Friday, March 13, 2009

Natural Elixir

http://brucefong.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/green-tea.jpg

What makes green tea so special?

It has something called Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), which is known to be the key to its many benefits:
1) Help weight loss
2) Decrease cholesterol level
3) Increase the immune system function
4) Helps the heart and circulatory health
5) Lower risk of/ prevention against a long list of cancers and diseases
6) Helps to soothe and cure the esophagus
7) It's full of antioxidants
8) It has bacteria-destroying ability (ie. prevent tooth decay, avoid food poisoning)

Japan has been drinking this tea for centuries and is part of many traditions and holidays.

The amount of antioxidants in one cup of green tea surpasses a serving of most fruits and vegetables like broccoli, strawberries, and spinach.

Surprisingly, it also has more vitamin C than a lemon.

Many people have asked me about the dieting part of green tea. It works! Plus, water plays a role in this too since your metabolism is raised when your bodily water level is raised too.

Green tea has polyphenols which are responsible for fat-burning.

Last summer, I spent a month sitting and studying so I did not do much exercise. But everyday at my desk, I always had 2 pots of green tea which I just sipped throughout the day. After that month, I lost 6 pounds. I did not even have to move a muscle. So that is the proof that it does work.

You can try this too. But please don't treat this as an exercise substitute. Yes, I lost the pounds but exercise is always need. And don't start eating more unhealthy food as well as green tea thinking it will balance out. Green tea simply cleanses the body. It is like a sink dispenser. You throw food down there and it goes down the sink. Then you turn it on, and it gets rid of all the excess food remaining thus making it clean. But if you decide to pack it with buckets of food, that simply defeats the purpose. And the sink dispenser can only get rid of so much before clogging the whole system up.

When making green tea, remember to add boiling water for it increases the extraction of polyphenols. And don't leave it in for too long. About 3-5 minutes, depending on the size of the pot. If it is there for too long, it will become too concentrated, bitter, and caffeinated (so it's like coffee...you don't want to drink 2 pots of that...that's a bit too much)

And another thing that is great about green tea is that it can have taste and it doesn't. It is versatile. So you can always get your ECGC's from other sources besides the tea. You can find it in a solid, liquid, and powder form. You can put it in almost anything! And sometimes you dont have to taste it. There is a powder form of it which you mix into your food without ruining its taste. So you can get the nutrients that way. Or you can definitely taste it like in a Starbucks drink. Yum.
Green tea for the win.

6 comments:

  1. how cool! i had no idea green tea was so good for you. i love your blog =)

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  2. This is so interesting! I'm going to get some right now :).

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  3. i'm pretty sure hot foods do NOT melt your fat away...

    but green tea is still good for you.

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  4. Nice post on green tea, very interesting! Well done.

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  5. Wowie!!! I never knew that! :D

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  6. This is really interesting - I've heard about the cancer and such, but I didn't know the dieting part actually works! It sounds super healthy - I drank a cup right after this post. :D

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