Green tea is a popular beverage throughout the world. Derived from Camellia sinensis, the same plant that is used to make black tea and oolong tea, green tea differs from other varieties in the way it is processed. Black teas go through a process of fermentation. Oolong teas are only partially fermented. Green tea is not fermented but steamed. This process allows green tea to maintain the polyphenols that have been attributed with delivering certain health enhancing effects. Green tea delivers different effects depending on whether it contains caffeine.
Decaffeinated Green Tea Is Non-Addictive
Caffeine is the most widely used drug in the world. In the United States alone, 90 percent of the population consumes caffeine daily. The downside of habitual use of caffeine is that it causes physical dependence that can result in withdrawal symptoms when use is discontinued. As the Smith College Sophian notes, caffeine increases dopamine levels in the brain, and increased dopamine has been attributed with causing the addictive effects of drugs such as heroin and cocaine. If you drink a lot of caffeinated green tea, you may find that any abrupt cessation of your green tea habit causes headaches and increases fatigue levels above and beyond what you'd feel if you'd never consumed caffeine on a regular basis.
Caffeinated Green Tea and Side Effects
The overuse of caffeine has been associated with numerous side effects, including irritability, heart palpitations, insomnia and dizziness. The Linus Pauling Institute compared more than 20 varieties of green and black teas and found that their caffeine content varied considerably. By drinking 2 to 3 cups per day, the amount recommended by the University of Maryland Medical Center, you could be consuming up to 150mg of caffeine.
Green Tea and Weight Loss
Much has been written concerning the potential of green tea for aiding in weight loss. Caffeine is thought to have a thermogenic, or fat-burning, effect, but the Pennington Nutrition Series explains that the amount of thermogenesis that occurs due to use of green tea extracts -- a 4 percent increase in energy burning -- is greater than what could be attributed to the consumption of caffeine alone. This fat-burning effect may be caused by catechins, the polyphenols found in green tea. Catechins can decrease fat absorption, increase thermogenesis and suppress appetite, according to Pennington.
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