Green Tea’s Benefits for Your Family

No doubt you've heard of Green Tea and the health benefits you can experience from drinking it.
Are you giving your family this powerful antioxidant daily?

Here is a refresher on some of the benefits you can experience with Green Tea.

Historically, Green Tea has been one of the world's most popular beverages. The Chinese have been drinking it for thousands of years. It is now the second most popular beverage in the world, after water!

Green tea is made from the Camellia Sinensis plant...as is black tea. The difference is that Green Tea is unfermented, which means that the powerful antioxidant properties are fully intact.

The power of Green Tea lies in its catechin polyphenols, particularly something called epigallocatechin gallate (say that 5 times fast!).
Green Tea has been reported to:

Assist in weight loss
According to a a study conducted at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, Green Tea seems to help the body burn more calories.
Green Tea also slows down the release of carbohydrate in the body, preventing sharp rises in blood sugar.

I know a couple who lost ten pounds each in the first few weeks after drinking Green Tea every day, with no other changes in their diet.

Boosts the immune system
Green Tea is one of the most potent antioxidants available. It also contains some vitamins and minerals.

A study in September 1997 by the University of Kansas reported that Green Tea has the highest amount of any known antioxidant. EGCG (that tongue twisting antioxidant found in Green Tea) is 100 times more effective than Vitamin C, and twice as powerful as resveratrol (the antioxidant in red wine).

Lowers cholesterol
University of California scientists discovered that the caffeine in coffee is bound with coffee bean oils, which raise cholesterol levels.

In contrast, research indicates that drinking Green Tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.

Natural energy boost
Again, I could find no studies that proved this, but I drink Green Tea primarily for the natural energy boost it gives me, without any unpleasant side effects. I used to drink a coffee in the afternoon, get shaky and hyper, only to crash later on.

Green Tea doesn't cause those unpleasant side effects, and it also gives me the same feeling of "clearing the cobwebs" from my brain.

Lowers the risk of blood clots
Green tea is non-toxic and safe. It doesn't cause birth defects and has no adverse affect on pregnancy or breastfeeding.

In fact, a study conducted at Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program of Northern California, researchers found that women who drank more than one half cup of green tea every day doubled their odds of conceiving.