Drinking green tea, and its cousin black tea or oolong tea, has been a
custom in many countries for thousands of years. The tea is made
from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. Everyone world wide
enjoys a good cup of tea; however the benefits of drinking tea are not
as wide-spread as they could be. Tea is without a doubt good for
your health, helps with high blood pressure, keeping your heart
ticking, aids in blood flow, keeps your bones strong, reduces your
waist line, gobbles up belly fat and helps clean your kidneys plus a
few more but I think you get the drift.

There is a difference in color between teas. This is a by-product of
production. Green tea is the same as black tea however black tea is
left out to ferment while drying. This process changes the color to
black. It is a milder tasting tea and I would assume why it is a bit
more popular. Oolong ferments about ½ the amount of time black tea
ferments. Green tea is steamed and then let dry to keep the flavor
intact. Green tea has nutrient rich properties that other beverages do
not possess. It is rich in certain phytonutrients called catechins. This
nutrient contains many different compounds but in an average cup of
tea it provides about 125 mg of catechins.

Green, black and oolong tea possess health benefits as stated above.
The phytonutrients or catechins found in the teas act to eradicate free
radicals from your body. These free radicals are believed to be
precursors to many health problems in our society. Green tea is
however more powerful in this area than the other two, because the
amount of catechins in green tea is more then double.

Teas do have a positive effect on reducing high blood pressure.
Drinking just one cup a day can reduce your chances of high blood
pressure by 80% according to a new Chinese study.
Your heart also benefits from tea consumption. Tea helps keep
arteries clear and reduces cholesterol. Both have an enormous impact
on longevity. Studies show that drinking 2 cups of tea per day can
extend your life by 40%. Now that is worth thinking about.

For the women out there reading this you will also enjoy the simple
fact that drinking tea strengthens and increase bone density. This
really helps postmenopausal women. Just make sure you get your
calcium and vitamin D everyday in addition to drinking green tea.

Now the best part about green tea, or all teas mentioned above in my
opinion, is their ability to reduce your belly line. The least appreciate
value of green tea is its catechins ability to interfere with fat digesting
enzymes in the stomach and small intestines. This results in incomplete
digestion of fat lipids. This leads to fewer fats absorbed by the
intestinal tract and more elimination of fat lipids. It has another benefit
as a fat storage inhibiter.  It also helps the body transfer from sugar
burning to fat burning. This improves the belly line as you use more fat
for energy. The increase fat burning is contributed to “thermogenisis”
or heat production by your body. You can lose over a pound a month
just by drinking a cup or two of tea per day. Now couple that with a
good nutrition plan and exercise plan and you are in business.
There is evidence that stress and depression are associated with
increased abdominal fat. Stress and anxiety plus depression increase
the stress hormone cortisol. This hormone aids in the collection of
body fat in the abdominal region. Green tea seems to have amino
acid, which counteracts cortisols effect. The amino acid is called L-theanine.

The benefits of drinking tea are documented and more studies are in
progress to help us understand the great benefits of the wonderful
drink. Tea helps with all kinds of ailments and should be part of
anyone’s overall health plan. Please feel free to pass this article on to
anyone you wish. If you want to know more about how to reduce
your body fat level and improve your abdominal muscles, look to:
http://www.flattenyourabs.net
David Grisaffi
 

Filed under: Fat Loss by admin