Why Green Tea?

Everyone seems to be talking about the health benefits of green tea these days.  Its health benefits are quite well known and it has been used for its health related properties for over 4,000 years.

Green tea is made from the Camellia sinensis plant and is produced in China, but it has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia and more specifically Japan. Chinese green tea consists of roasting the tea leaves whereas Japanese green tea is steamed.  Chinese green tea produces a yellowish green color and toasted taste while Japanese green tea is dark green in color. 

Green tea is rich in health-promoting catechins. The most abundant catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin-3-gallate or EGCG. It is these catechins that are thought to play a vital role in the green tea's antioxidant effects. Over the last few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting that regular green tea drinkers may have a lower risk of developing heart disease and certain types of cancer.  More health-related benefits include:

• It fight against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's 
• It raises metabolism and promotes fat loss
• It reduces cholesterol levels and improving the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol
• It aids in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and cardiovascular diseases
• It aids in proper digestion
• It protects against diabetes, heart attack and stroke
• It protect brain cells
• It helps focus
• It helps energy and endurance
• It can help lower your blood pressure
• It can effectively delay symptoms of aging.
• It improves the function of your immune system

But enough about the facts!

Not only do I drink green tea for the health benefits, but I think it tastes great! So what’s not to like!

I’m still on my journey to learning about green tea and maybe we can help each other along the way.