Green Tea Nutrition

That’s right. You can drink plain green tea all day long without ingesting a single calorie. The total green tea calories without any additives or sweeteners is zero.  Not only does green tea help with weight loss by boosting your metabolism and reducing hunger, consumption of green tea can be guilt free for those looking to shed a few pounds.

Now some people like their green tea mixed with things and that’s fine if their goal isn’t weight loss.  A grande (the medium size) green tea latte from Starbucks has 190 calories.  Green tea certainly has other nutritious benefits besides weight loss and a green tea latte is truly a delicious drink in and of itself.

We here at Green Tea Nutrition definitely drink lots of green tea lattes …  probably a few more than we should!

But what about if you don’t particularly like the taste of green tea and you still want don’t want to add any calories to your drink?  Simple, add a zero calorie sweetener to your green tea and improve the taste without adding calories that you don’t want. We recommend Splenda since it tastes great and since the FDA hasn’t found any health risks associated with it.

Whether you are drinking green tea as an aid to weightloss, or for it’s other nutritional benefits, or just because you like the taste, it’s great to know that green tea can fit into any diet. So drink away, guilt free!

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Green Tea’s polyphenols can help you reduce your risk of disease and help slow the effects of aging, some studies suggest.

Green Tea’s polyphenols are the naturally-occurring antioxidents that give green tea it’s flavor and provide disease prevention and treatment benefits. The major polyphenols are epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin and epigallocatechine gallate (EGCG).

EGCG contains 200 times the amount of antioxident level of Vitamin E, studies suggest.

How about that! Scientists have long-purported that Vitamin E is one of the strongest weapons in our arsenal against aging. And who doesn’t want to look younger longer?

It makes sense why Asian cultures tend to exhibit a more youthful appearance into later life because green tea’s anti-aging ingredient EGCG.

When your immune system is stronger, often attributed to healthy habits, your body is more prepared to Green tea’s polyphenols also provide nutrition needed to boost your immune system, which protects your body against bacteria, diease, fungi and other nasty critters. Your immune system helps you fight off infection and keep your organs and tissues safe and sound.

With the help of EGCG, your immune system is more equipped to fight against the decaying of your body’s cells, including your skin. Drinking green tea and taking in it’s anti-aging polyphenols thus help you maintain more youthful-appearing skin longer because your body is able to protect itself against damage

So can a green tea diet stop aging altogether? Of course not! But drinking green tea regularly, which some suggest drinking at least five cups a day, can keep you strong and energized.

If drinking that many cups of green tea per day sounds like more hassle than its worth, consider taking green tea extract supplements.

Technorati Tags: anti-aging, Green Tea, green tea diet, Skin Care, youth

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Green Tea’s nutritional value is rooted in the tea’s history.

In the 12th century, Zen Monk Eisai brought tea seeds from China to Japan and also relayed the 10 virtues of tea.

Regular green tea drinkers will be able to relate to these virtues. Here are the 10 Virtues of tea:

1. Tea has the blessing of all the Deities
2. Tea promotes filial piety
3. Tea drives away the devil
4. Tea banishes drowsiness
5. Tea keeps the Five Viscera (organs) in harmony
6. Tea wards off disease
7. Tea strengthens friendships
8. Tea disciplines body and mind
9. Tea destroys the passions
10. Tea gives a peaceful death

Talk about an amazing drink. It’s not wonder that green tea has grown into a cultural phenomenon in Japan and other parts of Asia.

Now if anyone asks, you can give an even better answer for why you love drinking green tea

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Green Tea image by Kanko*

Ever notice that when drinking green tea, the tea’s caffeinated properties boost your mental functioning and alertness, but you still feel relaxed?

The secret?

Theanine!

Green Tea contains the special amino acid (the building blocks of protein) Theanine, which is unique to green tea.

Theanine makes up half of the amino acid concentration in green tea, adding heavily to the taste of the tea.

What’s more incredible about this amino acid is that L-theanine is one of few amino acids that enters into the brain, counteracting some of caffeine’s stimulant effects.

Green Tea’s L-theanine is able to instill relaxation in tea drinkers because the amino acid alters levels of serotonine, dopamine and other neurotransmitters while interacting with brain receptors associated with relaxation.

Green Tea’s wonder amino acid has been found to reduce anxiety, increase alpha brain wave activity, lower blood pressure, improve learning ability and even boost immune systems, studies find.

There you have it. L-theanine allows caffeine to do its work and keep you alert while also helping you feel at ease. Sounds like a good drink to have to get you through the work day, doesn’t it?

I learned most of this information from a great book called The Green Tea Book. If you’re interested in learning more about Green Tea Health Benefits, check it out!

Technorati Tags: amino acid, Green Tea, green tea health, relaxation, theanine

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