarandomizedcontrolledtrialin240men
andwomenthatwentonfor12weeks.Inthisstudy,thegreentea
grouphadsignificantdecreasesinbodyfatpercentage,body
weight,waistcircumferenceandabdominalfat(55).
However,somestudiesdontshowastatisticallysignificant
increasesinweightlosswithgreentea,sothisneedstobetakenwithagrainofsalt(56).
BottomLine:Somestudiesshowthatgreentealeadstoincreasedweightloss.Itis
particularlyeffectiveatreducingthedangerousabdominalfat.

10.GreenTeaMayDecreaseYourRiskofDyingandHelpYou
LiveLonger
Ofcourse,weallhavetodieeventually.Thatisinevitable.
However,giventhatgreenteadrinkersareatalowerriskofcardiovasculardiseaseandcancer,it
makessensethatitcouldhelpyoulivelonger.
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Inastudyof40,530Japaneseadults,thosewhodrankthemostgreentea(5or
morecupsperday)weresignificantlylesslikelytodieduringan11yearperiod
(57):
Deathofallcauses:23%lowerinwomen,12%lowerinmen.
Deathfromheartdisease:31%lowerinwomen,22%lowerinmen.
Deathfromstroke:42%lowerinwomen,35%lowerinmen.
Anotherstudyin14,001elderlyJapaneseindividualsaged6584yearsfoundthat
thosewhodrankthemostgreenteawere76%lesslikelytodieduringthe6year
studyperiod(58).

TakeHomeMessage
Inordertofeelbetter,loseweightandloweryourriskofchronicdiseases,thenyou
mightwanttoconsidermakinggreenteaaregularpartofyourlife.
Moreongreenteaandrelatedtopics:
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