7 Reasons to Drink Green Tea

[Bootyliciousx]

7 Reasons to Drink Green Tea
Posted Tue, Feb 27, 2007, 11:54 am PST
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The steady stream of good news about green tea is getting so hard to ignore that even java junkies are beginning to sip mugs of the deceptively delicate brew. You'd think the daily dose of disease-fighting, inflammation-squelching antioxidants - long linked with heart protection - would be enough incentive, but wait, there's more! Lots more.

CUT YOUR CANCER RISK
Several polyphenols - the potent antioxidants green tea's famous for - seem to help keep cancer cells from gaining a foothold in the body, by discouraging their growth and then squelching the creation of new blood vessels that tumors need to thrive. Study after study has found that people who regularly drink green tea reduce their risk of breast, stomach, esophagus, colon, and/or prostate cancer.

SOOTHE YOUR SKIN
Got a cut, scrape, or bite, and a little leftover green tea? Soak a cotton pad in it. The tea is a natural antiseptic that relieves itching and swelling. Try it on inflamed breakouts and blemishes, sunburns, even puffy eyelids. And that's not all. In the lab, green tea helps block sun-triggered skin cancer, whether you drink it or apply it directly to the skin - which is why you're seeing green tea in more and more sunscreens and moisturizers.

STEADY YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE
Having healthy blood pressure - meaning below 120/80 - is one thing. Keeping it that way is quite another. But people who sip just half a cup a day are almost 50 percent less likely to wind up with hypertension than non-drinkers. Credit goes to the polyphenols again (especially one known as ECGC). They help keep blood vessels from contracting and raising blood pressure.

PROTECT YOUR MEMORY, OR YOUR MOM'S
Green tea may also keep the brain from turning fuzzy. Getting-up-there adults who drink at least two cups a day are half as likely to develop cognitive problems as those who drink less. Why? It appears that the tea's big dose of antioxidants fights the free-radical damage to brain nerves seen in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

STAY YOUNG
The younger and healthier your arteries are, the younger and healthier you are. So fight plaque build-up in your blood vessels, which ups the risk of heart disease and stroke, adds years to your biological age (or RealAge), and saps your energy too. How much green tea does this vital job take? About 10 ounces a day, which also deters your body from absorbing artery-clogging fat and cholesterol.

LOSE WEIGHT
Oh yeah, one more thing. Turns out that green tea speeds up your body's calorie-burning process. In the every-little-bit-counts department, this is good news!

[missy29]

Oh how I wish I could believe that last bit! I drink green tea religiously (at least 5 cups per day), and Im not losing any weight. Hmmm. Perhaps if i laid off the junk food!!

[Jacq-i]

Oooh, nice info. I love green tea!

[Vicky88]

Ooh I am drinking some right now. It's vile, but I'm glad it's good for me!

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

snapple Green tea, and the Lipton stuff doesn't really count. just FYI. (you might as well be drinking soda.

I think that refers to drinking the actual stuff. aka.. getting yourself a tea bag.. and making it. Its not as good as the stuff you get pre-made in bottles

[thestarsfall]

I hate the after taste of most green teas but my boyfriend bought me this stuff that he likes that has raspberry in it...it doesn't taste like green tea...it is excellent as a hot tea and it is pretty decent if you cool it down as an iced tea too...

[xiahe]

mmmm i love love love green tea! fujian green tea IMO is the best, it doesn't get bitter no matter how long you steep it =]

i've only found fujian tea in NY china town, tho..

[kimmy]

i'm a green tea addict, simply because i like the taste. i had no idea it was that good for you. right on!

[as_cute_as_pie]

heh ive just found this
i love green tea i think it tastes like normal tea
though most people say its vile i cant see much of a difference?

[Hilly]

ooohh I can tell the difference! Bleeechh!!

[chameleonmary]

i loathe green tea, ive given it many chances but it always lets me down... mind you i try the pure green tea, apparently the teabag ones arent as strong or something like that.

has anyone tried the green tea extract capsules? ive been thinking of trying them in the place of tea.

[yumin1988]

lol...
Green Tea is nice!
apparently there are also differences in the green tea of japanese origin and chinese origin i think?

[amenonine]

i love green tea. lol
I found one thats of japanese origin and it tastes creamy and is green almost like matcha but not exactly XD

[mskitchmas]

The bitterness you may be tasting in some green tea is that it's been burned or oversteeped. Most green teas should be steeped in water below the boiling point. Most are best between 140-150 F. Some as low as 120, some as high as 185. Most don't need more than 2 minutes of steeping.

So give it another try with those little adjustments.

[Pirate]

Perfect, I found a huge boxful of little green tea boxes with 25 pouches of green tea leaves in each box. Turns out my mom is a green tea addict.
How do I use this? Ive always used a teabag and this is just loose tea.
Will it taste stronger or something?

[*Dani*]

Well, that's convinced me! I've just bought a pack of jasmine green tea, I'll just have to try and remember to actually drink it! I always have packets of different tea's hidden away in cupboards, because I forget I even have them!