Wellness Wednesday Tip #18: Try Some Green Tea

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Happy Wellfie Wednesday Folks!

     Welcome back, and I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween. This week’s tip is to try some Green Tea! If you’re looking to swap out a daily soft drink, sugary beverage, or even get a small dose of caffeine that’s not from coffee (crazy right, because coffee rocks!), try green tea. Green tea has been found to be one of most beneficial teas available when it comes to improving health.

     Green tea’s health benefits stem from its’ high concentration of flavonoids, which act as antioxidants in the body. The research on green tea is abundant, and most of the studies indicate that benefits are seen with drinking up to 3 cups/day. Findings include:

  • Reducing risk of atherosclerosis (1)
  • Reducing risk of cardiovascular events (2)
  • Lowering total cholesterol (1,3,4,5)
  • Protection against certain cancers (1,3)
  • Help regulate glucose levels (1,6)

A most recent large cohort study in Japan also found that “green tea may reduce the risk of all-cause mortality,” including reduced risk for heart disease in men & women and cerebrovascular and respiratory illness in men. (7)

     The best way to take advantage of the tea’s benefits is to brew it fresh, steeping for 3-5 minutes, as other variations contain less beneficial compounds. (3) Keep in mind that green tea is a herb and could have potential side effects when combined with other herbs, supplements, or medications. (1)

     Let us know how you incorporated green tea into your day! And as always, thanks again for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures again this week and tag Eric (@Eric_in_AmERICa) or myself (@PBernerSPT) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

-       Dr. Patrick Berner, PT, DPT

-       Dr. Eric Uveges, PT, DPT

 

1.     http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/green-tea

2.     Jun Pang, Zheng Zhang, Tong-zhang Zheng, et al. Green tea consumption and risk of cardiovascular and ischemic related diseases: A meta-analysis, International Journal of Cardiology, Volume 202, 1 January 2016, Pages 967-974,

3.     http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/benefit_of_drinking_green_tea

4.     I. Onakpoya, E. Spencer, C. Heneghan, M. Thompson, The effect of green tea on blood pressure and lipid profile: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials, Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, Volume 24, Issue 8, August 2014, Pages 823-836.

5.     Khalesi S, Sun J, Buys N, et al. Green tea catechins and blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Eur J Nutr. 2014;53(6):1299-311.

6.     Liu K, Zhou R, Wang B, et al. Effect of green tea on glucose control and insulin sensitivity: a meta-analysis of 17 randomized controlled trials. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(2):340-8.

7.     Eiko Saito, Manami Inoue, Norie Sawada, et al. Association of green tea consumption with mortality due to all causes and major causes of death in a Japanese population: the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study (JPHC Study), Annals of Epidemiology, Volume 25, Issue 7, July 2015, Pages 512-518.