Boiling tea leaves in water and drinking the herbal beverage is a practice that is followed by Chinese since ancient times. Due to the health and medicinal value of green tea, It is now used worldwide. Tea is the most consumed beverage now in the world after water. Tea is made from the leaves of a plant called Camellia sinensis. There are different types of tea available in the market like regular black tea, green tea and white tea. Due to media attention, people are now more aware of green tea and it has become extremely popular because of the health benefits that it contains.

Difference in traditional Black Tea and Green Tea:

Both teas are made from the leaves of Camellia sinensis but, their processing steps are different. Black tea goes through fermenting process while green tea doesn’t adopt this process. Green tea contains its herbal, medicinal values due to a compound epigallocatechin gallate(EGCG). The fermentation process of tea, modify EGCG in some other form that makes black tea less valuable compared to green tea. Green tea is made from steaming the tea leaves which retains EGCG in its original form. Black tea supply delicious flavor and that’s why people crave for black tea, but the recent awareness about health benefits of green tea making green tea popular in western countries.

Health benefits of green tea:

Many researches have been done to bring evidences for health benefits of green tea. The health benefits of green tea lies in its component EGCG which is a powerful antioxidant. Studies also show that it is useful in killing the cancer cells without harming normal cells of the body. The main health benefits of green tea includes:

1. Health related problems: Green tea lowers the total cholesterol and improves the good HDL to bad LDL ratio. It prevents the formation of blood clots and therefore reduces the chances of disease like heart-attack and stroke.
2. Cancer: Studies in animal bodies show that EGCG inhibit the growth of cancer cells, but these studies on human are not so convincing.
3. Weight Loss: Green tea extract increase the metabolism and therefore it is assumed that daily consumption of green tea is helpful in reducing weight.
4. Studies also reveal that green tea is beneficial for diabetic patients.
5. Green tea also useful for the tooth problems like tooth decay. It has antibacterial properties that are helpful in killing the bacteria causing dental problems.

Green tea side-effects:

green tea contains caffeine which is a strong stimulant. It interferes with the brain chemistry and give rise to stress, depression and insomnia. Though the quantity, of caffeine that green tea contains is less than the coffee, but if you suffering from problems like insomnia or stress, you should avoid repeated consumption of green tea.