There’s always a new trendy wellness topic at the center of discussion for people, but nothing has withstood the test of time much like the green tea. Green tea is one of the most commonly used teas in the world, and is considered to be the healthiest beverage on the planet.
Everyone — from wellness influencers to doctors and nutrition experts — love green tea and would swear by them. With that comes the birth of the amazing green tea extract that’s just as nutritional and healthy.
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What is Green Tea Extract?
Many might think that green tea and green tea extract are very different things. While it is different in its physical form, it’s actually the exact same thing — just that the extracted version, made into a supplement, is its concentrated form, with one capsule containing the same amount as an average cup of green tea.
Loaded with antioxidants and nutrients, people have used it for health benefits for centuries. It’s brewed from the unoxidised dried leaves of the Camellia sinensis bush, making green tea one of the less-processed types of tea and therefore containing the most antioxidants and beneficial polyphenols.
Nutritional Breakdown of Green Tea
At the sound of “tea”, one might think it wouldn’t be as nutritional and beneficial due to having caffeine in them. But little did they know that the caffeine contained in a cup of tea varies according to the length of infusing time and the amount of tea infused. Generally green tea contains a relatively small amount of caffeine compared to other types of tea.
An unsweetened average cup of green tea has zero calories in it, and this tea type is considered the world’s healthiest drink due to its high amounts of antioxidants and presence of natural positive chemicals.
Types of Green Tea
Green tea is available in various types, some of which include: bottled ones that are already sweetened, single tea bags, loose leaves, instant powder and green tea supplements (green tea tablets) in the form of capsules or liquid extracts.
Depending on the processing methods of each type, they can contain fewer ingredients than that of freshly-brewed ones. However, it wouldn’t decrease significantly as one might think. All types of green tea are very beneficial and nutritional.
Green Tea Benefits for Hair
Touted as a cure-all beverage, people have used green tea for multiple purposes. Green tea has been added to many hair care products for its purported benefits. From sipping a glass of green tea to using products containing green tea extracts, the ingredients found in green tea does in fact benefit the scalp and hair.
1. Prevention of Loss
The presence of natural catechins that help repress the main causes of hair loss (like DHT or dihydrotestosterone), essential compounds such as carotenoids and tocopherols, and the substantial polyphenols are mainly the reason for its successful reaction to preventing hair loss. It also has the ability to destroy parasites in the scalp and promotion of blood circulation in the scalp.
2. Supports Growth
Due to the improved circulation caused by the essential compounds in green tea, this leads to growth of more healthy and active hair follicles. With more oxygen and nutrients through circulation, the hair follicles are able to grow better.
Previous follicles that began to shrink and have not progressed to the point of permanent damage will begin to grow again, reversing the shrinking process. Green tea also promotes the hair follicles to grow longer hair.
Green Tea Extract Benefits for Body
From the insides and out of one’s body, green tea extract can help in improving and maintaining certain aspects of it. It’s well established that the nutrients and natural chemicals found in green tea is beneficial to the body, and consistently consuming them can have a long-term positive effect.
1. Improves Heart Health
The catechins found in green tea may help reduce blood pressure and improve blood fat levels. High blood pressure is the result of increased fat buildup in the blood from oxidative stress that leads to inflammation in the arteries.
The antioxidants found in green tea extract can decrease this inflammation hence reducing the blood pressure, as well as inhibit fat absorption cells to reduce blood fat levels. As these two factors are the main causes of heart diseases, regulating them can promote heart health.
2. Assist with Weight Loss
Due to its abundance of catechins as well as a good amount of caffeine in green tea extract, these ingredients have been known to assist in weight loss by regulating the hormones that can enhance thermogenesis — which is the process of when your body burns calories to digest food and product heat. Green tea extract makes the body more effective at losing weight by increasing the number of calories the body burns through thermogenesis.
3. Improves Dental Health
Who would’ve thought that green tea extract could benefit dental health, but because of its anti-inflammatory properties, they protect against gingivitis, gum disease and bleeding of the gums.
The catechins in green tea extract also reduces the growth of bacteria — like the streptococcus mutans which is the primary cause of plaque formation and leading contributor to cavities and tooth decay — as well as some viruses including the influenza virus, leading to lower risks of infections and reducing bad breath.
4. Skin
It has been proven that green tea extract helps in preventing as well as treating several skin conditions. When applied to the skin, green tea extract can assist in treating a variety of skin problems such as dermatitis, rosacea and warts.
Green tea extract in cosmetic products benefits the skin by providing a moisturising and cooling effect. As a supplement, green tea extract helps with slowing down skin aging and preventing and treating acne. Either through consumption or application of green tea extract, skin conditions like loss of skin elasticity, inflammation and cancer caused by UV ray exposure can be prevented.
Green Tea Extract Benefits for Health & Mind
Not only does green tea extract is good for the physical body parts, it also benefits one’s health in terms of function as well as the mind. From prevention of negative effects to promotion of positive ones, green tea extract properties are good for all.
1. Improves Brain Function
Green tea extract does contain caffeine, but ever so slightly and nothing compared to the amounts found in coffee. Yet, it is enough to produce an effect without getting the jitters that comes with too much caffeine. On top of that, green tea extract also contains the amino acid:-theanine, which works synergistically with caffeine and thus leading to the improvement of brain function.
From having a more stable energy to being much more productive, the right dose and combination found in green tea extract gives a much milder and positive kind of buzz than that of coffee.
2. Moderate Blood Pressure
It is known that tea in general can affect blood pressure, be it positively or negatively. Studies have shown that regular consumption of green tea extract can help reduce high blood pressure for people who have them, while also increase low blood pressure in elderly people who have them after eating. Check out these tea can help lowering your blood pressure.
3. Helps with Lowering Blood Sugar Level
With the catechins present in green tea extract, it can enhance insulin sensitivity and regulate the production of blood sugar. These can greatly help with lowering blood sugar levels for some.
4. Reduce Risks of Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke are the biggest causes of death in the world. Because of that, there’s an extremely large number of studies dedicated to the prevention of them. Green tea extracts have been proven to improve some of the main risks for these diseases. Some of the ways green tea extracts do that is by increasing the antioxidant capacity of the blood, protecting particles from oxidation which is one of the causes of heart disease; and also lowering cholesterol.
5. Reduce Risk of Cancer
There are countless types of cancer in the world, and green tea extract can help reduce the risk for some, including breast, prostate and colorectal cancer. The powerful antioxidants in green tea extract protects the consumer against cancer, which is caused by uncontrolled growth of negative cells.
As they help in maintaining a favourable balance of cell production and death, green tea extract helps promote that positive process, keeping cells active and healthy.
6. Reduce Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
As green tea extract can enhance insulin sensitivity and regular blood sugar because of the catechins present, Type 2 diabetes risk can be reduced as it is a result of having elevated blood sugar level due to inability of producing insulin.
7. Reduce Risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
The two most common neurodegenerative diseases in the world are Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The bioactive compounds in green tea extract can have various protective effects of the brain. As it promotes brain health which can eventually improve it, it lowers the risks of the two most common neurodegenerative disorders.
Side Effects of Green Tea Extract
Nothing in the world is only good, and there’s always a catch to it. With green tea extract, there can be side effects when consuming it particularly pregnant or breastfeeding women, and people with liver problems, anxiety disorders and stomach ulcers should be cautious when taking green tea supplements(green tea tablets) or extracts.
1. Caffeine Sensitivity
Green tea extracts contain caffeine, and even though the amount is not huge, those with severe caffeine sensitivities could be highly affected and resulting in insomnia, anxiety, irritability, nausea or upset stomach.
2. Reaction to other Stimulants
Green tea extract contains high levels of active substances that can have negative impacts when triggered by other stimulant drugs, herbs, supplements or medication. It could have effects like increased blood pressure and heart rate if mixed with the wrong ingredients.
Precautions and Doses for Green Tea
When it comes to everything, moderation is key. In the case of green tea extract as well, it works best in well-calculated doses. There’s a maximum healthy intake level that shouldn’t be exceeded.
About 400 to 500g per day of the EGCG catechin found in green tea extract is the most beneficial quantity — in other words, it’s about 5 to 10 cups of green tea per day, and a cup of green tea is equivalent to 50 to 100mg of green tea extract. Keeping to the healthy dose of green tea extract is extremely important, as overconsumption of it may lead to serious consequences like liver damage and liver failure.
While there are countless benefits to green tea extract, it’s best to exercise caution and seek guidance from a qualified health care provider when using high doses or pharmacological dose of supplement. In any case, a regular cup of green tea is a pretty safe bet generally, so don’t be put off by the extreme cases when, really, it’s only a good ol’ healthy cup of green tea!
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