Archeologists have found evidence that people have been drinking green tea for at least 5,000 years, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. Today, it's the most popular drink after water. While Harvard Health Publications reports that the best way to get the most health benefits from green tea is by drinking it freshly brewed, cold tea still maintains most of its free-radical fighting antioxidants.
Eye Health
Green tea is known for having an abundance of antioxidants. A 2010 study published in the "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry" by Chi Pui Pang found that catechins in green tea protect the eye. After analyzing eye tissue, researchers determined that the eye absorbed significant amounts of catechins from green tea, which lasted for up to 20 hours. It's believed that green tea can protect the eye from diseases like glaucoma. The fact that the lab animals used in this study were fed green tea extract proves that the tea did not have to be consumed hot and that temperature played no role in the eye's absorption antioxidants from green tea.
Hypertension
Drinking a half cup of green tea for at least one year could reduce a person's risk of developing hypertension, or high blood pressure. A 2004 study published in the "Archives of Internal Medicine" by Yang Yi-Chin found that habitual tea drinkers were 46 percent less likely to develop hypertension compared to study participants who drank less than 4 ounces of green tea daily.
Osteoporosis
People who drink green tea regularly may reduce their risk of developing osteoporosis. A 2009 study by Hong Kong researcher Ping Chung Leung found that green tea contains three major components responsible for improving the activity of enzymes that protect bones from breaking down and weakening with age.
Gallstones
WHFoods reports that drinking hot or iced green tea could lower your risk of developing gallstones. A 2006 study published in the "International Journal of Cancer" by Ann Hsing found that women who drank a cup of tea every day for six months had 27 percent reduced risk of developing gallstones. Men who regularly drank green tea also had a reduction in biliary disease, but at a slightly lower rate than women.
References
- Amazing Green Tea: Cold Tea vs. Hot Tea Health Benefits
- Harvard Health Publications: Benefit of Drinking Green Tea
- ScienceDaily: New Evidence that Green Teach May Help Fight Glaucoma and Other Eye Diseases
- PubMed: Green Tea Catechins and Their Oxidative Protection in the Rat Eye
- Archives of Internal Medicine: The Protective Effect of Habitual Tea Consumption on Hypertension
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