What is Green Tea?
Green tea is made from tea leaves that were steamed or baked immediately after being harvested. Doing this prevents the leaves from oxidizing and gives the tea a lighter taste. It also allows the tea to retain more of its inherent nutrients, which is what gives green tea its health benefits.
What Are the Health Benefits of Green Tea?
Green tea has many health benefits, including anti-oxidant properties, stress relief and can also help ward off the flu.
How Does Green Tea Protect Your Cells?
Most of the health benefits of green tea come from polyphenols, which plays an important role in plants’ ability to help protect their cells from external damage. It has been shown when we eat polyphenols that they can also protect our cells from the damage caused by oxidation. This is why foods and drinks containing polyphenols are said to be anti-oxidants.
Green Tea Can Help Relieve Stress and Enhance Your Mood
Green tea has a unique amino acid called l-theanine. It increases serotonin levels and can reduce stress and anxiety.
Green Tea Can Ward off The Flu
Green tea also contains specific polyphenols that help kill viruses and bacteria called catechins, which means that green tea may be what you need to ward off sickness during cold and flu season. That also means it kills the bacteria in your mouth, so make sure to get as much green tea as possible before your next trip to the dentist!
Adding Green Tea to Your Diet
Drink-It – This one may seem obvious, but green tea doesn’t always have to be served hot! Check out this video to turn your favorite hot green tea into a refreshing iced drink!
Add It To a Smoothie – I use green tea as a base for my smoothie every single morning! It’s a great way to pack in even more nutrients and I love the way it tastes. Here is my personal recipe:
• 1 cup Salada Pomegranate Berry Green Tea
• 1 cup kale
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 apple
• 1 banana
• 1 tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 splash of lemon juice
• 1 scoop of Whey protein powder
If the ingredients seem overwhelming start slow. Try 1 cup of green tea, 1 fruit, 1 vegetable and 1 scoop of protein powder or Greek yogurt. Experiment with it and make it your own!
Cook With It – In many recipes you can simply replace the water with green tea. This is great for soups, marinades and brines. Check out my Cooking With Tea blog for some more detailed recipes and ideas for cooking with tea.
Regardless of how you get it into you, green tea is a great addition to anyone’s day! If you have any unique or creative ways that you enjoy green tea I would love to hear about them. Leave them in the comments below!
Article first appeared on totalgymdirect.com.
