Catechins: Why Green Tea Bestows so Many Health Benefits

Green tea, the tasty drink associated with peace and harmony, is well known to be a very healthy one. In fact, green tea has been used for medicinal and health purposes in the Orient for thousands of years. Recently, medical research has provided empirical evidence and scientific insight into the reasons for, and the extent of, the benefits of drinking green tea.

First of all, however, I probably should at least briefly outline the benefits of drinking green tea. Recent research suggests that regularly drinking green tea may reduce the risk of contracting heart disease, cancer, dementia and diabetes while lowering bad cholesterol and causing weight loss. With so much to gain from drinking green tea, why shouldn’t we all start incorporating green tea to our daily diets?

Catechins, a type of compounds called antioxidants, function to reduce the activity of radicals, which are harmful substances that can alter DNA and thus contribute to conditions such as cancer. In regards to weight loss, green tea’s catechins acts as a fat burner, according to a double-blind study reported in The Journal of Nutrition. In this study, the group that received green tea with higher catechin content lost significantly more fat in the abdominal area and also lost more weight than the control group. There are many other health benefits associated with catechins, such as prevention of hypertension, but it should suffice to say that catechins provide a plethora of health benefits. Reassuringly, “green tea is the best food source [of] catechins,” according to Harvard Health Publications.

Now that we’ve established that green tea is almost ineffably healthy and the main reason for its health benefits-its high content of catechins-I shall provide some advice to you all about how to get the most of out your cup of green tea. As an avid green tea drinker, I’ve quickly noticed that green tea tastes stronger-sometimes to the point of being bitter- if I use very hot water (above 190 degrees Fahrenheit) or let my tea brew for a long time (over 3 or 4 minutes). This observation makes perfect sense because green tea extract, which includes catechins, diffuse into water while being brewed; more time allows more extract to enter the water and any introduction to chemistry class should teach you that reactions, including physical ones such as diffusion, tend to occur at a faster rate at higher temperatures. In essence, this means that if you want the most catechins in your cup of tea, steep it for 3-5 minutes using boiling water.

The obvious caveat to this strategy is that your tea will probably taste “over-brewed” and, frankly, bitter. So I would only advise this strategy if you drink tea purely for the health benefits and can ignore the taste, are unable to detect the “over-brewed” taste, or actually like the strong taste (I do!). If, however, you don’t fall into any of these categories, don’t fret! One other possible strategy to receive a high amount of catechins from your green tea is to use loose tea leaves rather than teabags, as they contain more catechins.

In conclusion, green tea is a delicious drink that can serve us all very well in the way of health benefits. I hope to have influenced some of you all to drink more green tea or have at least provided you all some interesting information about green tea! Drink to your health, friends.

Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea
http://www.nutraingredients.com/Research/Green-tea-catechins-linked-to-weight-loss-Study
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/benefit_of_drinking_green_tea
http://www.resveratrol-and-anti-aging.com/how-to-brew-green-tea.html