The Health Benefits of Green Tea Extract
Green tea and green tea extract have gotten quite a bit of good publicity recently for a number of reasons, including its overall health benefits, its ability to prevent and possibly even reverse certain diseases, and even for its ability to help people lose weight. Green tea is actually a very old remedy in China and other Asian countries. It is only more recently that Western science is starting to catch up with traditional medicine and recognize the healing properties of green tea.
Green tea extract is taken from the green tea leaf, and is a very potent way to get the benefits of green tea without having to drink many cups of it. Green tea extract can be taken in capsule or other forms. It is available as a separate supplement and is also included in some combination supplements for its many beneficial qualities.
Why Is Green Tea Good For You?
Green tea contains many beneficial properties, such as bioflavonoids and a very potent antioxidant, EGCG. These substances both fight free radicals and pro-oxidants, which can cause disease in the body. The health benefits of green tea are almost universal. It can help digestion, respiration, lower cholesterol and even fight gum disease (through its anti-bacterial properties).
Green Tea vs. Cancer
This antioxidant EGCG is most renowned for its anti-cancer properties. There is evidence that it can protect cells from many types of cancer, including colon, breast, stomach, pancreas and esophagus.
Lowers Cholesterol and Protects the Heart
Green tea extract is also a great way to watch your cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease. There is evidence that green tea can reduce your overall cholesterol, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) to bad (LDL) cholesterol.
Can Green Tea Extract Help You Lose Weight?
Green tea has properties that can help you lose weight. It is a stimulant (though it contains less caffeine than coffee, so it’s less likely to give you the jitters, upset your stomach or keep you awake at night), which means it speeds up your body’s metabolism naturally.
Green tea also has a thermogenic effect upon the body, meaning it helps you burn fat faster. Green tea has substances called catechins, which prevent the accumulation of fat in the body. As if that weren’t enough, catechins also have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties!
To sum it up, Green tea extract is a natural substance that is good for your whole body!
Benefits of the Green Tea Diet
Green tea has been consumed for centuries in China and Japan, where it is recognized as a healing food. Now, modern medicine is finding the same things and is finally starting to recommend that we drink green tea. On top of all its health-giving properties, green tea is useful as a weight loss tool. Of course, if you want to lose weight you have to do more than just drink green tea. But, when combined with a healthy diet and exercise, it can help you lose weight safely and quickly.
Green Tea vs. Black Tea
All teas come from the Camellia Sinensis plant, but green tea is produced differently, using a steaming method that stops the oxidation process and results in its green color. The oxidation process that occurs with black tea, along with fermentation, destroys one of the most beneficial compounds found in green tea -catechins. Black tea also contains more caffeine than green tea.
How Green Tea Helps You Burn Fat
Green tea contains caffeine, which many diet products also have. Caffeine, of course, is a stimulant, which means it speeds up your metabolism so that you burn fat. However, green tea has properties beyond this which makes it a better fat-burning food than other caffeinated beverages (and better for you in other ways as well). Studies have shown that green tea is superior to either a placebo or caffeine in increasing fat oxidation, which results in the burning of fat. Green tea contains polyphenols, which increases your metabolism.
A Healthy Diet Food
Since most people drink coffee or other stimulants (such as soda), it makes sense to switch to green tea, especially if you want to lose weight. Green tea has less than half the caffeine of coffee, and it has calming properties that help to offset the caffeine. Still, if you are very sensitive to caffeine you might want to consume it earlier in the day. Decaffeinated green tea is also available.
Tea or Extract?
You can drink several cups of green tea per day for maximum benefit. Or you can consume green tea extract, which is made from green tea leaves. Either way you will get the same benefits. It really comes down to whether you like to drink green tea. You can always use both, so that you can take the extract when you don’t have time for a leisurely cup of tea. Either way, you will be increasing your metabolism in a healthy way, which can help you safely lose weight.
Benefits of Green Tea
Green tea has been used in China and other parts of the Far East for centuries as a healing food. More recently, Western research has confirmed its many remarkable properties. Green tea is truly a “superfood” and there are many benefits to be derived from consuming it. You can drink green tea, of course; it makes an excellent coffee substitute. Green tea has only about half the caffeine of coffee and is better for you in countless other ways. You can also take green tea leaf extract or other forms of green tea supplements.
Anti-Cancer Properties
Green tea has shown promise if preventing, and possibly even curing many types of cancer, including breast, stomach, Ovarian pancreatic, colon and esophagus. The powerful antioxidant epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which apparently inhibits the growth of cancer cells. To give you an idea of how powerful this is, one study found that woman who drank as little as one cup of green tea per day cut their risk of ovarian cancer by 54%, more than half! Another study, done in China, showed that the risk for esophageal cancer in men was reduced by almost 60% by drinking green tea.
Good For Cholesterol and the Heart
Lowering cholesterol is another important health concern that green tea can help with. EGCG, in addition to its anti-cancer properties, helps to lower cholesterol and, perhaps even more significantly, improves the ratio of “good” (HDL) to “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. It is believed by many researchers that green tea accounts for the low rate of heart disease among Japanese men, even though the majority of them are smokers.
Green Tea for Weight Loss
In addition to promoting general health, green tea is good for people trying to lose weight. It is a healthy and natural stimulant, which makes the body burn fat more efficiently. It may also help to give you more energy to exercise and curb your appetite.
Teeth and Gums
As if all the above isn’t enough, green tea is also effective in preventing tooth decay and gum disease. Green tea contains catechins, which kill bacteria that cause plaque. You can get this benefit from drinking or otherwise consuming green tea, but it is also used in some toothpastes and mouthwashes for this purpose.
Green tea is one of the rare foods that is good for you in almost every way. The only possible “side effect” would be for people who are sensitive to caffeine, though the caffeine content in green tea is not very high compared to coffee or even black tea. If you are very sensitive to caffeine, you may want to consume your green tea before the evening or choose a decaffeinated blend. The benefits to consuming this ancient health tonic are numerous.
Green Tea: The Answer to Cancer?
Green tea has been consumed for centuries in the Far East, not only as a beverage to be enjoyed, but as a healing food with many remarkable properties. In recent years, research has shown that the Chinese, Japanese and others who held green tea in renown were onto something. It turns out that green tea can effective in preventing and treating many health conditions, including cancer.
What Makes Green Tea Different?
Green tea comes from the same kind of tea leaf, Camellia Sinensis. as other kinds of tea, such as black and oolong. Unlike these other kinds of tea, however, green tea is produced using a special steaming process that prevents oxidation. Unlike black tea, green tea is not fermented. It also contains less caffeine. While all teas have been shown to have health-giving benefits, many people believe green tea is best because it is the least processed.
How Can Green Tea Protect You From Cancer?
Green tea contains many healthy vitamins, minerals and amino acids. It is a particular kind of antioxidant, known as catechins, that provide the most impressive health benefits. One of these catechins in particular, known as EGCG (or epigallocatechin-3-gallate –you can see why it’s been shortened!) has shown promise in preventing or even treating many types of cancer. EGCG also has quite a few other benefits. It helps the body burn fat more efficiently, and it helps to lower cholesterol, especially “bad” cholesterol.
Types of Cancer Green Tea May Be Effective Against
Green tea has shown promise in preventing several types of cancer, including cancers of the stomach, breast, ovarian, colon and esophagus. One study showed that women who drank as little as one cup of green tea daily cut their risk of ovarian cancer by more than half. In China, another study showed that men who drank green tea reduced their risk of getting esophageal cancer by almost 60%. These are striking numbers.
Why Not Drink Green Tea?
When it comes to proving specific health benefits, more studies still need to be done. There are fairly strict rules, set by governing bodies such as the FDA, that do not allow people to make bold statements such as, “Product X cures cancer.” However, we can say that green tea looks extremely promising in being effective for many health concerns. There are many good reasons to either drink it as a tea or take it another form, such as extract. Considering that it’s a healthy, tasty beverage that isn’t very expensive, it’s hard to think of a reason not to drink green tea!
Benefits of Green Tea
Green tea has been used in China and other parts of the Far East for centuries as a healing food. More recently, Western research has confirmed its many remarkable properties. Green tea is truly a “superfood” and there are many benefits to be derived from consuming it. You can drink green tea, of course; it makes an excellent coffee substitute. Green tea has only about half the caffeine of coffee and is better for you in countless other ways. You can also take green tea leaf extract or other forms of green tea supplements.
Anti-Cancer Properties
Green tea has shown promise if preventing, and possibly even curing many types of cancer, including breast, stomach, Ovarian pancreatic, colon and esophagus. The powerful antioxidant epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which apparently inhibits the growth of cancer cells. To give you an idea of how powerful this is, one study found that woman who drank as little as one cup of green tea per day cut their risk of ovarian cancer by 54%, more than half! Another study, done in China, showed that the risk for esophageal cancer in men was reduced by almost 60% by drinking green tea.
Good For Cholesterol and the Heart
Lowering cholesterol is another important health concern that green tea can help with. EGCG, in addition to its anti-cancer properties, helps to lower cholesterol and, perhaps even more significantly, improves the ratio of “good” (HDL) to “bad” (LDL) cholesterol. It is believed by many researchers that green tea accounts for the low rate of heart disease among Japanese men, even though the majority of them are smokers.
Green Tea for Weight Loss
In addition to promoting general health, green tea is good for people trying to lose weight. It is a healthy and natural stimulant, which makes the body burn fat more efficiently. It may also help to give you more energy to exercise and curb your appetite.
Teeth and Gums
As if all the above isn’t enough, green tea is also effective in preventing tooth decay and gum disease. Green tea contains catechins, which kill bacteria that cause plaque. You can get this benefit from drinking or otherwise consuming green tea, but it is also used in some toothpastes and mouthwashes for this purpose.
Green tea is one of the rare foods that is good for you in almost every way. The only possible “side effect” would be for people who are sensitive to caffeine, though the caffeine content in green tea is not very high compared to coffee or even black tea. If you are very sensitive to caffeine, you may want to consume your green tea before the evening or choose a decaffeinated blend. The benefits to consuming this ancient health tonic are numerous.