Like most superfoods, green tea found its first users thousands of years ago.
Even today, it is an integral part of the daily lives of many people who appreciate it for its intense and unique taste.
At breakfast, during the break or after the meal, green tea may already have been with you for years, without you suspecting the extent of its benefits.
- What is Green Tea
- The composition of green tea
- The benefits of green tea
- Green tea, what is it?
The most widely consumed tea in China, where it has existed for over 5,000 years, and in Japan, for over 1,500 years, green tea is valued as much for its unique taste as for its medicinal properties.
There are various forms of green tea resulting from cultivation methods, soils and varieties.
To name a few, we find:
- Gunpowder (Chinese tea)
- Long Jing (Chinese tea)
- Yu Zhu (Chinese tea)
- Chun Mee (Chinese tea)
- Bilochun (Chinese tea)
- Matcha (Japanese tea)
- Sencha (Japanese tea)
- Gyokuro (Japanese tea)
- Bencha (Japanese tea)
- Kabusecha (Japanese tea)
On the manufacturing side, the leaves of the tea tree from which it comes undergo an inhibition of their oxidation quickly after their picking. Then, they will be dried using two methods: the Chinese or Japanese method.
The latter allows an increased preservation of the properties of green tea thanks to the use of steam jets. Matcha is an example of tea resulting from this mode of preparation.
The composition of green tea
The use of the above methods allows green tea to retain very interesting nutritional elements for the body.
Above all, green tea is composed of more than 500 active substances, including vitamins A, B, C, E and P. Vitamin C is the most abundant, at 150-300 mg per 100 g of tea leaves green.
Then, it contains caffeine (referred to as “theine”), up to 19 ml / 100 ml of drink.
It also contains several minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, nickel, and fluorine.
Finally, green tea is rich in L-theanine and contains significant amounts of catechins (including EGCG), powerful antioxidants1,2.
The benefits of green tea?
- A draining plant that improves digestion
Indeed, it has a diuretic effect which promotes the production and elimination of urine, necessary for the drainage and “purification” of the body. In this way, green tea helps, for example, to fight against kidney problems.
In addition, the caffeine present in green tea helps to increase the contractions of the gallbladder which, in turn, increases the secretion of bile salts. These are involved in the degradation of nutrients.
- A plant involved in the elimination of fat
By combining caffeine and catechins, green tea has a significant fat-burning effect3,4.
Caffeine has a thermogenic effect that increases energy expenditure in the body. In addition, it is involved in the stimulation of nervous activity, itself at the origin of the secretion of hormones useful for the destocking of fats (noradrenaline).
It is for this reason that this molecule integrates the composition of most so-called “fat burner” supplements.
As for catechins (and in particular EGCG), they are involved in the activation of genes which also stimulate the destocking of fats.
- A plant with a relaxing effect
Thanks to its concentration of L-theanine, green tea has another power: relaxation.
This amino amide is recognized for its relaxing effect5, and its involvement in the reduction of mental and physical stress6.
- A powerful antioxidant
As we have seen, green tea is made up of a legion of powerful antioxidants1,2, which ranks it as the No. 1 drink in terms of antioxidant activity according to ANSES.
These are involved in the prevention of inflammatory and coronary diseases, as well as in the fight against aging.
Antioxidants are all the more essential for people who regularly produce free radicals, through repeated physical exertion, for example7.
Some consumer advice
Green tea causes very few side effects and can be consumed traditionally or as a green tea extract supplement.
However, excessive consumption could cause nervousness and difficulty sleeping. This is why we advise you not to drink it before bedtime.
In addition, the assimilation of iron by the body can be altered by caffeine. This is why we advise you not to drink it during, but after meals.
