[Article updated on 19/09/2023]
Cultivated for millennia in Asia, green tea is used both as a drink and as a remedy thanks to its many beneficial properties. Today, it is very popular with people who want to keep fit and trim.
Before reading on
I’m not an expert in this field, but I am passionate about nutrition and health.
The articles you’ll find on my site are the result of in-depth research that I’d like to share with you. However, I would like to stress that I am not a health professional and that my advice should in no way replace that of a qualified physician. I’m here to guide you, but it’s important that you consult a professional for specific questions or medical concerns. Your well-being is important. So be sure to consult the appropriate experts and take the best possible care of yourself.
It is a well-known slimming ally that you can consume daily. Discover my complete guide to a beneficial drink, in many ways.
Green tea
THE green tea, also called virgin tea, is known to be a shrub measuring approximately 1.5 m tall. However, if left untreated in the wild, it can reach 30 m in height.
Originally from the Far East, this shrub has relatively hard leaves ranging in color from green to dark green depending on the variety. These can measure between 3 and 20 cm and can be shiny or matte.
For the record, tea arguably one of the first infused drinks used in the story. Discovered in China, the beverage was first reserved exclusively to royal families and high dignitaries. It was not until the 8th century that our time that tea is becoming a popular drink.
Japan does not discover its existence that around the 9th century and it was only around the 17th century that Europe knowledge of tea thanks to the Dutch merchant navy. The English especially appreciate its taste that from the beginning of the 1800s, the “tea break” or “five o’clock tea” was decreed.
Virtues and benefits of green tea
A stimulant
Tea contains caffeine. Eh yes, you are not wrong. This is theine, a name that distinguishes only the caffeine from coffee and theine from tea. Theine associated with other tannins present in its composition guarantee a more effective effect and more regular than coffee.
If coffee acts on the stimulation of blood pressure and accelerates heart rate, tea green acts directly on the central nervous and cardiovascular system. Thus, it improves the reflex, increases the ability to concentrate and reduces tiredness.
A slimming ally
The active ingredients contained in green tea boost metabolism and effectively limit the assimilation of fats by the body. Thus, consumption Regular 4 to 5 cups of sugar-free green tea helps you burn quickly the fat reserves stored in your body.
Plus, drink a cup of tea green helps fight against the appearance of cravings and thus prevents you from snack between meals.
A plant beneficial against cancer
Catechin, a polyphenol present in green tea has virtues preventive and therapeutic treatments for cancer, particularly chronic lymphatic leukemia, breast, skin and prostate cancer.
In addition to its curative effects and preventive, green tea also helps reduce the side effects linked to to radiotherapy, such as vomiting and diarrhea.
An antioxidant
Green leaves of green tea are very rich in antioxidants. These active ingredients make it possible to fight effectively against free radicals present in the body. The most powerful antioxidant in green tea is EGCG, a polyphenol whose anti-aging effects are surprising.
Thus, a depurative cure based green tea offers the body better resistance to the effects of age and to fight more effectively against coronary and degenerative diseases.
A hypoglycemic
Green tea significantly lowers blood glucose levels. It would be able to reduce it to 1 mg/deciliter. The powerful antioxidant it contains, epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG, is an excellent natural fat burner and even comes as a backup to insulin in cases where the sugar level becomes abnormally high in the body.
Drinking a cup and half of green tea with corn starch helps to greatly reduce blood sugar peak that occurs just after each meal, especially in diabetic people.
A stimulator natural immune defenses
Green tea contains a strong polyphenol content. These naturally strengthen the defenses natural thanks to their ability to protect white blood cells.
The catechins present in the green tea has antimicrobial properties and annihilates the actions of microbes and other pathogens by preventing them from secreting toxins.
How to consume green tea?
The parts used on the plant are the young leaves and buds. These parts are the most rich in active ingredients. These parts are then presented in the form of whole dried leaves, soluble tea or infusion bags. Generally, green tea is consumed as an infusion after mixing one of the these forms with boiling water.
It is now possible to find green tea concentrates in the form of extracts and capsules. Their high content of active ingredients implies rigorous compliance with doses prescribed by doctors.
Dosage
In most cases, tea green is to be consumed without moderation. However, the presence of caffeine in its composition limits its consumption to a certain dose, beyond which Undesirable effects may occur.
If you are following a weight loss course based on green tea, it is advisable to drink it every day, since the effects of the active ingredients fade after 24 hours. The right time to consume them is around half an hour before each meal in order to optimize its appetite suppressant effect on the organism.
If you want to reduce the rate cholesterol, it is advisable to take a daily dose of extract of green tea ranging from 1,200 to 2,300 mg to get results beneficial, i.e. 491 to 714 mg of catechins per day.
In order to benefit from the actions preventive green tea against cancer, you just need to drink it at a minimum three cups a day, up to 10 cups daily. The more you increase the dose, the greater the preventive effect.
Contraindications and side effects
Green tea is contraindicated to people with severe liver problems, pain acute abdominal pain, jaundice or discoloration of the urine that turns dark.
People who suffer from iron deficiency, insomnia and high blood pressure are also reported to consult their doctor before starting treatment with green tea.
Finally, green tea is not recommended for children and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Regarding the effects side effects due to the consumption of green tea, they are almost non-existent if drunk in the right proportions. However, its high content of caffeine causes sleep disturbances. This is the reason why it is not recommended to consume it in the early evening.
In the case of an overdose, the Green tea also causes nervousness, since it stimulates the senses and causes irregular heartbeat.
Its high concentration of flavonoids can also lead to risks of iron malabsorption, which is harmful to children and pregnant women. Drinking tea during meals stimulates this negative effect, which is why it It is recommended to consume it away from meals, approximately 30 minutes before or After.
It is always better to consult your doctor before starting your treatment with green tea.
Where to buy green tea?
Green tea is purchased from herbalists or stores specializing in medicinal plants and medicine traditional. You will find them in all forms and according to your needs.
However, be careful to differentiate green tea from black, yellow or white tea. These are varieties of tea which have different properties and tastes more or less specific to each.