Recently, I have made a major change in my daily routine. Instead of heading to Starbucks each morning for my Grande iced coffee, I have officially made the switch to Iced Green Tea. Green tea is the healthiest beverage on this planet and is loaded with nutrients that are extremely beneficial to the body.

I’m going to break down 9 health benefits of drinking Green tea that have been confirmed in human research studies.

1.       Green Tea Contains Bioactive Compounds That Improve Health

Most of the bioactive compounds that are in the tea leaves make it into the final drink, which contains a vast number of important nutrients that are extremely beneficial.

There is something in our bodies called “Free Radicals.” These free radicals can become potentially dangerous to us because they are known to play a role in aging and all sorts of diseases including cancer. To understand a little more about what a free radical is, it is when an atom loses an electron and the bond is split, causing the free radical to steal electrons from other atoms, leading to a chain reaction of unpaired bonds. What actually helps the body repair these free radicals? Antioxidants. And green tea is loaded with them. These antioxidants in Green tea, like flavonoids and catechins reduce the formation of free radicals by donating an electron and repairing those free radicals floating around. There are also small amounts of minerals as well in green tea that are important for your health.

2.       Compounds That Improve Brain Function

Making your switch from coffee to green tea is easy because there is just as much caffeine, if not more in green tea. It produces an alert response without causing that jittery feeling that can make you feel light-headed, anxious, and uncomfortable. It increases the firing of neurons and neurotransmitters to keep you awake and vigilant.

Not only does green tea contain caffeine, it also has an amino acid in it called L-theanine, which is able to cross the blood-brain carrier. L-theanine has anti-anxiety effects. The combination of caffeine and this amino acid is extremely potent in improving brain function. Since I have switched from coffee to tea, I have felt more productive, alert, and longer lasting energy as opposed to when I was drinking coffee every day.

3.       Green Tea Increases Fat Burning Abilities

You might have noticed when purchasing supplements or any type of weight loss product, green tea is most likely an ingredient. Green tea has shown to boost your metabolic rate and fat burning percentage in human controlled trials. Green tea has shown to even increase physical performance by mobilizing fatty acid molecules from fat tissues and making them available for use as energy. (When exercising, fatty acids are the best source of energy) One study showed that fat oxidation was increased by 17% after drinking green tea. So, bottom-line is, green tea is extremely beneficial for burning fat and increasing energy.

4.       Green Tea Protects Your Brain in Old Age

We already discussed that Green tea can improve brain function in the short term, but it also protects your brain in old age as well. Green tea contains a compound called catechin, which has very protective effects on neurons. This potentially lowers the risk of getting Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, which are the most common neurodegenerative diseases in humans.

5.       Green Tea and Dental Health

As mentioned before, the antioxidant, catechin, in green tea can help with free radicals, however they also have some other biological effects as well. Catechins are shown to kill bacteria and help inhibit viruses like the flu and other harmful infections. Also, green tea is shown to inhibit the growth of Streptococcus mutans (harmful bacteria of the mouth) which causes tooth decay and cavities. So, consuming green tea is beneficial for dental health and killing off harmful bacteria. Lastly, it has been shown in studies to reduce bad breath!

6.       Green Tea for Skin Care

Green tea has been shown to help with wrinkles, sun spots, fine lines, and the signs of aging. This is because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Both human and animal studies have demonstrated that green tea products that are applied topically can even reduce sun damage.

7.       Green Tea and Cardiovascular Health

Cardiovascular diseases are the biggest causes of death in the world. Studies have shown that green tea can improve levels of LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol) and triglycerides, which are the main factors of these cardiovascular diseases. It also can largely increase the antioxidant capability in the blood, which protects the LDL cholesterol from oxidation, which is the first step in the pathway towards heart disease. People who drink Green tea have up to a 31% lower risk of developing these diseases.

8.       Green Tea Lowers Risk for Diabetes

As you probably already know, Type II diabetes has been a growing epidemic for the last few decades and is continuing to become even more of an issue as America continues down its path of unhealthy, unbalanced diets and massive portion sizes. This disease now affects about 29 million people in America. The disease involves having elevated blood sugar levels because of the body being unable to produce insulin. Studies have shown that green tea can improve insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar levels in the body. Green tea drinkers have an 18% lower risk of becoming diabetic, per a review of 7 studies with 286,701 participants.

9.       Depression

The amino acid L-theanine is known to help with anxiety, but also helps with depression by elevating your mood and making you feel tranquil. It stimulates a chemical in the brain called alpha waves, that help alter the levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine that can affect moods. It has a nice soothing, calming effect to it.

To sum up, consuming a cup of green tea daily definitely has numerous positive effects on the body that can help you live a long, happy, and healthy life.