It’s amazing how popular green tea is becoming now that everyone is latching onto the idea that it has huge medicinal benefits. But just how healthy is it and are there any downsides? This article takes a look at whether or not the caffeine in green tea poses a huge health risk.
So where does this type of tea come from and what are the great medicinal benefits that give it such a good reputation as a healer? It’s not very widely known that black, white, oolong and green tea all come from the same plant, the camellia sinensis, which originates from Southeast Asia. Today this plant grows in many other countries, too. The harvested leaves are treated differently depending on what tea type they are intended for. The green tea has its leaves steamed, rolled and dried which prevents the polyphenol catechins from antioxidizing. This means that this tea has a much higher antioxidant content than the black and oolong teas.
This leads us on to the medicinal benefits of green tea. The high antioxidant content, specifically EGCG, means that green tea scavenges the free radicals in your body, keeping it healthy. It is also great at burning fat, lowering cholesterol, protecting against cancers, nurturing healthy skin and protecting blood vessels. So the best thing to do would be to drink lots of it on a daily basis. Or would it?
What about the caffeine in green tea? This is where many people run into problems. It is recommended that you drink an average of 4 cups of green tea a day without affecting your health in any way. However, if you go over that limit, your body may well start to complain. Typical symptoms are sleeplessness, restlessness, headaches and feelings of nausea. One way to ensure you get a good night’s sleep is to avoid drinking green tea in the evening. Within a few hours the effects of caffeine in green tea you drink will work its way back out of your system.
Caffeine only really starts to become a serious issue when you become addicted to it. The worst case would be if you were to regularly live an unhealthy life style and try to keep yourself awake and alert with isolated caffeine in these fashionable power drinks. They give you a rush of caffeine, a burst of energy and then when it wears off, you feel exhausted, totally drained and are ready to grab the next drink. This has a devastating effect on your adrenal glands in the long run.
So how can you deal with the caffeine in green tea? One solution, of course, is to buy it in decaffeinated form if you are worried or have a sensitive stomach. Here’s a little tip which can help to reduce the caffeine and to make it more palatable. Only heat the water to 80 degrees C and pour the water over the leaves. After about 1 minute, drain this water away and pour some fresh water on the leaves. After about a further 1 1/2 minutes you should have a perfect brew. You won’t find the Chinese or Japanese boiling their water for their tea ceremonies.
And of course, one area where the caffeine in green tea poses a great health risk is for pregnant women as the caffeine can cause a miscarriage or even have an effect on the weight of the baby when it is born.
So my advice to you would be to definitely go for the decaffeinated version if you are sensitive to caffeine or are pregnant.
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Tags: Camellia Sinensis, Tea Leaves, Tea Type
