Green tea is a popular drink consumed worldwide. In recent years, it has likewise gained appeal as a health beverage. Green tea is originated from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant and can be found in numerous varieties.
It can be taken pleasure in hot, cold or perhaps in powdered form, and it’s recognized for its high antioxidant material and health advantages.
However how much green tea should you drink to achieve these advantages? And could drinking excessive threaten?
This short article dives into the research to learn how much green tea you should drink.
Green Tea Is Linked to Many Health Benefits
Green tea is loaded with nutrients and plant substances that can have favorable health effects.
This consists of powerful antioxidants called catechins, which might help secure versus cancer.
In fact, several research studies show that individuals who drink green tea are considerably less likely to get lots of types of cancer, compared to those who don’t consume it.
The cancers that green tea might assist secure versus consist of prostate and breast cancer, which are the 2 most typical cancers in males and females, respectively.
What’s more, a number of research studies indicate that green tea might reduce your threat of developing type 2 diabetes and heart illness.
And drinking green tea might even help you lose weight.
The caffeine and catechins it consists of have been shown to boost your metabolism and boost fat burning.
Overall, studies indicate that consuming green tea can assist you burn an additional 75 — 100 calories per day.
Although this might appear like a percentage, it can contribute to substantial weight loss over the long term.
Other possible benefits of drinking green tea include immune system assistance, enhanced brain function, enhanced oral health and a lower threat of arthritis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s illness.
How Much Green Tea Is Optimal?
Research studies that explore the benefits of green tea show contrasting proof about precisely how much you should consume every day.
Some research studies show health benefits in individuals who drink as little as one cup each day, while other studies deem 5 or more cups daily to be optimum.
Green tea might assist reduce the risk of several illness. However, the ideal total up to consume may depend upon the disease.
- Oral cancer: In a big observational research study, females who drank three to four cups of green tea day-to-day were the least most likely to develop oral cancer.
- Prostate cancer: A large observational research study found that guys who consumed 5 or more cups of green tea day-to-day had a lower danger of establishing prostate cancer, compared to those who consumed less than one cup each day.
- Stomach cancer: Another big observational study revealed a minimized threat of stomach cancer in ladies who took in five or more cups of green tea per day.
- Breast cancer: Two observational studies revealed minimized reoccurrences of breast cancer in females who consumed more than 3 cups of green tea everyday.
- Pancreatic cancer: One observational research study discovered that consuming five or more cups of green tea per day was connected to a reduced risk of pancreatic cancer.
- Diabetes: In a retrospective observational research study, individuals who consumed 6 or more cups of green tea everyday had a 33% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes, compared to those who consumed less than one cup each week.
- Heart disease: An analysis of nine studies discovered that people who consumed one to three cups of green tea day-to-day had a lower threat of cardiovascular disease and stroke, compared to those who consumed less than one cup.
Based on the above studies, it’s ideal to drink 3 to five cups of green tea per day.
However, it’s essential to keep in mind that some research studies did not find any association between drinking green tea and disease risk, so these impacts might vary from person to person.
One thing most research studies have discovered is that green tea drinkers remain in better health than those who do not drink tea at all.
Possible Side Effects of Drinking Green Tea
The caffeine and catechins in green tea are well known for their health benefits, however they can also cause side impacts for some individuals, particularly in big dosages.
Effects of Caffeine
Consuming excessive caffeine can increase sensations of anxiety, hinder sleep and trigger stomach upset and headaches in some individuals.
Consuming large amounts of caffeine while pregnant may even increase the danger of birth problems and miscarriage.
Based on existing research, everyone, including pregnant females, should not consume more than 300 mg of caffeine daily.
However, one review looked at over 400 research studies and found that healthy grownups who consumed as much as 400 mg of caffeine daily did not experience negative results.
The amount of caffeine in one cup of green tea varies depending upon the amount of tea used and the length of time the leaves high.
One research study discovered that the caffeine material of 1 gram of green tea ranged from 11 — 20 mg.
A single serving is usually measured at 1 tablespoon (2 grams) of tea leaves per 1 cup (240 ml) of water. Presuming each cup of tea is around 1 cup (240 ml), this means the average cup of green tea contains about 22 — 40 mg of caffeine.
Catechins May Reduce Iron Absorption
The catechins in green tea might decrease your ability to absorb iron from foods.
In truth, taking in catechins in large amounts may cause iron shortage anemia.
While routinely consuming green tea isn’t a concern for a lot of healthy people, those at danger of iron deficiency ought to consider drinking tea in between meals and waiting a minimum of one hour after consuming before drinking tea.
Infants, young kids, women who are pregnant or menstruating and people who have internal bleeding or are undergoing dialysis are all at an increased danger of iron deficiency.
The catechins in green tea can likewise hinder particular medications and reduce their effectiveness.
For instance, studies suggest that green tea might prevent the effectiveness of particular heart and blood pressure medications.
Drinking green tea might also reduce the results of specific medications used to treat stress and anxiety and anxiety.
Toxic impacts are most typical when individuals take green tea supplements, which have a much greater concentration of catechins than green tea itself.
