
The health benefits of green tea are legendary. I could, I’m certain, write a 6,000 word essay on the powers of green tea and still not cover half of the information. Since I have a lunch date with my family in a few hours, I won’t launch into that right now. I know one thing, though, as usual, I’ll be ordering tea to drink.
Green tea isn’t just one of the smartest drinks anyone can choose, it might just be THE smartest one an individual at risk for heart disease could choose. Given the sobering fact that, each year, roughly 1.5 million Americans have a heart attack, it makes sense to do absolutely everything to make sure we don’t fall within this number. When lowering our risk is as simple as choosing the right drink to pour into our glass, it’d be ridiculous not to jump on board.
The following excerpt from Prevent a Second Heart Attack lays it all out beautifully:
Just like chocolate, tea is a form of plant food – and plants contain a plethora of phytochemicals that, when stacked together, will maximize the strength of your daily heart disease defense system. No doubt about it, a few daily cups of tea, and especially green tea, can provide cardiovascular protection via antioxidant and anti-inflammatory mechanisms.
There are three main varieties of tea – black, oolong, and green – and all are derived from the tea plant known as Camellia sinensis (Countless herbal infusions are informally referred to as “tea,” but these are unrelated to real tea produced from Camellia sinensis). Teas are classified based on how the leaves are processed, with the leaves of green tea being the least processed of the three varieties. Green tea is dried but not fermented; hence it retains the greatest amount of polyphenols.
What exactly is in green tea that wards off heart disease? Researchers believe that the primary therapeutic component in green tea is another type of flavonoid, the catechin family of plant polyphenols, found in exceptionally high concentration. The most abundant of the green tea polyphenols is called epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG for short. EGCG is believed to be the most active health-protective component in green tea. (Incidentally, green tea contains 40 percent more polyphenols than black tea.) According to researchers out of the University of Hong Kong, EGCG is a highly effective agent for lowering inflammation in the bloodstream as well as reducing oxidation of LDL, thereby protecting against plaque buildup. – Page 225, Prevent a Second Heart Attack by Janet Bond Brill, PH.D., R.D., LDN
Did you know that research shows that drinking tea may reduce the risk of death following a heart attack. A study showed that people who drank two or more cups a day had a 44 percent lower death rate following their heart attacks than did non-tea drinkers.
Some of the health benefits of drinking tea may come from the fact that it keeps you from drinking soft drinks and diet soft drinks – both of which aren’t even remotely healthy. It’s always the right time for tea… so I think I’ll go have a cup right now. – Joi
You can read my Prevent a Second Heart Attack Review by clicking the link. The article includes GREAT advice on heart health whether you’re looking to prevent a first or second heart attack! The author also answers some questions about heart health and heart attack prevention.
See Also: I’m not just a tea drinker or a tea lover… I’m actually a Crazy Tea Chick. Click the link for my tea blog!
How about adding ginger, mint leaves,cardamom, cinnamon, and tulasi (basil leaves)?!….i have been doing this for the past forty years and i know how effective it is!!! you have to just taste it to believe how fabulous the drink will be!! This besides confirmed health benefits of these ingredients is another big boost to one’s well being…………..
Hi! Thanks for sharing your thoughts about the healthy side of green tea. I am just wondering: I read in a research study that green tea has caffeine and that it can an increase in blood pressure. I really like to reap the benefits of green tea. However, I am also hypertensive. Are there decaffeinated green tea preparations? Thanks.
My grandma is having some heart problems, and she really needs some help. One of the things that she could be doing, like you said, is drinking green tea. I never would have guessed that green tea could help with someone’s heart. I’ll make sure I let her know about this right away! Thanks a ton for the information.
That is really cool that green tea can help strengthen your heart and keep you from getting heart diseases. Most of my ancestry has had some sort of heart disease so I am probably pretty prone to getting one myself. But maybe if I start drinking green tea it will help prevent me from getting any of those diseases. Thanks for the info on the health benefits of green tea.
Good to know about the benefits of green tea related to heart.
One more way to drink green tea is mixing it with honey- One way to make it more palatable, is to stir in a few drops of honey. Part from contributing to the overall health benefits of the tea, it will also make it easier to drink; effectively making you more likely to drink more. Together, they provide one of the best combinations for fighting off the common cold.
As the honey gently soothes your throat, the caffeine and sugar ease your symptoms and give you a boost of energy; reducing lethargy. Lastly, the antioxidants and catechins in this cold-killer prevent further colds with its immune boosting powers.
Thanks for sharing this healthy post 🙂
With the regular use of green tea your brain functions will improve and it help you in becoming smarter and sharp. So if you are student kindly use green tea over black tea and ordinary tea. Thanks for the post
I’m totally convinced that people who drink green tea live way longer! Look at all those Asians who live into their 90’s!
In addition to flavanoids many teas also have Theobromnine (one of the main active ingredients in chocolate)! This organic chemical can give you a mild stimulating effect but it can also give a relaxing effect to both muscular systems and blood pressure.
I also agree that simply the ritual of sitting with a warm drink and taking a minute to relax from the stress of the day has a really positive effect on overall health!
Thanks for the artilce
As an essential source of imparting health and energy, Green Tea is always used as a herbal medicine throughout the world. With the essential support of qualities like anti-oxidants and poly-phenols, it has managed to win hearts. Falling on the herbal end, it has also managed to gain excellence for awarding the best of health benefits.
*Shedding Extra Kilos
*Controlling Sugar Level
*Standing in the Way of Heart Attacks
*Preventing Oesophageal Cancer
*Controlling the Cholesterol
*Depression
*Skincare
Health is wealth for everyone and people are becoming conscious of maintaining an excellent physique.
Thanks for sharing such amazing benefits of green tea. I didn’t know about its medicinal benefits earlier. Now i’ll definitely start taking green tea instead of tea and also encourage other people to consider green tea 🙂
My husband had the first attack on 2014 and he switches to matcha green tea rather than coffee (after reading too many benefits ) and it really helps him. However, I am still cautious on too many things aside than the drinking hobbits.