If you ask most of those super slim girls roaming around in schools, universities and offices that what is the secret behind their uber smartness, the answer would make you tingle, “Green Tea”. An accurate estimation according to researchers is that 5 cups of green tea a day burns up to 80 calories which, although not sufficient to lose a pound in a week, may be beneficial if used in combination with other dietary regimens and exercises meant to reduce weight. Green tea’s true significance in reducing weight is that the extra 80 calories burned per day can be just what a person needs to tip the scale from a calorie surplus to a calorie deficit. So all you fitness freaks out there! Get a hold of yourself because now your fat reduction times will be doubly reduced if you use green tea with your exercise regimens.
It will come as a surprise to you if you don’t know this that Green Tea is actually prepared from where the Tea is derived i.e. Camellia sinensis, although those leaves are selected that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea has been widely used as a medicine in China for the last 4000 years, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. Today, medical research is providing hard evidence on the health benefits long associated with drinking Green Tea.
Among the many benefits of Green Tea, most of the research has been done on its benefits in cancers and its prevention. For example, in 1994, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that Green Tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by about 60 percent. The anti-tumor effect of Green Tea has been attributed to a catechin polyphenol that it contains i.e. epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant that besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells kills cancer cells without affecting the healthy tissue. EGCG has also been known to inhibit the abnormal formation of blood clots, which leads to its added importance in preventing heart attacks and stroke whose cause, more often than not, is thrombosis (abnormal clot formation) itself.
Green Tea has also been found to be helpful in preventing tooth decay. Similar to its activity in destroying bacteria that can be beneficial in food poisoning, it has the anti-bacterial spectrum against those microbes which cause dental plaque. For those people constantly using mouth fresheners in order to curb bad breath, it should be mentioned here that Green Tea is also advantageous in curbing smelly mouth odor in a similar way as its anti-plaque action.
The effects of Green Tea in maintaining physical beauty has been in the limelight in the last decade or so. The anti-oxidant properties of Green Tea have created a surge in products eager to capitalize on its natural benefits. All you have got to do is to simply make a concentrated Green Tea extract at home and add it to your daily beauty routine. Green Tea can also be used to make a facemask which will be helpful in removing toxins from the skin as well as leaving it silky smooth. This can be done by mixing 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise with one heaped teaspoon of organic Himalayan Green Tea leaves. Apply to skin, avoid contact with eye and leave it for 20 minutes. Rinse the mask off, dry and moisturize your face, feel the skin and voila!
So the next time you fancy a cuppa, consider going green. Not only will it provide you with a refreshing drink, it might help you ward off potential tumors, boost your health, slow aging process of the skin and even make you slimmer. Good Luck!