The next time you go to grab a coffee, think of all the added sugar that you’re drinking in a caramel or French vanilla drink compared to getting caffeine in alternative ways, like tea. Tea can be overlooked as a healthier alternative to energize yourself, whether it’s needed to stay up late in Du Bois Library to turn in an assignment due at midnight, or just to avoid falling asleep in your lecture. Green tea provides some benefits that coffee doesn’t offer, so you’re left feeling refreshed and awake after each sip.
Green tea is made from leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant which grows throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The reason that green tea has so many health benefits is largely from the polyphenols that have antioxidant effects that are even greater than vitamin C.
A big reason you should be drinking green tea is that it provides other benefits besides caffeine. It has been linked to preventing certain types of cancers including lung, colon, mouth, stomach, small intestine, kidney and pancreas. This is due to the high amounts of polyphenols that are in the tea. Women who drank green tea had a 20 to 30 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer, according to one study. It may even decrease the risk of stroke, since it is shown to lower blood pressure.
Research has found that green tea has the ability to block the oxidation of LDL (lowering the bad cholesterol), raises the good cholesterol known as HDL, and improves the function of the artery. One study found that men who drank green tea had a lower total cholesterol than those who did not. It can even strengthen the immune system since it protects against oxidants and radicals that can attack the healthy cells in your body.
Other health benefits include reduction of body weight from what’s called epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG, which is a polyphenol found in tea that can increase fat oxidation and prevent weight gain. This is true by boosting your metabolism to help burn fat. Studies have found that EGCG also reduces the development and growth of skin tumors. Some studies showed that green tea does not provide a sufficient amount of weight loss, while other studies have found no benefit.
While coffee can leave you feeling both jittery and full from sugar and milk, green tea offers the benefit of having enough caffeine that makes you feel awake without even feeling shaky. It has the amino acid, L-Theanine that improves brain function. Caffeine is showed to improve your mood, alertness and memory. Because green tea provides a smaller amount of caffeine, it can leave you feeling awake without the jitters that coffee provides. Consuming a lot of green tea will leave you with similar effects to that of coffee which effects sleep and could leave you feeling shaky, so just be aware of how much tea you’re drinking.
Aside from all of these benefits, some studies have found that drinking green tea can help you live a longer life, lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease and types of cancer. In one study with over 40,000 Japanese adults, those who drank green tea that included over five cups a day were less likely to die over the span of the 11 year period. Next time you’re looking for an energy boost, switch out coffee for green tea because there are a variety of benefits, and it’s just plain more refreshing too!