Green Tea
Green Tea comes from China where it has been drunk for thousands of years. However in recent years its use is becoming far more widespread in the West, where black tea is commonly drunk. Green tea has becoming popular largely due to its purported health benefits. Recent scientific studies suggest that people who drink green tea may a have lower risk of developing heart disease and certain types of cancers. However while Green Tea certainly does have some health benefits, many suppliers of green tea have made some unsubstantiated claims about its the extent of health benefits. Some people claim that green tea helps to relieve symptoms of MS and even stop degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimers. So if you do decide to purchase Green Tea purely for its health benefits, don’t expect miracles to happen overnight!
That being said there is one form of Green Tea, known as Match Tea which certainly does have some excellent health benefits. Matcha is a very finely powdered Green Tea and has quite a strong sour taste. Anecdotally Matcha Tea is said to raise energy levels, increase sexual potency and dramatically improve overall health levels. What is certain is that Match Tea has very high anti-oxidant properties, the ORAC measurement of Match Tea is 1300 units/g. Just to give you some idea blueberries which are considered to be very high in antioxidants have an ORAC score of 91 units/grams. So yes Matcha Tea has very high levels of anti-oxidants. Anti-Oxidants protect against damaging free radicals which can help to cause some cancers. 1 cup of Match Tea is said to be ten times more powerful (in terms of antioxidant properties) compared to a normal cup of Green Tea. In fact if your currently consume cups of coffee everyday, I would strongly recommend switching to Matcha Tea.
Green Tea has also become popular as a weight loss supplement, as many people claim that Green Tea extracts have thermogenic properties. Although the science behind the usefulness of Green Tea extract as a weight management supplement is sketchy at best and totally unconvincing at worst. The use of Green Tea as a weight loss supplement reached fever pitch after a doctor appeared on an extremely popular day time television series claiming that green tea could help people lose weight quickly and easily. As mentioned there is actually very little scientific evidence that green tea alone can help people dramatically lose weight. So you need to think really carefully if you are considering purchasing any green tea weight loss supplements.
In summary, Green Tea, particularly Matcha Green Tea is an excellent healthy alternative compared to black tea or coffee. It certainly does have some health benefits, although the use of Green Tea as a weight loss supplement is questionable.