Filed under Healthy Living on November 19th, 2008:
Green Tea is Good For Me?
You are sitting in your Norfolk apartment feeling a little chilly. The weather has cooled off and it’s time to enjoy your favorite hot beverage. There are so many choices… coffee, mocha, hot cider… but the healthiest choice may be a cup of green tea.
Sip Tea, Stay Thin?
Studies in laboratory mice have shown that green tea may help block fat and prevent weight gain. Specifically, the ingredients in green tea may block the absorption of dietary fat and increase your body’s ability to burn fat overall. The research is preliminary, but promising. You should drink several cups of green tea a day to see any benefit. You may also consider taking a green tea extract supplement daily.
What Else Can Green Tea Do For Me?
Blocking fat is a huge plus, but that is just the start. Tea is loaded with antioxidants- the amazing disease fighting compounds. Green and black teas are estimated to have 10 times the antioxidants found in fruit and veggies. These antioxidants work to protect cells from free radicals. Other benefits of green tea include:
1. Lowers Risk of Heart Disease – By helping the function of the endothelial cells lining the blood vessels and reducing cholesterol.
2. May Prevent Cancer – an antioxidant in green tea slowed breast cancer growth in female mice. Tea-drinking rats have less cancer overall. People in China and Japan, who drink more tea, have less cancer.
3. May Help Improve Memory and Learning Problems associated with sleep apnea, a sleep-related breathing disorder.
4. Protects Against Neurodegenerative Changes – green tea polyphenols can counteract oxidative stress in the brain, helping to prevent Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
5. Good for Healthy Skin – Antioxidants are able to absorb and heal the effects of free radicals on skin and slow down some of the visible signs of aging.
Give Your Tea a Boost
Adding a generous squeeze of lemon, lime or orange to tea gives the antioxidants extra staying power, allowing them to stay in your body longer.