Good health

Study finds new reason to guzzle green tea

Aug 14, 2017

Green tea is known for its high level of antioxidants.

Scientists have long lauded the benefits of green tea and now they’ve discovered a new reason to pop on the kettle and brew yourself a nice hot cup of the green stuff.

Researchers say green tea has more benefits than previously thought and could help alleviate cognitive impairment and the effects of the Western diet.

A study published in The FASEB Journal examined the effects of green tea on mice showed the antioxidant-rich tea can help alleviate high-fat and high-fructose (HFFD)-induced insulin resistance and cognitive impairment.

Researchers primarily looked at the effects of EGCG (epigallocatechin-3-gallate), which is the most abundant antioxidant in green tea, to see how it affected the mice’s weight and brain function.

They split the mice into groups and compared those on a standard diet and those on a HFFD diet, and a HFFD diet with 2g of EGCG per litre of drinking water.

After 16 weeks they found that those on a HFFD diet had a higher final body weight than the control mice, and a significantly higher final body weight than the HFFD+EGCG mice.

“Green tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water, and is grown in at least 30 countries,” Xuebo Liu, a researcher at the College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, in China told Science Daily.

“The ancient habit of drinking green tea may be a more acceptable alternative to medicine when it comes to combatting obesity, insulin resistance, and memory impairment.”

Previous studies have linked green tea to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and even cancer.

Several studies have shown that it can speed up the metabolism and reduce weight. However, they were not statistically proven so have to be taken with a grain of salt until further research is conducted.