The Great Benefits of Drinking Green Tea

Green tea can be a great addition to the fitness enthusiast’s diet. It is no wonder why every media outlet is telling you that green tea is the latest greatest supplement.

What does Green Tea contain and what do those components do?

#1 Tannins: Tannins are a group of simple and complex phenol, polyphenol, and flavonoid compounds. Produced by plants, all of the tannins are relatively resistant to digestion or fermentation.They act as astringents, shrinking tissues and contracting structural proteins in the skin and mucosa. Which means that having a cup of green tea after a meal can aid in digestion.

#2 Catechins: Catechins are a category of polyphenols. In green tea, catechins are present in significant quantities, more specifically; epicatechin (EC), epigallocatechin (EGC), epicatechin gallate (ECG) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG makes up about 10-50 percent of the total catechin content, and appears to be the most powerful of the catechins, with antioxidant activity about 25-100 times more potent than vitamins C and E. A cup of green tea may provide 10-40 mg of polyphenols, and has antioxidant activity greater than a serving of broccoli, spinach, carrots, or strawberries. Having a powerful antioxidant coursing through your system after a heavy workout is just what you need to curb free-radical damage.

#3 Flavonoids: Flavonoids are plant pigments, and are the brightly colored chemical constituents found in most fresh fruits and vegetables. They may aid in protecting against infection. Deficiency can result in a tendency to bruise easily.

#4 Theanine: This is a amino acid that produces tranquilizing effects in the brain, theanine is a unique amino acid found in sencha leaves. It is quite different from the polyphenol and catechin antioxidants for which green tea is typically consumed.

If you are fitness freak like myself, then Green Tea can also be used as a great Pre-Workout supplement. The green tea is great because it does have some caffeine and the theanine really relaxes you mentally but lets you perform physically. It also boosts your metabolism briefly as well, so you can burn more calories during your workout.

Workout Tip: If you do your cardio or workout in the morning like myself, then having a cup or two of green tea or black coffee before you workout is ideal. It will boost your metabolism a bit more to help you burn more calories in the gym. A lot of people do fasted cardio/working out in the morning on a empty stomach so they can burn more bodyfat. Although this will work since your body is forced to use that stored fat for fuel, drinking green tea or black coffee before hand will maximize and energize your workouts even more. Research even suggests that supplementing with green tea can raise your resting metabolic rate by 3 percent. In order to get this benefit, you must have about about 3 glasses a day. If you have a BMR of 2000 or so that means 60 extra calories a day.

So give this a shot, and if you don’t so already, start incorporating green tea into your diet now. If you are not a fan of green tea, try black coffee. Black coffee also boosts that metabolism as well. But DO NOT add any sugar, cream, milk or sweeteners with calories in your beverage, otherwise what is the point?!

#Fitness #Health #Nutrition #Wellness