After a long trip to Japan where I found myself drinking green tea at any time from 8:00am to 2:00am daily and feeling quite physically fantastic, my interest was more than peaked in the “actual health benefits” of green tea beyond its obvious eye-opening effect.  I was continually surprised when I started to read actual scientific research on glorious green tea, so I am sharing it with  you today while I drink my third cup!

Green Tea is awesome because…

1.its a happy drink:  Theanine, the feel-good amino acid found in tea, has been found to reduce stress and to make you more calm and happy.  While it may take more than one cup to get a healthy dose of theanine, there are studies that find a synergistic link between caffeine and theanine that may make even small doses of theanine work well to lift your spirits. It also, in my experience, dramatically increases my mental focus.

2. it is heart healthy: Yep, there have been many, many articles published in medical journals that have shown that for a multitude of reasons green tea is heart healthy.  One notion is that it helps the body to expel rather than store fats and cholesterol.  Also, a Chinese study showed that regular green tea drinkers had about a 50% less change of having high blood pressure.

3. it is a skinny drink: To piggyback on the healthy heart benefits, green tea may help with weight control and may actually boost the metabolism and help the body use more fat for energy.

4. it is cold fighting:  Some studies have found that few cups of green tea can help you stay healthier in cold season. In my personal experience, green tea radically helps my allergies like nothing else can!

5. it might reverse a bit of the damage from your vices: Smokers, while it won’t totally save you from cigarette damage, but tests have been done that suggest that lots of green tea can somewhat mitigate the damages caused by non-extreme cigarette smoking.

6. it is HYDRATING:  yep. I WAS SHOCKED to learn this!!!  the European Journal Of Clinical Nutrition discovered that green tea is actually hydrating, and stated that it was better to drink than water!  OK, I don’t know about all of that, but wow, I thought I was dehydrating myself like crazy with all the tea I drink, yet, apparently I am not!

7. it is packed with antioxidants: Here is a cool, special effect of green tea: catechins. These antioxidants found in green tea have been associated with a decreased risk of many cancers.

8. it wakes you up & helps your brain:  I mentioned before how green tea is my personal secret to hyper-focus when I need it, but it also has the ability to protect your mind to a degree, and may just improve your memory.  Atop all that, scientists are now exploring ways that green tea can help patience with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to repair brain cells.

I may just have a fourth cup today after all of this!  Total food-shui for you to enjoy!