Green tea: super food or not worth it?
Green tea – the antioxidant rich drink that has everyone on the internet talking. With so many types and so many effects, here is my summary to help you decide if green tea is the drink for you.
Benefits
- Green tea is loaded with antioxidants that are known to have anti-ageing properties and prevent against all sorts of diseases, like tooth decay, cancer cells, and rheumatoid arthritis in later years.
- Green tea can improve brain function. Packed with caffeine and L-theanine, an anti-anxiety amino acid, drinking two cups of green tea a day can kick-start your brain into being productive, without leaving you jittery (as coffee often does).
- For people who are sensitive to caffeinated drinks, green tea is sold in decaffeinated versions, found at all good grocery stores. Decaf green tea gives you all the benefits of antioxidants, without the added buzz.
- Green tea increases metabolism and burns calories. While effects vary on individual people, green tea has been proven to assist in the fat burning process. Caffeine itself can also help improve physical performance, by gathering energy from fatty acids already in the body.
Disadvantages
- People who do not consume a great deal of caffeine may find that green tea keeps them awake at night. Although there are decaf options available, they teas do not have all the same effects as caffeinated green teas, and are often stripped their ability to improve metabolism.
- Green tea often blocks the absorption of certain nutrients into the body. This can be potentially dangerous for individuals who are low in iron or anaemic, as iron absorption is often prevented.
- For individuals who do not brush their teeth regularly enough, green tea can stain teeth. Often, this discolouration becomes permanent when not prevented early.
- All caffeinated drinks increase the production of acid in the stomach. This can lead to stomach ulcers, as well as nausea and stomach cramps.
- Due to the large amount of antioxidants in green tea, the body needs to find a way to excrete toxins. For some, this can occur via the face and the scalp. People with oily skin are often most prone to oil excretion, and may find that their oily skin worsens when drinking the tea. Hair may also appear more oily and greasy than usual.
While there are a number of disadvantages to drinking green tea, often the benefits outweigh the negatives. Two weeks of drinking green tea daily will give you a good indication of whether or not green tea is a suitable beverage for you and your body.