Why You Should Drink Green Tea
Without fail, whenever someone has talked to me about losing weight, increasing their metabolic rate, losing fat, or just being healthy, they have always brought up green tea. To many individuals, green tea is one of the healthiest drinks out there and is always the “go to” drink when they want to reach some sort of health goal.
And by no means, are they wrong.
Green tea is actually one of the most beneficial teas and beverages to drink that may not only increase your metabolism or help you last fat, it may also be a key determinant in helping you avoid cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and may even help you live longer.
Tea Time in Cayman’s Go Green
Tea Time in Cayman understood the power in green tea when they included Go Green as one of their staple teas in their tea line. Go Green is a Maojian green tea which was originally produced in Xinyang, Henan China. Maojian green tea includes antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, and may even help with stimulating one’s metabolism. Maojian green tea is also considered one of the top teas in Xingyan and one of the most potent teas around today.
This potency is due to the fact that many of the teas in Xingyan are planted in areas of high altitude where there is abundant rain fall and fertile soil. These growing conditions allow the trees to absorb more nutrients, thus producing a higher quality and more potent green tea. All these factors and the benefits listed later on in this post, is why green tea, in particular Go Green, should be a part of everyone’s health regime and life.
I first tried Tea Time’s Go Green a couple years ago when I started working at PwC. If I’m honest, I’m not a huge green tea fan as green tea is just a bit too strong for me, but I knew when I first tried Go Green that it was of high quality and more potent/pure than a lot of other green teas I’ve tried before. However, because I am a HUGE peppermint tea fan and absolutely adore Tea Time’s Peppermint tea, I typically mix both the Go Green and Peppermint teas together so I can still enjoy the benefits of green tea, while also enjoying my favorite tea with it.
Why We All Should Drink Green Tea
Yet, although I am not a huge green tea fan, that by no means reduces the importance of having green tea in one’s health regime. I still do my best to incorporate it into my regular tea times as much as I can. Furthermore, as noted in the health benefits below, green tea is one of the most beneficial beverages out there, and is a necessary tool to proactively fight against many of the health issues that are so prevalent in society.
Kris Gunnars, a BSc and author on Authority Nutrition notes that green tea is probably one of the healthiest drinks in the world, and that there are at least 10 benefits to regularly consuming green tea. These include the following:
1. Green tea contains bio-active compounds that improve health: Many of the antioxidants in the tea leaves make it into the final tea drink and are loaded with minerals and antioxidants that help fight free radicals that can form in the body.
2. Compounds in green tea may improve brain function: Green tea contains a small dosage of caffeine and an amino acid L-theanine which can work together to activate neurotransmitters that increase anti-anxiety effects and dopamine.
3. Green tea may increase fat burning and improves physical performance: For some individuals, the caffeine and in the green tea can mobilize fatty acids to be used as energy in physical activity.
4. Antioxidants in tea may lower your risk of cancer: Since cancer is caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells, green tea may help reduce the risk of cancer by fighting against this uncontrolled growth with its high dosage of antioxidants.
5. Green tea may protect your brain in old age: As we age, the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s is quite high. The catechin antioxidants in green tea can provide protective effects on our neurons, which may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neuro-degenerative diseases.
6. Green tea may kill bacteria: Green tea may kill bacteria that leads to various viruses like influenza and can even kill bacteria that causes bad breath! HINT: Order green tea on a date 😉
7. Green tea may lower your risk of type 2 diabetes: Studies have shown that green tea may improve insulin sensitivity and reduce high levels of blood sugar, both of which are key factors in developing type 2 diabetes.
8. Green tea may lower your risk of cardiovascular disease: Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death around the world. Green tea may reduce the main factors of cardiovascular disease, such as total cholesterol (HDL and LDL), LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides.
9. Green tea may help you lose weight and reduce risk of obesity: Studies have shown that green tea may lead to reduced body fat, especially in the abdominal area
10. Green tea may reduce your risk of dying early and help you live longer: A study done over a select Japanese population showed that those who regularly drank a high amount of green tea were less likely to die over a 6 to 11 year period.
This all goes to say, green tea is a must have to love our bodies and keep it healthy. And in my honest opinion, Go Green should be everyone’s go-to-choice for green tea.
How to Get Go Green
If you would like to try Go Green, it is is available all around Grand Cayman in various stores such as: Kirk Market, Bay Market, Foster’s Food Fair (the Strand), Island Naturals Cafe, Pure Art, the Cayman Islands National Museum, and many more. Go Green is also served in a few restaurants such as Gelato & Co and the Grand Old House!
For more information on where you can find Go Green, visit Tea Time’s website here, as well as email Kadi and Kelli at info@teatimeincayman.ky for more information or to make a special order.
Green Tea Challenge
So my friends, whether you are a lover of green tea or not, incorporating Go Green into your health regime is something definitely worth doing to have a healthy body and mind. You may be like me and have to mix it with peppermint or you may be able to drink it straight up. Regardless of how you choose to drink it, the healthy benefits of green tea are far too vast and comprehensive to NOT drink green tea.
So, this upcoming month, May 2016, I want to challenge myself to drink more green tea and reap all of its benefits. My goal is to drink at least two cups of Go Green a week, for a total of minimum 8-10 cups for the month of May!
Is green tea something you’ve been wanting to try or consistently incorporate into your health regime? Well, join me on this challenge!
If you will, please leave a comment to let me know and also go get your own supply of Go Green from one of the retailers above!
For my friends overseas who may not have access to Go Green, go get the best quality green tea out there! And still join me!
I don’t know about you, but I want to live the healthiest life I possibly can and be able to not only survive, but thrive in every area of my life because my body is healthy. It seems that green tea is one of the ways to do this, so I’m going to take the leap and Go Green!
