The benefits of Green Tea
Green tea has long been consumed as a health promoting beverage, its medicinal properties tracing back to ancient Chinese and Japanese traditional medicine. Due to its believed benefits, green tea is commonly referred to as herbal tea.
What is Green Tea?
Green tea is a type of brewed tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant. While most conventional teas are made from the leaves of the same plant, green tea goes through a process of heating and drying the leaves for a shorter time, which helps maintain their natural green hue and more of the antioxidants that give green tea its health benefits.
Green Tea as Herbal Tea
Green tea is broadly classified as an herbal tea, although most purists consider herbal teas to be those that don’t contain caffeine or come from the Camellia sinensis plant – such as chamomile, peppermint or roibus. Green tea does contain caffeine, and while it may contain a moderate amount of caffeine compared to coffee, it still has caffeine meaning it is not a “true” herbal tea.
The Benefits of Green Tea
Despite not being categorized as a true herbal tea, Green tea still provides numerous health benefits. Many of green tea’s health benefits are attributed to its high antioxidant content. Antioxidants help protect your body against environmental stress. Here are some of the medical benefits of green tea:
- Antioxidants from Green Tea can help reduce inflammation and improve skin. The flavonoids found in green tea can act as an antioxidant and help protect against free radical damage.
- Anthocyanins from green tea may help protect cardiovascular health. The anthocyanins found in green tea act as antioxidants, which may help reduce inflammation and protect blood vessels.
- Green tea can help improve mental alertness. The caffeine found in green tea can help increase alertness and focus as well as improve physical performance.
- Green tea can help with weight loss. The combination of caffeine and catechins found in green tea can help increase metabolism and fat burning, thus aiding in weight loss.
Conclusion
While green tea is not a true, caffeine-free herbal tea, it is still a highly beneficial beverage that is loaded with antioxidants and other potent medicinal properties. Incorporating green tea into your daily routine is an easy and delicious way to enjoy the benefits of natural herbal teas, while still having access to the added boost of the caffeine in the green tea.
