Green Tea BlogAll you need to know about Green Tea

by Curtis Ludlow

The demand for energy has heightened in today’s stressful and hectic environment. Eight out of ten Americans experience low energy levels on a regular basis, making them less efficient and effective. Aside from overexertion, the classic causes of lack of energy include poor food choices, pollution and lack of exercise.

It’s time to put a stop to our state of exhaustion. Take a break and sign up for a fitness boot camp. Below is an outline on how fitness boot camps and better food choices will help you increase energy levels the natural way.

Water & Green Tea

Feeling lack of energy is relative to one’s caffeine intake since it causes energy bursts. It puts undue stress on the adrenal gland, which may result to long-term health complications. It may also cause a person to suffer restlessness and insomnia and experience lack of energy during the day. Instead, drink more water to keep the body hydrated. You may also want to consider replacing your regular coffee ritual with green tea.

Green tea is a great energy booster. It’s loaded with antioxidants and rids your body of toxins. It’s important to monitor your fluid intake and hydrate with water and green tea.

Exercise

Leave your sedentary lifestyle behind. Exercise more and increase your physical activity. A boot camp will be fun and include results-oriented exercise. Exercising first thing in the morning will jump start your metabolism and significantly increase your body’s energy levels throughout the day.

Nutrition

Modify your diet. Add healthier and better variety of food choices such as organic tomatoes, oats, wild salmon, broccoli, spinach, berries, pomegranate, nuts and garlic. A fitness boot camp program can assist you with your diet.

Supplements

There are some supplements that can naturally enhance your energy level. Getting enough Coenzyme Q10, L-carnitine and other essential amino acids is important in combating fatigue and in fortifying general endurance. Getting enough vitamins A, C, E and B-10 complex vitamins is important in strengthening the body’s defense against free radicals, which usually robs energy.

Aside from helping you increase your energy and improve your overall bodily functions, fitness boot camps have quite a reputation for weight loss. Of the available solutions to weight loss, joining and participating in a fitness boot camp could be the wisest and healthiest solution to effectively losing 10 to 20 pounds. Not only will it teach you how to maintain health, it will train you well in bringing home everything you have learned about health and wellness. And that is one happy way of achieving your goal weight.

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by Walter Brown

Of the many health benefits associated with green tea the most common are weight loss, hair loss prevention, and acne skin care treatment. It is know in the skin care community as a great natural alternative to more traditional acne treatments. It has some clout as a hair loss prevention product, but it is most well known for helping people lose weight; this is the topic of this article.

My own research into the use and effectiveness of green tea has led me to try it myself as a weight loss supplement. I became convinced that there was something to it after reading over a hundred online customer reviews, which were almost all very positive.

Why will the increase in your metabolism be an important factor in determining the success of your weight loss plans? Because it lessens the impact of the foods you already eat on the overall absorption of calories, which means that you will not have to change your diet as much in order to lose weight.

If you do decide to use green tea to aid in your weight loss endeavors than there are a few useful pieces of information that you should be aware of. First, make sure you drink the tea hot; this will allow your body to absorb the full amount of active ingredients contained within the tea.

The second piece of advice that I would give you is to be very gradual in implementing it into your diet. I say this because if you start drinking it without taking this precaution it can irritate your bowls, and this will mean time lost setting in the rest room.

There are many forms of green tea available today, and among them are grocery store or gas station bottles of pre-mixed tea. This is not a bad thing, in fact I often drink them myself, but if you are buying your tea pre-mixed you may as well buy a ginseng-green tea mix, and here is why; the two work together to naturally strengthen your immune system.

One final piece of advice that I would like to give you concerns green tea pills, these are especially convenient for people who would like the health benefits or green tea, but cannot drink it for lifestyle or health reasons. The pills contain the same active ingredients as the tea, just without all the liquid.

I will conclude by saying that green tea can offer you many benefits, but I have covered the most common or well know here, which include its ability to help you lose weight by increasing the rate of metabolism, and its ability to strengthen your immune system.

About the Author

Walter likes to research and write about weight loss, his favorite weight loss supplement is green tea pills.

by Renata Lorenc

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) views the heart as the master of the body and the emperor of the organ networks. It generates chi, the vital energy of the body, and thus is the root of all life. Without a healthy heart, the body is fragile and stale. While many of us know that heart disease is rampant in the United States, we remain largely unaware of a powerful tool in its prevention: green tea. The heart protective effects of green tea can be attributed mainly to its antioxidant and anti-obesity properties, while other mechanisms play supporting roles. Each of these mechanisms will be discussed below in terms of TCM as well as Western medicine.

First, the antioxidant properties of green tea can be traced to its polyphenols, defined simply as groups of chemical substances in a plant. These polyphenols act as little superheros, taking the place of cells in danger of becoming oxidized and facing the oxidation themselves. In this way, they prevent the formation of free radicals – highly reactive atoms that can damage heart cells and, in TCM, leave cells incapable of generating chi. Research at the Graduate School of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan confirmed that green tea polyphenols can protect a heart from oxidative stress, as well as maintain good left ventricular function after ischemic arrest (restriction in the heart’s blood supply) and reperfusion (tissue damage caused when the blood supply returns). A study at Aichi Medical University in Japan similarly concluded that green tea is useful to ischemia-reperfusion hearts due to its ability to fight free radicals, and research at the University of Padova in Italy found that green tea extract prevented hypertension and targeted organ damage induced in rats, likely by scavenging free radicals.

There are four primary polyphenols in green tea and they are often collectively referred to as catechins, the most publicized of which is Epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG. At Chungbuk National University in Cheongju, Korea, research suggests that EGCG prevents the development of left ventricular concentric hypertrophy (pathological thickening of the ventricle walls) due to high blood pressure and may be useful in preventing cardiac remodeling (changes in size, shape or function of the heart) in patients with diseases that strain the heart muscle. Furthermore, a 2004 review study at Complutense University of Madrid in Spain confirmed that catechins consumption decreases cholesterol absorption and plasma levels, scavenges free-radicals thereby inhibiting LDL oxidation, decreases systolic and diastolic blood pressures, and decreases body weight by interfering with fatty acid synthesis.

This ability of green tea to aid weight loss has been well-documented, and maintaining a healthy weight is intimately related to heart vigor. The tea’s anti-obesity properties can be attributed to its effects on lipid metabolism as well as its thermogenic (heat-producing) activity. A 2006 study at the University of Madras in Chennai, India found that the administration of green tea extract decreased cholesterol, triglyceride, free fatty acid levels and lipoprotein lipase activity in the heart of diabetic rats. Lipase is an enzyme that allows fat to be broken down – if its activity is decreased, cholesterol and triglycerides are removed rather than stored. A 2003 study at Roche Vitamins in Basel, Switzerland, a 2006 study at the University of Hawaii and a 2007 study at the University of Connecticut further confirm green tea’s lipid-lowering capabilities. In addition, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study at the University of Medicine in Berlin confirmed that EGCG alone has the potential to increase fat oxidation in men and may thereby contribute to the anti-obesity effects of green tea. In relation to thermogenesis (heat production that leads to increased metabolism), green tea, by containing both catechins and caffeine, may promote thermogenesis through inhibition of certain enzymes (catechol O-methyl-transferase and phosphodiesterase). In addition, tea catechins have anti-angiogenic (enlarging of blood vessels) properties that may prevent the development of excess weight. In TCM, weight loss involves limiting salty and sweet foods and increasing bitter and pungent foods. Green tea, a bitter food, is recommended.

These two health-giving properties of green tea — antioxidant activity and weight loss promotion — combine to additionally protect the heart in those with diabetes, as hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress has been proposed as a cause of many complications of diabetes including cardiac dysfunction. Research at the University of Madras found that green tea extract ameliorates oxidative stress in the aorta and the heart of diabetic rats given streptozotocin (a chemical that is toxic to the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas). This suggests that green tea may be useful in the reversal of oxidative stress-induced cardiac dysfunction in diabetics. Another study at the University of Madras found that green tea improves the quality of heart collagen, also possibly therapeutic in the treatment of cardiovascular complications of diabetes.

Another mechanism by which green tea protects the heart is quelling inflammation. Research at the Children’s Hospital Research Foundation in Cincinnati, Ohio found that ECGC inhibits the expression of the interleukin-8 gene–a key gene involved in the inflammatory response. In TCM, inflammation is a result of consuming too many heating foods, such as meat, cooked oils, and processed sugar. The treatment involves consuming cooling foods, of which green tea, although often served hot, is a superstar due to its alkaloid content.

To conclude, green tea is an excellent guard of the emperor, protecting the heart through a wide range of mechanisms. In this way, green tea is highly effective in ensuring a strong, healthy body pulsing vibrantly with chi, the energy of life.

by Lucille Green

The uses of green tea are still being discovered by science because this wonder drug contains ingredients that enable it to be used as an antioxidant, in addition to those incorporated in dietary supplements. Green tea weight loss extracts can be consumed in many ways including as regular tea plus it can be purchased in liquid or tablet form but whichever way it is used it has an excellent record as a calorie burner.

The affect on the human metabolism is quite amazing as it actually slows down the process of aging if used over a long period by aiding cell regeneration. When used in weight loss products, it shows some amazing qualities like helping the metabolism by ridding the system of toxins and using the natural laxative quality it possesses. To help stop fatty tissue from forming, products using it increase the number of calories we burn by speeding our normal metabolic rate.

However, a person wanting to shed excess pounds cannot rely purely on green tea weight loss products alone; health food and physical activity are still required. Improvement to general eating habits is necessary because the intention to lose weight implies the dieter wants a much healthier lifestyle.

If you use green tea as a drink then the best time to take this is just before you retire for the night. Weight loss products containing this product can take some getting used too and often there may be some bowel irritation for a couple of days but it will pass. This effect is quite normal especially for new users and is down to the way that green tea weight loss supplements speed up the metabolism so calories do not have time to become fat tissue. increasing your liquid intake, regular exercise and eating fruit and vegetables then expect to see good results within your first week.

One very successful combination of green tea products is that which includes ginseng root extract. Ginseng helps by adding minerals and vitamins that will increase its efficiency and detoxification properties.

Ginseng is also beneficial for the immune system and when used in combination with green tea, helps to improve the energy level of a person who is losing weight so they do not feel so lethargic. Both ginseng and green tea have excellent safety records even when the diet lasts up to 26 weeks.

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by Renee

If you are not a tea drinker, it is time that you start guzzling down gallons of this stuff and stop coffee. Of course, you will need to switch to the healthy tea, green tea, and not just any tea. Much as you love your coffee, you have to admit that green tea is very good for health. The health benefits of this wonder ancient Japanese tea has been broadcast everywhere that it is time you take note!

So, you are unsure that green tea is all that great. Well, don’t just take my words for it. Instead, do your very own localized research and do a search on the internet and you will find countless research on the health benefits of green tea. Green tea is good to give you stronger body and health. Green tea is good for weight loss. Green tea contains loads of antioxidants so it is practically like drinking out of the fountain of youth.

If you are still unsure about the benefits of green tea, here are some facts for you to digest. Green tea has a high amount of polyphenols and catechins which are very good in fighting off diseases and illnesses. These components will work with your body to give you strength and make you fitter and healthier. They are responsible for giving you a glow too.

Nowadays, there are a lot of research and studies that prove green tea extract will help you with your memory. It was found that green tea could reduce memory loss and works against the onslought of Alzheimer’s Disease. It is also found that green tea could prevent cancer and on top of that, give you skin that is youthful and smooth. If these reasons are still not enough to convince you to switch to green tea, read these:

Green tea is your best weight loss aid as it is known to be able to help you shed up to 10lbs when combined with a healthy diet.

Green tea can control your glucose level so that it will regulate your appetite and in a way suppress your appetite too. This way, you won’t eat more than need be and be on your way to lose weight.

Green tea is good to reduce your level of bad cholesterol and that’s not all, it is also good for cutting down fat in your system and thus, is good for your health.

Finally, green tea has a mild and wonderful taste and if you don’t like tea, it also comes in different flavours and even in organic soda drinks. However, if you still don’t want to drink the tea, you could always look for green tea extract supplements and still get all the health benefits of green tea.

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Renee shares her weight loss tips and more information on green tea and weight loss.

by Caitlin Ryan

Would you like to know a very simple thing that you can do to improve your health, fight premature aging and lose weight? I added green tea and wu yi tea to my health regime years ago, and now I am going to let you know how and why you can benefit from the numerous health benefits of green tea just like me!

Green tea and green tea extract have been proven to have a number of health benefits such as cancer prevention, weight loss and fighting premature aging. Though green tea has been the focus, wu yi, wu long and oolong teas are also highly beneficial because they contain some of the same components that make green tea so beneficial!

Tea is full of catechins, which are highly powerful antioxidants. One of these is called EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), which has been studied extensively and is capable of blocking starch, aids in burning fat and increases metabolism, so green tea is capable of aiding in weight loss.

Do you want radiant skin and better memory? How about improving your chances at preventing cardiovascular disease and cancer? The antioxidants in green tea and wu yi tea fight free radicals and repair the damage, which improves your body’s health at the cellular level. This improves your tissue health and thus your overall health and appearance.

When I learned of all these remarkable health benefits of green tea and wu yi tea, I immediately switched my iced black tea with these more beneficial teas. Wu yi is the mildest flavored of the bunch and I recommend trying it first.

I also have a little flavor secret to share about green tea or wu yi, oolong or wu long tea. You can add herbal teas, with ZERO calories and all natural ingredients that will flavor your tea! There are many flavors available. My favorites are berry flavors such as blueberry or black cherry.

Does coffee every make you jittery or anxious? I never thought it would and I used to drink loads of it. Then I started experiencing anxiety for no apparent reasons and decided it must be my morning coffee habit. I decided to further benefit from the health benefits of green tea or wu yi tea and switched to hot tea in the morning as well as my iced brew throughout the day. I even add a caramel truffle herbal tea that I found to give the tea a rich flavor like coffee.

You may be wondering why tea does not produce the jittery effects that coffee does because of course tea contains caffeine. Well, among all the other healthy components of tea, it also contains L-theanine. L-theanine makes the brain release serotonin, which produces a calming feeling in the body. So, while you get the wake-up you need in the morning, you do not have the anxiety that comes with coffee.

Is your green tea pure? Is it organic?

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For centuries now, the benefits of green tea diets have been the subject of countless writings and scientific investigations.

More than four thousand years ago, green tea diet has become a staple beverage for most Asians because of its countless health and medicinal benefits. It is said that the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung was the first one to have discovered green tea diet. Emperor Shen Nung was reported to have been boiling water when some leaves of a nearby plant fell into his pot. The leaves actually came from Camellia sinensis, the herb from which green tea diet is extracted.

Having a green tea diet is associated with several health benefits. One of the benefits of having a green tea diet is providing a potential cure for cancer. According to some studies, certain substances in green tea diet can destroy cancer cells without harming any neighboring healthy tissues. This substance in green tea diets is called epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).

The results of the study on the cancer benefit of green tea diets were astounding and it led to further more researches that investigate other aspects of green tea diet. In a study conducted by American and Swiss scientists in the University of Geneva, it has been found that the EGCG found in green tea diets can increase the 24-hour energy expenditure of the body. They concluded that this is due to the ability of antioxidants present in green tea diet to stimulate thermogenesis, otherwise known as fat metabolism. According to their findings, people who were on a green tea diet exhibited a significant four percent increase in their normal metabolic rates. This led the scientists to conclude that green tea diet has a major contributing factor in weight loss.

Another study conducted in China was designed to investigate further on green tea diet’s weight loss benefit. They decided that since green tea diet can significantly increase fat metabolism, then green tea diet probably would help lowering down cholesterol levels as well. Their hypothesis was proven when they introduced green tea diet on 240 people with mild to extremely high cholesterol levels. After only twelve weeks, they observed that those on a green tea diet dropped sixteen percent in their cholesterol levels.

Based on the above study, it can also be hypothesized that green tea diet can cure obesity. Green tea diet’s catechin polyphenols can delay the reaction of gastric and pancreatic lipases in the body. These enzymes are the ones responsible for storing calories into fats in the body. By delaying these enzymes, green tea diets can therefore lessen fat concentration and prevent obesity in people.

This being a truly remarkable nutritional supplement, green tea dieting is used to improve the body’s health in many ways. Further studies were made on the benefits of green tea diets. The latest ones were able to prove that green tea diet can effectively protect the skin from damage due to ultraviolet light radiation. Green tea diet is also widely recognized as a substance that can protect against many different cancers such as stomach cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of the colon, oral cancer, prostate cancer, and breast and cervical cancers.

The health benefits of green tea are just limitless! Read below to find out how green tea helps in curing and preventing acne.

Green Tea has been proven to be a good remedy for acne. Medical studies show that green tea is just as effective as benzoyl peroxide (an ingredient found in many over-the-counter acne treatments) and without the side effects. Green tea is inexpensive, and can be found in health and nutrition stores, on the internet, and in certain grocery stores in the “tea” or the “natural foods” sections.

Many acne sufferers swear by green tea as “the ultimate natural acne cure.” In fact, just drinking the tea has been known to clear acne in some cases. Green tea is also a great treatment for eczema and skin problems in general.

The Key

The best results for curing acne include applying green tea to your face, and any other acne areas – and also drinking green tea 2 to 3 times a day. After you finish drinking the tea, dab the tea bag on acne areas, or use a cotton ball to apply the tea. You don’t have to wash it off right away – you can leave it on your skin.

Notes

Green tea must be decaffeinated. It is because caffeine makes acne worse, so it’s a good idea not only to use decaffeinated green tea, but also decaffeinated every thing else.

When drinking green tea, don’t add sugar or anything else to it – it has been stated that if sugar or artificial sweeteners are added, it tends to cancel most of the beneficial properties.

Because of this, additional health benefits of green tea not previously discussed (in this blog) are enumerated below:

• Anti-inflammatory
• Anti-bacterial – has been shown to kill acne bacteria.
• Anti-viral
• Rejuvenates skin

If, for some reason, you prefer not to drink green tea or apply tea to your skin, you can try green tea skin creams, and green tea in pill form.

Imagine a limitless supply of green tea. In this post, we will tell you (in 9 easy steps) how to grow your own green tea plant (scientific name, Camellia sinensis) at home, and enjoy the benefits of green tea all year round.

1. Buy or get some cuttings from a green tree plant from your local greenhouse.
2. Plant your green tea plant in sandy soil. Water frequently and add occasional fertilizer.
3. Place mulch around your green tea plant to reduce weeds and maintain soil moisture.

Notes

If you follow the steps above and grow green tea from cuttings, it can take up to three years to get a viable green tea plant for harvesting. If you want to grow a green tea plant from seeds, it will take longer to get a viable plant to harvest.

Ready to harvest?

1. Harvest only the youngest tea leaves and buds by plucking the terminal three leaves along with the terminal bud.
2. Allow the plucked green tea leaves to dry away from direct contact with the sun for several hours.
3. Once the leaves are dry, steam the leaves in a pan on the stove to a temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit for 14 minutes. Move the pan continuously to keep the leaves from burning.
4. To dry the leaves, place them in an oven at a temperature of around 225 degrees Fahrenheit for ten minutes.
5. Store the green tea leaves in a cool, dark place until you’re ready to use them.
6. Brew and drink as any other tea.

Voila! Enjoy that healthy-smelling green tea aroma.

Josh Burnstein

Is there such a thing?

Of course there is, and it will probably be made by you (not bought). What you’re looking for here is a simple infusion – a tea infusion if you will.

A hot cup of green tea infused with a robust dose of echinacea is a great way to keep your immune system strong and help prevent coming down with that ever dreaded common cold. By using a simple combination of two highly supported “immune boosters” such as green tea and echinacea on a daily basis, not only do you stand to shorten and lessen the severity of cold and flu symptoms, but you could even fortify an immune system that may prevent coming down with these symptoms entirely. By either using dried echinacea, an echinacea tincture, or fresh echinacea from your garden in your morning tea, this great herb could be the “ounce of prevention” you were looking fore.

Perhaps one of the soundest cornerstones of holistic medicine, the almost philosophic belief in emphasizing prevention over the treatment of disease alone, maintaining a healthy lifestyle still stands as one of the best ways to prevent contracting serious symptoms from what should be otherwise simple and common diseases. Both green tea and echinacea, though still the subjects of passionate scientific study, are herbal remedies that have found use as powerful preventative tools against the symptoms of colds and flu.