Green Tea Diet – Improve your Health

With the health consciousness phase that has been going on in this country for several decades, you would almost have to be a hermit not to have heard about the green tea diet. It is one of the more healthy, herbal and natural diets around. There are so many health benefits connected with this tea that it is hard to disagree with the results that have been found. Let’s have a look at them:

Health Benefits possibly Connected with Drinking Green Tea

  • Cancer fighting
  • Reduces risk of heart disease
  • Lowers cholesterol
  • Burns fat
  • Helps prevent cavities and plaque formation
  • Helps to avoid getting the flu by improving the immune system
  • Improves bone density
  • Supports preventing diabetes
  • Supports preventing strokes
  • Slows or helps prevent dementia
  • Contains important antioxidants needed for good health

The way that the potent antioxidants in green tea work, is that they “hunt” for particles that can damage DNA and cause cancer, blood clots and other health problems, and then rids the body of them. There are other foods and beverages that are commonly found also containing similar antioxidants such as red wine, blueberries, grapes and dark chocolate.

The best green tea is more beneficial health wise than black tea because of the processing involved. Oolong and black tea leaves are fermented and the leaves for green tea are steamed and withered so the antioxidants are more concentrated.

Studies in Japan

The most complete studies have been done in laboratories and there have been great results for inhibiting the growth of cancer cells. It is known that in countries like Japan the percentage of people getting cancer is lower than in countries, where people drink less or almost no green tea. Human studies have mostly been done in countries where green tea is pretty much a main stay in their diet, so it is hard to know for sure if the green tea is the only influence for good health or if the lifestyle and high fish and soy consumption is also the reason. But the results have been found intriguing enough in the human studies showing inhibited growth of cancer in patients that drink a minimum of two cups daily.

In patients studied in Japan and Denmark that have followed the green tea diet plan, drinking at least four cups daily of green tea, they have had less severe coronary heart problems and blood vessel clogging. The antioxidants in green tea make them dilators helping to make the blood vessels more flexible and less prone to clog. Important to know is that green tea alone should not take all the credit, overall diet and lifestyle also plays a critical part in the outcome.

Green Tea Diet and Weight Loss

The following characteristics are said to be connected with following a green tea diet:

  • Can fight obesity
  • Suppresses appetite
  • Energy booster
  • Burns fat by increasing metabolic rates
  • Lowers LDL (the “bad” cholesterol)
  • Caffeinated variety tends to be more effective
  • Weight loss and lower blood pressure go hand-in-hand

It seems that more studies every day regarding fad diet formulas are finding that many are more harmful than helpful, so people are leaning more toward natural solutions to help solve their weight problems. What could be more natural or easy than having a cup of green tea a couple of times a day? Some cultures in asia have been doing just that for centuries for all the health benefits.

Increase your metabolism

The reason for using a green tea dieting strategy is that it tends to increase your metabolism and dissolves fat without raising your blood pressure. Usually when lowering your caloric intake, it means a loss of energy. The addition of green tea, which contains guarana, gives you a natural energy booster. If you have a hard time minimizing your food intake, but can still exercise, adding green tea will aid weight loss. If you can lower your food intake also, the addition of the green tea will help even more. There is also Siberian ginseng in green tea, which improves stamina giving you more energy.

Green Tea Diet Pills

If you do not like the taste of green tea or the thought of drinking several cups a day does not thrill you, there are green tea supplements (for example in the form of pills). Drinking the actual tea has been found to be more beneficial, but either will help. Green tea has not been found to cure anything totally. It should be used as a complement to a good diet. And that includes vegetables, fruits, seeds, grains and nuts and a healthy lifestyle. It cannot hurt, so you might as well give it a try. But in case you have doubts, don’t hesitate to ask your doctor on the effects and benefits of a green tea diet to you.