Green tea may sound like it’s from the unripe leaves of the tea plant. This is not the case. The color has to do with how it’s dried, not how ripe the leaves are. The drying process also affects its benefits in a positive manner.
Of all types of processed tea leaves, green tea has the most antioxidants. The polyphenols in these leaves can help reduce free radicals which can cause serious damage to the human body. While black and oolong tea also contain polyphenols, they aren’t as strong.
If you take weight loss supplements, you are probably familiar with green tea. It is found in several supplements which use a combination approach to weight loss. You can also find it by itself.
When I speak to my clients about weight loss supplements, green tea is one of the few I suggest. Besides helping boost metabolism and decrease hunger, the other health benefits make it the best choice. Fair warning: if you want to just drink the tea, it takes twelve cups to equal one dose of the supplements.
There is a new study published in the Journal of Dietetic Association that indicates green tea may be helpful in the fight against high LDL cholesterol. The benefits seemed to come from those who drank the tea rather than those who took the supplement, though both groups showed a slight reduction in LDL cholesterol. All of those who used tea rather than the placebo showed some reduction.
The study concentrated on people who were already dealing with high cholesterol. More studies need to be done to figure out why it helps and what dosages are safe to use. A few people who were taking the extract version of the tea had liver problems, but it is uncertain if it was caused by the tea or another component of the extract.
Please keep in mind that a) this reduction is slight. No more than five or six points were shaved off, and b) this study is preliminary. It is never a good idea to stop taking a medication without checking with your doctor and that holds true here. You may benefit from adding green tea to your supplement program, but you should not stop taking your cholesterol medications.
If you are a caffeine addict and want to cut down a little, green tea may be right for you. While it does contain the tannic acid, it is not in the same amounts found in coffee.
Green tea in food amounts should be safe for most people. However, before you start taking green tea or any other herbal remedy in supplement amounts, it’s a good idea to talk to your doctor and pharmacist. This will help cut down the risks of serious side effects and drug/herb interactions.