Hello darlings!!! Today I want to share with you some of the top reasons why YOU should be drinking some tea! In particular, the GREEN kind! ;-)
We all have heard that drinking green tea is good for us, but do we really know why green tea is so good? Below I have included some facts and tips that I have gathered from my own research to help you decide if fitting green tea into your lifestyle might be beneficial to you!
Here you go... :-)
1) According to Harvard Health Publications, each cup of green tea that you drink is a chock full of flavonoids (plant-derived compounds that function as antioxidants), soaking up unstable free radical species in our bodies! In test tubes, Harvard researchers have found that "catechins (the food group that tea leaves are from) are more powerful than vitamins C and E in halting oxidative damage to our cells and appear to have other disease-fighting properties"!
2) Many studies have shown a strong correlation between consuming green tea and a reduced risk for several cancers,
including, breast, colon, ovarian, pancreatic, prostate, stomach, skin, lung, esophageal, and bladder! The consumption of green tea has also been shown to help reduce the inflammation associated with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, two forms of IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease)!
3) Regularly consuming the stuff boasts a
reduced risk for heart disease! Due to the potent antioxidants in green, black, and
oolong teas, the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol can be inhibited, and
an increase HDL (good) cholesterol and improved artery function can occur. Good-bye hypertension!
4) According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, drinking green tea may help prevent atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries due to the buildup of fat and cholesterol)! By lowering cholesterol and triglyceride levels, researchers estimate that the rate of heart attack decreases by 11% with the consumption of 3 cups per day!
5) According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, green tea has been shown to "lower total cholesterol and raise HDL ("good") cholesterol in both animals and people."
6) According to population-based clinical studies reported by the UM Medical Center, green tea "has been shown to protect the liver from the damaging effects of toxic substances such as alcohol!" Results from several animal and human studies have also suggested that one of the polyphenols in green tea, known as catechin, may help treat viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver!
7) The consumption of green tea has been shown to control blood sugar levels in pre-diabetic and diabetic individuals!
According the University of Maryland, "Animal studies suggest that green tea may help prevent the development
of type 1 diabetes and slow the progression once it has developed"! In
people with type 1 diabetes little or no insulin is made in the body,
which is responsible for converting glucose or "sugar" into energy. Green tea may help
regulate glucose in the body! :-)
A few tips from the Harvard Women's Health Watch October issue:
- Drink a cup a few times a day to absorb antioxidants and other healthful plant compounds.
- In green-tea drinking cultures, the usual amount is three cups per day. Allow tea to steep for three to five minutes to bring out its catechins.
- The best way to get the catechins and other flavonoids in tea is to drink it freshly brewed (decaffeinated, bottled ready-to-drink tea preparations, and instant teas have less of these compounds).
- Tea can impede the absorption of iron from fruits and vegetables. Adding lemon or milk to your tea, & drinking tea between meals will counteract this problem. :-)
Hope everyone finds this useful! Love you all! <3
Xo -Jess
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