Japanese people drink green tea several times a day. If you ask a Japanese person about the health benefits, they will discuss it with you for hours. They will list such things as health, long life, keeping thin, makes your brain faster.

Everyone in Japan says it’s healthy for you. I also noticed that Japanese drink green tea after every meal, and several restaurants in Japan serve green tea right before you finish eating.

So I looked into it.

I didn’t know much about green tea until I visited Japan. I drank tea as a child and young adult, but it was sun tea or an American tea. In my late teens, I stopped drinking tea because my sense of taste changed. Tea became too bitter to enjoy. Years later, after moving to Japan and hearing all the hype, I picked up some green tea at the local store in Kawaguchi, Saitama.

The tea was light, refreshing, and I enjoyed drinking it. After this turn of events, I started trying several types of Japanese tea. I found that this process rekindled my love for tea. I picked my favorites and started enjoying them. Finding my favorites was a long process because there are so many teas to choose from in Japan.

I ordered tea from Amazon and searched all the local markets and convenience stores. Each place I checked had different tea. It took several months to make a list that I felt was complete. I thought if I’m drinking tea for my health, why not enjoy what I’m drinking.

I also started looking into the health benefits of green tea. I was blown away by the long list of reasons to drink green tea on health websites. Japanese people are correct. Everyone would be healthier if they had a few cups of green tea a day.

Let’s review some of the health benefits of green tea.

Green Tea Health Benefits

Weight Loss

Switching from sugar drinks to green tea will help you lose weight. Some studies show that drinking green tea will help you lose weight, but other studies show that green tea is no help. Hopefully, they can come up with a consensus soon about this topic. Japanese people are thin, and they drink gallons of green tea a week.

Japanese will tell you that green tea will keep the weight off. I switched from sugar drinks to green tea, and in just a few weeks, I lost 40 pounds without doing anything extra. The decrease in sugar and an increase in water was a significant factor in this. I can say that switching to green tea helped me to lose weight.

Cancer Preventative

Studies have started to show that green tea can kill cancer cells and help good cells grow. It will be years before we know for sure, but the initial findings are promising.

If drinking green tea might remotely help prevent or kill cancer, then I’m going to drink it. If the study finds that green tea can kill cancer cells, then I have a head start.

Diabetes

Studies have shown that drinking green tea each day will help keep your blood sugar stable, which is excellent news for anyone afflicted with this disease.

High and low blood sugar is catastrophic to the human body. The issues range from blurred vision, headaches, and confusion on the low side to significant damage to blood vessels on the high side. The result is a  continual deterioration of health, which can lead to death.

I would drink gallons of green tea each week if I had these health issues. Your body is attacking itself.

Heart Healthy

Several studies have shown green tea can keep blood pressure steady and lower cholesterol. So, green tea can help prevent several of the issues that cause heart-related problems.

Anyone can benefit from a healthy heart. I don’t need a heart illness like high blood pressure slowing me down. I’ve got too much to see and do.

Your Brain on Green Tea

Have you ever heard of Alzheimer’s? Well, green tea helps to block the formation of plaques that cause the degeneration. Green tea boosts the memory area of brains where the disease happens.

With clean, healthy blood vessels in the brain, each part can get the oxygen and nutrients it needs to stay healthy. Heart and brain health connect in this way because clogged veins cause problems no matter where they are.

I don’t want to lose my memories, so I’ll be drinking green tea for the rest of my life. I have seen people who have Alzheimer’s, and it’s heartbreaking.

Just Relax

Drinking green tea is relaxing. It takes a while to prepare and drink tea. This process slows you down and helps you relax but did you know that green tea has a natural chemical built-in that relaxes you.

The natural chemical is called Theanine. Theanine and other natural substances in the tea work best when the water you add to tea is not boiling. Make cold or lukewarm tea instead, so the natural chemicals in the tea aren’t killed.

Add some lemon, and tea is complete. The lemon provides Vitamin C, which aids in the absorption of the natural chemicals in green tea. You’ll get the maximum health benefits from your cup of tea.

The pricier the tea, the more natural chemicals it has. So if you always buy premium green tea, you’ll get more benefits than low cost or premade green tea.

Cure-All?

Green tea is not a cure-all, but it can improve your health and make you feel better, as several studies have shown. You also need a healthy diet, no smoking, and an active lifestyle to have the maximum benefits.

Check out my review on some yummy green tea!

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Do you like green tea? What is your favorite? What health benefits do you enjoy from green tea? Please let me know in the comment section below.

Have a question about green tea? Leave your question in the comment section below.