Top 10 Misconceptions About Green Tea

Green tea is a popular drink that has various benefits. Many associate the tea with excellent health and well-being. Many green tea lovers do not base their opinions on facts and miss the crucial information they need to understand the tea. As such, here are the top-10 misconceptions about green tea.

1. Green Tea is decaffeinated:

Despite popular beliefs, green tea does carry caffeine. The exact amount is determined by the quantity of tea used and the length of time the leaves are dried. On average green tea has 15-40 mg of caffeine compared to instant coffee which has 50-100 mg per cup. Excessive drinking could cause insomnia, dizziness and fast heart beats.

2. Green Tea helps people lose weight:

The studies done on green teas are valid. However, the tests are principally looking at specific type of teas as the areas of concentration. They sometimes fail to examine other teas as a form of analysis. For example, European scientists have found that black tea has identical results as green tea when helping tea drinkers lose weight. Asian researchers when exhilarating the green tea market, failed to mention this in their studies.

3. Green Tea, Black Tea and Oolong come from different plants:

This is not true, despite popular beliefs. All teas come from Camellia Sinensis. This belief is similar to that of olives. Green and Black olives come from the same tree; yet when ripe, green olives turn black. When it comes to tea, the colour of the leaves is determined by the way each is processed.

4. Black tea has more caffeine than Green Tea:

Despite popular beliefs one should not view caffeine levels by the colour of the tea. The younger the leaves, the more caffeine the tea has. For example, Japanese green tea, Gyokuro, has more caffeine than a regular green tea.

5. Green Tea makes you healthy:

Green tea is not the magic tooth fairy. It cannot produce wanders as much as people would love to think. Although green tea does speed up the metabolism, it does not solve various other problems associated with overweight. One cannot just drink a cup of green tea after eating 4000 calories worth of food and think they will be able to lose weight and reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels. The process of burning fat would be faster but surely not thorough at a snap of a finger or shall we say, a cup of green tea.

6. Caffeinated Green Tea boosts Energy in Tea Drinkers:

The caffeine in Green tea can help tea lovers greatly. The caffeine inside the tea can speed up metabolism inside one’s body. Furthermore, L-theanine inside only teas and certain mushrooms, excites brain waves which encourage awareness and relaxation. This ingredient can make a tea lovers relaxed and not woozy.

7. Pregnant women should not drink green tea:

Yes, pregnant women are allowed to drink green tea. As green tea does contain caffeine, pregnant women are advised to only drink 200 mg of caffeine a day in total. It may be beneficial for pregnant women to drink one cup of green tea every day as it has lots of antioxidants, which prevent cell damage in the body. One should still speak with their family physician to understand their options.

8. Brewing fully eliminates caffeine content in green tea

Some believe that by brewing green tea and flushing it with hot water, they are able to remove all caffeine. Despite such beliefs, this is not true. Brewing for 40 seconds eliminates approximately 80% of caffeine. One still must understand that caffeine in green tea is good for all tea lovers. They will not be affected so much in terms of sleep as they would when drinking coffee. They would be missing out on the many of the above said benefits, associated with green tea.

9. Green Tea prevents Various Types of Cancer:

The results of such studies are inconclusive. Many green tea lovers and drinkers believe that the polyphenol antioxidents, catechins, present in the green tea cause cancer cells to die. Many scientists have done extensive research on the topic, however, they failed to control their trials and narrow down the their research. Many researchers such as the ones in Japan only prove that those who drank green tea once a day died of non cancer related diseases.

10. Green Tea is an Asian Tea:

In North America, green tea lovers associate the tea with China, Japan and other Asian countries. Although, the tea originated in China, other countries have added their mark. Moroccans are now producing green tea and serving it with milk, and finger shaped cookies. Lipton has popularized the tea with citrous tastes. Russians and later Israelis under the management of Wissotzky, created blended green teas for its market. Green tea is popular everywhere and is not just associated with Asian traditions.

Green tea is a popular drink that has various benefits. Many associate the tea with excellent health and well-being. Many green tea lovers do not base their opinions on facts and miss the crucial information they need to understand the tea. As such, here are the top-10 misconceptions about green tea.

Resources:

“Drinking Health: Benefits and Misconceptions.” TeaClass: Tea education on your own schedule. Web. 16 May 2011. <http://www.teaclass.com/lesson_0106.html>.