An epidemiological study was conducted in 1994, and the results showed that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in both men and women by 60%! Other studies show that green tea is very helpful to lower the overall cholesterol levels and balance in favor of good cholesterol.

The main benefits include helping with cancer, infections, high cholesterol issues, impaired immune function, cardiovascular diseases and rheumatoid arthritis.

The components that bring all these benefits are called catechin polyphenols, and inside this group there is one particular anti-oxidant that stands out among the rest: epigallocatechin gallate or EGCG.

As an antioxidant, EGCG inhibits the growth of cancer cells, and also kills these cells without making any damage to healthy tissue. As it has been said, it lowers cholesterol and aids in preventing heart attacks and strokes thanks that it prevents the formation of abnormal blood clots. This component also limit the negative effects of smoking and a diet with fat. As a matter of fact, it has been found out that heart disease is low in Japan despite that fact that 60% of Japanese people are smokers.

Relatively new studies have also shown that there may be more even more benefits:  In 1999, the American Journal of Nutrition found evidence that drinking green tea could help in dieting by allowing you to burn more calories. Also it can prevent tooth decay thanks to the fact that it is an excellent agent to fight bacteria.

On the other hand, if we are going to talk about negative effects, we won’t find anything serious. Drinking green tea has been linked to insomnia because it contains caffeine. But the levels of caffeine in green tea are much lower than the levels found on coffee, so unless you don’t drink a lo of green tea throughout the day, this isn’t really a major problem.

The benefits of drinking this tea are real and you can take advantage of this in your battle against excess weight.

Studies have shown that green tea increases the metabolic rates and speeds up fat oxidation. According to Abdul G. Dulloo, from the University of Geneva, author of a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

“Green tea has thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se,”

Now, there are some people that say this study was done in a small group, and that possibly the benefits of weight loss won’t be too big on an obese person. But having talked to many people like me, who drink green tea on a regular basis I know that green tea can be a powerful ally to drop excess weight!

Of course, you won’t lose a lot of weight just by drinking green tea, and you won’t lose ANY pound of fat if you continue eating unhealthy food; but with a good nutrition and exercise schedule you could be seriously boosting your efforts.

Also, keep in mind that you can go beyond green tea metabolism benefits.  This tea contains powerful antioxidants (flavonoids) that can help protect heart disease, cancer and stroke. If you are a coffee drinker, it would be a very wise idea to swap it for green tea.  This way you can take advantage f that boost in metabolism every day.

Green tea can be found in the form of “tea bags”, capsules and even powder, you will reap the benefits in any presentation you choose, although you can save a lot of money just opting for tea bags.

It offers the same benefits as other presentations, so there should be no worries about that.  But powder is for many people a more convenient way to get the green tea, as you can instantly prepare it in a cup of hot water – or iced water as I tend to recommend! But you can also go beyond that.

For example a delicious way to use powder is on a vanilla ice cream, or if you are trying to lose weight with green tea you can add it to some healthy yogurt.  But surely you can get more creative!

Powders are great – and did you know that one green the benefit is that it improves the health of your skin? It helps in the renewal of skin cells in the body, and among other things it will help you elevate your protection against sun exposure – which in turn will help you avoid premature signs of aging and dry skin.

But well, going back to the topic of powders.  I would say that they are not needed – I still think that the best way to get your green tea is also the most affordable – BUT powder can be extremely convenient in some cases and also especially useful if you want to integrate green tea into food. Drinking green tea is not the only way!

There are different brands providing powders in the market nowadays, so always be sure that you are buying a high quality product. In this sense, Internet can be very helpful determining which brands provide a higher quality of organic green tea.

At first, this tea was grown by farmers who had a small space to plant it for personal consumption, but these days farmers have large crops, especially in the Fujian province, where tea is produced for export.

The traditional way of cultivating Chinese green tea is to collect the seeds during October, to let them germinate during the winter months. This traditional way of cultivating tea lasted until the 19th century and now the production is done with variations.

China has about 18 regions where green tea is produced, and all of them have tea of excellent quality. If you start to dig into the many variations of the tea, you might end somewhat confused because there are different names based on the quality and method of manufacture. To this, you have to add the fact that each province has its own way of calling a tea.

For example, when we talk about Chunmme, Zhenmei, Janmei and Eyebrow Tea, we are talking about the exact same tea but with different names in the West, Pinyin, Canton respectively.

With the “discovery” of quality and benefits of Chinese green tea, China has seen how their exports have increased. People who know a lot about teas are amazed by the different flavors and types of tea that come from this part of the World. China is the older and second largest producer of green tea (behind Japan), with over 700,000 tons of Chinese green tea sent to many countries around the Globe.

Green tea is great for your health, and by drinking it, you’ll start finding out how this great herb has a positive effect in every system of your body. It helps lowering bad cholesterol levels, regulate blood pressure (and subsequently reduce any heart failure problems), prevent and control cancer, strengthen the immune system, fight infections, improve your skin and prevent dental cavities.

In China, they consume 80% of the green tea they produce. This has helped preventing many diseases in China, and as a tradition, it is something that will never die. If you are planning to drink delicious green tea, then you have to try this one.

Organic farming makes no use of any type of chemicals and this includes pesticides and fertilizers.  Natural compost is used to enrich the soil used for farming; this process adds more nutrients to the soil.  One of the main advantages for farmers is that they don’t spend much money replacing green tea plants.  Since they follow a natural cycle, the plantation can endure for many years.

When you go out seeking for an organic green tea alternative, you need to look for proper certification.  Japanese products are regulated by the Japan Organic and Natural Foods Association, while in the USA, the organization in charge of this is the United States Department of Agriculture. Both agencies examine the practices of different plantations and ensure that the “organic” requirements are met.

Organic green tea is one of the most popular herbs these days.  It has a much better taste than tea grown using chemicals, and it can bring you numerous health benefits.

Did you know that all teas (white, green, oolong, or black) come from the same plant? This plant is called camellia sinensis, and the difference lies in the way it is processed.  Green tea is a type of tea that is processed minimally, retaining its high quantities of phytochemicals, polyphenols and flavanoids, that help us fighting free radicals and reducing cholesterol.

Organic green tea has been used since ancient times by Chinese herbalists who used it to treat the skin, diabetes and cholesterol.  As you may know form reading our green tea benefits section, this plant is rich in antioxidants. Recent studies show that green tea help lowering bad cholesterol and increasing good cholesterol.

If you haven’t tried organic tea yet, you can find it in many natural stores and also online, in specialized stores and even in online retailers such as Amazon.  It would be a good idea to do a little research on your chosen brand to see if they meet all the necessary qualifications.  Every day, we are more and more gaining conscience of how important is to consume food that contains no chemicals, as we really don’t know the effect they can have on our health over the years.

After realizing that the green tea seeds planted in his temple were of better quality than the ones being grown in Japan, he experimented with many ways f brewing it. After different tests, he found out that the best flavor of green tea came after grinding the tea leaves until they became a powder and then mixing it with hot water.

Nowadays, Japan is one of the biggest producers of high quality green tea, and they offer many variations of it.

In Japan, green tea is not only used as a drink, but it goes beyond that, being used for ice creams, snacks, noodles and other types of products. Many benefits of green tea were studied after finding out the health benefits Japanese people enjoyed thanks to its consumption, like for example a longer life.

We can find green tea plantations mostly in the Shizuoka and Uji regions. In these areas the green tea plantations are well cared and maintained. The type of green tea cultivation varies in Japan; there are long strips of plantations that are side by side and not spaced apart like in other places of the World. Other areas where green tea is planted in Japan include: Kahoshima, Kyoto, Fukuoka, Saitama, Mie, Nara and Saga.

The climate in these places is perfect to bring the superb quality of Japanese green tea to everybody. This plant is grown in a warm and rainy place and always close to a river. Eveyrhting combines to bring a unique flavor.

There are different types of Japanese green tea, which by itself is rich in vitamin C with a beautiful and saturated green color. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Gyokuro is the one considered of best quality. Its color is a deeper green and it has a sweeter flavor. Its production takes place by covering them with bamboo, reed or canvas.

Bancha is made from the mature leaves and is the lowest grade of green tea brought from the region of Shizuoka. When this type of tea is roasted, it is called Hojicha. And it also can be mixed with popped rice, being called now Genmaicha,

Kukicha is a type of Japanese green tea which has low contents of caffeine and it is commonly used as a substitute of coffee.

Matcha green tea is a type of tea that is used in ceremonies in Japan. It has a beautiful color and a sweet taste that is used in many recipes.

But of all types of Japanese green tea, the most popular is Sencha.

One way to do so is by taking advantage of the green tea skin benefits.

According to some research, green tea has been proven effective to revitalize skin and combat the effects of aging and sun exposure. Green tea contain certain elements in its composition (called catechins) that help eliminating free radicals . These free radicals are unstable molecules (they are missing an electron), and appear as a result of toxins and UV radiation. In your skin, this translates as premature aging.

Green tea is also helpful to prevent skin cancer. According to a 2003 study by the American Chemical Society, this herb blocks the enzyme junk-2. In 2007 another study concluded that people who took 3 or more cups a day were at less risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma.

It also helps fighting inflammation as it contains anti-inflammatory properties, products with green tea can help people with sensitive skin. Subsquently, it helps people suffering from inflammatory skin problems such as psoriasis, dandruff and rosacea.

Green tea is also used to battle acne. The catechins inside the green tea also act as an anti-bacterial defense and help us decreasing hormonal activity. This allows green tea to reduce the effects of acne without any of the side effects other solutions such as benzoyl or peroxide-based creams have. In fact a study made in 2003 showed that green tea is as effective as benzoyl. A real eye opener to many people using chemical based creams!

Finally, we know that green tea is helpful to keep us protected from the UV rays, as it neutralizes the damage they produce on the skin. Studies made by the Case Western Reserve Univerisy concluded that green tea protects against sunburn. This skin benefit is also a sign that green tea protects against the signs of premature aging. It is known that excessive sun exposure leads to developing lines and wrinkles in the face.

As you can see, green tea research shows that it is of great help for our skin. This list of  skin benefits are added to other ones related to other problems such as weight loss, diseases and cancer. You can read more about them on this site.

Let’s take a look at how green tea works along hoodia to help you lose weight fast.

On one side we have green tea. As you may know, among the different green tea benefits, is weight loss. The ingredients in this herb help causing an effect known as thermogenesis, which in other words mean that will produce energy by burning fat.  This is a safe supplement that can be taken in the form of pills, extracts and even in other ways like desserts and beverages. It also blocks in some way the absorption of fat and carbs.

On the other side we have hoodia. Like I said earlier on, this supplement will suppress your desire to eat.  It acts on the brain, making feel as you are full.  It has been proven very effective for people who want to lose weight. Unlike green tea, hoodia may not be %100 effective, and I say this, because there aren’t still full researches to prove this – despite what sellers say.  Some problems that ave been linked to this product are liver problems and interactions with some drugs; if you are diabetic you should also try to avoid it as it may trick your brain into believing the body has enough blood sugar.

If we combine green tea with hoodia, we will see that we have a strong combination of weight loss supplements. This combination has already been used by some people with success, but before trying it for yourself, I would recommend talking to a doctor or a qualified herbal specialist too see what is your current health condition.

Since this is a strong combination, I’d recommend only taking it 3 times a day at most. Don’t worry, weight will come off, steadily and naturally, so you don’t need to obsess over the amount of pills you take.  Hoodia, as green tea, comes in different presentations: pills, and liquid.  The choice is yours based what you prefer. There are also some pills that include green tea in its composition.  I’d personally recommend taking both as separate intakes, since mixed preparations don’t come as pure as extracts.

People who take this combo say that the two act to produce of a great feeling: on one part you have the energy boost green tea gives you (thanks to the caffeine it contains) and on the other hand you have the feeling of fullness, without the anxiety of having to eat something out of hunger.

There are many brands of capsules out there in the market. At first it could be somewhat difficult to tell the ones that are legit form that ones that are practically useless. A search in the Internet and in stores like Amazon seems like the best way to start looking for well-known brands thanks to customer reviews.

Among the brands that have better customer reviews we have Swanson, that offers green tea extract capsules of 500mg and Nature’s Bounty 315mg green tea extract capsules. These are companies that offer quality natural products and of course, can be your first names to start your quest for the perfect capsule.

If you prefer to buy your capsules on a “real world” store, you are likely to find them on the supplements section, among the weight loss pills. However, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that these capsules alone will make you lose serious weight. To really reap the benefits of green tea you have to take some action to lose weight. Nothing fancy really – a morning jogging session or a walk, along a normal diet can still give you results. Although if you put in more effort, you will find that green tea can really boost your results to the max.

If you are worried about the effects of caffeine in these potent extracts, you will find that most of these pills –if not all – are decaffeinated. That means that you will enjoy all the benefits of drinking green tea without staying up all night!

Capsules are not just for weight loss. Sure, they are marketed for this purpose, but that’s it – a marketing move. You can have a perfectly healthy body weight and take these capsules. Green tea offers many benefits besides just weight loss, like: prevention of cancer (green tea is a power anti-oxidant), improved skin, it helps to the treatment of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and can even help to prevent tooth decay since it destroys bacteria in the mouth, responsible of dental plaque and food poisoning.

If you haven’t tried green tea, capsules are a great option to start. Many people don’t like the taste of green tea in a cup. Nothing wrong with that, just a matter of tastes. You can find pills that only have little taste and not have to worry about liking or disliking it. I personally recommend getting Swanson green tea extract capsules, I have used them with success for the last few months, they are very convenient and you can easily double your intake of green tea without having to drink cup, after cup, after cup.

I love drinking green tea, but when I first started drinking it I didn’t found it in the form of powder. After having tasted it I now there’s a big difference mostly in terms of how it looks. The Matcha has a beautiful emerald color. This type of tea is not among the cheapest ones, since the tea buds are all handpicked and it takes time to grind this type of tea.

From what I’ve read, this beautiful color is achieved through a process in which the manufacturers are required to shade from the sun the leaves for a period of a month approximately.

Like all types of green tea, Matcha adds many benefits to our health. It is amazing how this herb can contain so many beneficial properties. If I had just knew about them back when I was younger… The good thing is that we are re-learning ancient knowledge and now it is our duty to help our kids learn to opt for natural ways of preventing problems and living a healthier lifestyle.

Benefits of Matcha green tea powder include: an increase of energy throughout the day with reduced but effective levels of caffeine, improved mental alertness, stress reduction, an increase of the metabolic rate (this means an also increase fat consumption), helps controlling hypertension or high blood pressure, helps controlling bad cholesterol levels in our bodies, stabilize glucose, it is an excellent detoxifier and alkalyzer.

Besides these drinking green tea benefits, it is an excellent source of antioxidants. These components will greatly improve our skin’s health and will also play an important role in preventing skin cancer.

If you can I’d recommend you opt for organic matcha green tea powder. The term “organic” means that no chemical fertilizers and other components have been used to grow the plant. This will help you get a much more pure form of the green tea powder. Many of the products we nowadays eat or drink have traces of these chemicals and we don’t know how they can affect us in the long term.

If you want to buy Matcha green tea powder you can find it on many online stores dedicated to health, natural living. You can find it on many prices, mostly depending on quality. The “organic” one is the most expensive. You can also find this type of green tea on Amazon (by the way, there are some decent customer reviews then, so this stuff must be really good!), although I personally buy it on a local store.

You can also take your powder and get creative! Hot green tea is not the only way to take advantage of the matcha benefits. Recipes that use this powder include the Ceremonial Matcha, the Cold Matcha and the ultra-modern Iced Matcha latte! Here in the South of the planet, the weather is getting very hot, so Iced Matcha is the way to go!

By the way, this powder is very used in Japan and not only to brew, but also as an ingredient to food and deserts like green tea ice cream, castellan, manju, monaka and kakigori. If you haven’t heard about these dishes don’t worry, just do a search online and you’ll find some delicious surprises besides drinking green tea!