People are getting more and more health conscious these days. They start running and biking, enrolling in gym programs, and engaging in different sports to keep their body in tip top shape. Various diet regimens are also being followed by many. As an offshoot of wanting to eat healthy, the popularity of tea increased as part of one’s diet.

Despite being known for centuries as one of the healthiest drinks mankind ever discovered, tea has only been considered a “cool” drink the past 5 years or so. It’s now hip to drink tea in all its flavors albeit its steep price sometimes. Green tea is probably the most famous type of tea in the market. You can enjoy it the traditional way—brewed and all or the modern way like green tea frapuccinos or green tea with milk and pearls. Rich people don’t mind paying a bit more for a healthy drink than settling for a sugar-high soda. Here are some of the health benefits of green tea:

Green tea is an effective antioxidant. A study from published in Harvard Women’s Health Watch in 2004 showed that the catechins found in green tea is more powerful antioxidant compared to vitamin C and E. This means that green tea greatly helps in protecting cell damage and enhancing one’s immune system.

Green tea reduces the risk of heart disease. The antioxidants found in green tea helps in increasing good cholesterol (HDL) and blocking the oxidation of bad cholesterol (LDL). In a study done by a group of Chinese researchers published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, it showed that regular green tea drinkers had a reduced risk in hypertension, lowering from 46% to 25%.

Green tea can fight cancer and HIV. Researchers from Purdue University discovered that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a type of catechins compound found in green tea, prevented the growth of cancer cells. Moreover, a study done in the University of Tokyo showed that the EGCG binds to CD4 cells—a specialized part of the immune system that initiates a body’s response to infections. This prevented HIV from destroying and binding to normal cells. Because of this green tea can be a catalyst in discovering a cure for cancer and HIV.

Green tea helps to achieve weight loss. Since green tea lowers the bad cholesterol, it also fights obesity. There were studies done in Netherlands and Japan that showed a significant weight loss on the subjects who were given green tea. In Japan, 240 men and women were made to varying doses drink green tea extracts for three months. Those who received the highest dose lost weight and fat, had lower bad cholesterol, and had lower blood pressure.

Green tea can benefit one’s dental health. A study presented at the American Society for Microbiology suggested that chemicals in green tea can destroy bacteria and viruses that trigger throat infections and other dental conditions. US microbiologist, Milton Schiffenbauer of the independent Pace University said that green tea is better at fighting viruses, destroying organisms that cause disease. Polyphenols, another green tea chemical, also help in slowing the growth of bacteria associated with bad breath according to Christine Wu of the University of Illinois.

Adding green tea to your daily diet can give your body lots of benefits. Strong teeth coupled with a manageable weight; along with a healthy heart and effective immune system are just some of the health advantages from drinking green tea. You can easily buy green tea anywhere. However, if you’re looking for the top of the line green tea you might want to check out entrepreneur An Yanshi’s $200-per-cup green tea. This specialty green tea is manufactured in Sichuan Province in China. The catch is—the tea is produced from the excrement of panda bears that excrete 70% of the nutrients from the wild bamboo they eat.

Author bio:

Alexis Thompson is a former Mountain Backpacker and a 26 year old mother of 2 daughters, Sophie and Rhian. She is into almost all types of Music especially The Fray and Hillsong. She also has a passion in Singing and Scrap Booking. Follow her escapades on her Twitter.

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