# Benefits of Green Tea



## w8lifter (Feb 13, 2002)

Take a Green Tea Break! 

Did you know that the tea dumped into the harbor during the Boston Tea Party was mostly green tea? This delightful beverage has actually been around for thousands of years and is today being appreciated for its many health benefits. Read on for reasons to add this tea to your regimen.


Brew up a bit of green tea for a beneficial break in your day. Those little leaves are packed with nutritional advantages, and scientists are discovering more and more of their health benefits.

Green tea has been around for at least 4,000 years. Legend has it that this delightful brew was accidentally discovered by a Chinese emperor. For centuries, Chinese medicine has used green tea for headaches, digestive problems, lack of energy, and immune enhancement, to name a few. Today, green tea is available ???straight??? or in a variety of flavors. There???s a flavor for everyone. Also good news, decaffeinated green tea only loses 3% of its health benefits. If caffeine is an issue, you can still indulge and reap the benefits of sipping this wonderful drink.

Green tea is different from black and oolong tea in the way it is processed. All three teas come from the same plant, Camellia sinensis. About 25% of all tea that is produced from this plant is green tea. In order to produce black tea, the leaves are fermented; oolong has a shorter period of fermentation and are considered to be semi-fermented. All tea goes through a heating process. However, green tea is never fermented. Instead, its leaves bypass the fermenting process and steamed, baked or pan heated.The leaves are then rolled. Tightly rolled leaves are considered a sign of quality. Then, they are given a final firing in ovens.

Much of the research on the health benefits of green tea is based on the amount typically consumed in Asian countries, about three cups a day. Here are some of the benefits for which green tea is useful: 

Polyphenols found in green tea have been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. In one of the studies, animals given water containing green tea had a significant reduction in the size of their tumors, 70% smaller than the control group. These polyphenols appear to block the formation of cancer-causing compounds. It is believed that green tea has the greatest benefit on cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.

Although the substances found in green tea are destructive to cancer cells, they have never been found to cause harm to healthy cells.

Green tea has fat-burning properties. This tea has been found to raise the metabolism, burning about 266 extra calories per day.

Green tea polyphenols are powerful antioxidants, even more powerful than vitamin C and Vitamin E, more powerful than that found in many fruits and vegetables. In fact, green tea itself contains vitamin C.

Green tea improves cholesterol levels. The tea polyphenols have been shown to inhibit the oxidation of LDL???s.

The compounds in green tea stimulate immune-system cells.

Research in recent years has shown that green tea may reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke

Green tea contains fluoride and is believed to help fight plaque on the teeth. 
To make green tea, brew with water below the boiling point. This tea can sometimes be bitter, and the lower brewing temperature helps with the astringency of the flavor. If you haven???t tried green tea, you might want to start with one that is flavored with citrus or plum. They are particularly pleasant and fragrant.


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## Vai Fan (Feb 14, 2002)

Beer has the same qualities, doesn't it, w8?  Okay, probably not.  Men's Health magazine has had a few interesting articles about green tea, as well as some informative science/medicine tidbits.  I've got a box of the stuff at work so I can enjoy a cup at my leasure.

Hey, I wonder if drinking THAT is causing my elbow to hurt?


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## wilwn (Oct 2, 2004)

holy moly! spotting a steve vai fan on a bodybuilding forum.  what are the chances?


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## Gav1 (Oct 7, 2010)

Great info. I drink Vitalife Matcha Green Tea - it contains 137x the anti-oxidants of standard green tea.

It's one of the very few supplements I can actually 'feel' working. Great to add to post-workout shakes too.

Try this one:

2 x bananas
2 x apples
1 x pear
2 x scoops of choc nut whey protein isolate
3 x scoops of ground oats
2g of Vitalife Matcha powder
1 tsp of Manuka honey
3 tbsp of natural yoghurt
Top up with semi-skimmed milk

One of the tastiest and nutrient-packed shakes I've ever had!


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## Arra (Oct 7, 2010)

Grand 6-year bump.


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## cyan (Oct 8, 2010)

great infor,thanks.


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## vortrit (Oct 8, 2010)

Arra said:


> *Grand 6-year bump*.



The just go back further and further...

Anyway, I like white tea better.


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## Gav1 (Oct 8, 2010)

Only just discovered what a 'bump' is.

Sorry guys! Didn't realise how ancient this thread was, I'm new to bodybuilding forums.

Genuinely though, has anyone else tried green tea as part of their diet? What are your thoughts?

I've been training for 8 years now, since I was 15, and I started incorporating green tea into my diet about 2 years ago. That, and creatine (CEE), are the only two 'supplements' I've ever got any real benefit/gains from. I tend to rely more on my diet than supplementation.

Over those 8 years, I went from 9.5st, up to 18.9st, back down to 16.10st. My bulking phases were aided with creatine and my cutting phases with matcha green tea (to boost metabolism naturally). 

I'm now looking to pile on a bit more mass over the winter, so am going to adopt my previous bulking diet, as follows:

Breakfast: Large bowl of oats with milk, 2 slices of wholewheat toast with natural peanut butter, and a tin of mackerel

Mid-morning meal: Protein and ground oat shake, few pieces of fruit

Lunch: 3 wholewheat pittas filled with 3 turkey breasts with some roast veg

Lunch 2: 3 wholewheat pittas filled with 3 chicken breasts with some roast veg

Tea: Brown rice and rump steak (with peppercorn sauce) and boiled veg

Tea 2: 300g pot of cottage cheese, tsp flax oil, handful of almonds

Supper: 8 egg whites

With cups of matcha at various points and creatine ethyl ester before and after workouts (or around the same time as my workout on non-training days)

Any suggestions as to how to improve this in order to see better, leaner gains?

Gav

Gav.


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## vortrit (Oct 9, 2010)

Gav1 said:


> Only just discovered what a 'bump' is.



*Holy hell!*

I don't think he knows what a "real" bump is... haha!


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## theCaptn' (Oct 9, 2010)

vortrit said:


> The just go back further and further...
> 
> Anyway, I like white tea better.


 
+1 ^^^ I agree with this homo


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## MMAWannabe (Oct 9, 2010)

Green tea is good stuff. Tzao or whatever brand of zen tea is one of the better ones.


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## Gav1 (Oct 10, 2010)

Do you mean Tazo?

If so, I agree. They do some very nice teas. Not sure if they do a matcha though?


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## PaddyHurley (Oct 16, 2010)

Do you recommend matcha over loose leaf green tea?

PAddy


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## assassin (Oct 16, 2010)

Beer all the way ..


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## vortrit (Oct 16, 2010)

assassin said:


> Beer all the way ..



Green Beer


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## assassin (Oct 16, 2010)

vortrit said:


> Green Beer



I wish they invent it soon ... imagine the pleasure of drinking healthy beer


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## vortrit (Oct 16, 2010)

assassin said:


> I wish they invent it soon ... imagine the pleasure of drinking healthy beer



They do have green beer. Haven't you ever been to a bar on St. Patty's day?


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## assassin (Oct 16, 2010)

vortrit said:


> They do have green beer. Haven't you ever been to a bar on St. Patty's day?



lool unfortunately no


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## Gav1 (Oct 17, 2010)

PaddyHurley said:


> Do you recommend matcha over loose leaf green tea?
> 
> PAddy



Absolutely. With Matcha you actually consume the leaf of the tea, as opposed to just the steeped water - which maximises the potency of the tea. Also, the way in which matcha is grown for the final few months (under shade) means that it has a much higher concentration of cancer-fighting catechins than standard loose-leaf green tea.

Gav.


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## debrah.h48 (Oct 18, 2010)

Today, scientific  research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the  health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in  1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results  of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced  the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty  percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a  compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also  research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol  levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad  (LDL) cholesterol.
To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:




cancer
rheumatoid arthritis
high cholesterol levels
cariovascular disease
infection
 impaired immune function​


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## leemaria (Oct 21, 2010)

I love green tea.green tea is good for treating obesity problem.


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## markpotter (Oct 21, 2010)

green tea is nice to drink.it is very proteenius too.cz it has less taan.


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## PaddyHurley (Oct 21, 2010)

Thanks for the info...


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## vortrit (Oct 22, 2010)

leemaria said:


> I love green tea.green tea is good for treating obesity problem.



Says who? So I can drink green tea and eat all I want and whatever I want?


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## MyK (Oct 22, 2010)

vortrit said:


> The just go back further and further...
> 
> Anyway, I like white tea better.


 

racist!


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## vortrit (Oct 22, 2010)

MyK 3.0 said:


> racist!



So?

I like white chocolate, White Zombie, white russians, and white women too.


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## maralyn45 (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks for sharing information.....


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## vortrit (Oct 25, 2010)

maralyn45 said:


> Thanks for sharing information.....



Your welcome Mr. One Post.


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## toddbgmlw25 (Oct 25, 2010)

Since we're talking about green tea, did you know that antioxidants are also used for medicating different forms of brain injuries?


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## vortrit (Oct 25, 2010)

toddbgmlw25 said:


> Since we're talking about green tea, did you know that antioxidants are also used for medicating different forms of brain injuries?



Like from the trauma I am dealing with being a member of IM?


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## Guidedbyscience (Oct 26, 2010)

green tea is great,black tea however is also really good for you as well!


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