Green tea benefits: Three ways drinking the herbal tea can boost your health

Dr Oz explains the health benefits of green tea

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Tea is one of the most popular beverages consumed worldwide and the practice of drinking tea is interwoven with many traditions and customs. There are three main varieties of tea extracted from the plant Camellia sinensis: green, black, or Oolong. Among these, the most beneficial effects on human health have been observed with the consumption of green tea.

There are many compounds found in green tea that have been shown to confer significant health benefits.

A literature review published in the journal Chinese Medicine provides an overview of these health benefits.

According to the review, the health-promoting effects of green tea are mainly attributed to its polyphenol content.

Polyphenols are compounds found in plants and the two most abundant in green tea are flavonoids and flavonols.

According to the literature review, studies using animal models show that green tea flavonols, also known as catechins, provide some protection against degenerative diseases.

Studies suggest that green tea polyphenols might protect against Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills.

What’s more, green tea consumption has also been linked to the prevention of many types of cancer, notes the review.

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These include:

  • Lung
  • Colon
  • Oesophagus
  • Mouth
  • Stomach,
  • Small intestine
  • Kidney,
  • Pancreas
  • Mammary glands.

Green tea has also been shown to bolster the body’s defences against heart disease.

Heart disease – conditions that narrow or block blood vessels – is a major killer worldwide.

According to the review, it reduces heart disease risk mainly by lowering high blood pressure.

Some animal’s studies also suggest that green tea might protect against the development of coronary heart disease by reducing blood glucose levels and body weight, notes the review.

General tips to boost your health

To maximise the health benefits of drinking green tea, you should commit to a healthy lifestyle.

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is an important part of maintaining good health, and can help you feel your best.

“This means eating a wide variety of foods in the right proportions, and consuming the right amount of food and drink to achieve and maintain a healthy body weight,” explains the NHS.

The Eatwell Guide shows that to have a healthy, balanced diet, people should try to:

  • Eat at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day
  • Base meals on higher fibre starchy foods like potatoes, bread, rice or pasta
  • Have some dairy or dairy alternatives (such as soya drinks)
  • Eat some beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other protein
  • Choose unsaturated oils and spreads, and eat them in small amounts
  • Drink plenty of fluids (at least six to eight glasses a day).

In addition to eating well, you should also engage in regular exercise.

According to UK health guidelines, you should do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity activity a week.

Moderate activity will raise your heart rate, and make you breathe faster and feel warmer.

Vigorous intensity activity makes you breathe hard and fast.

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