Coffee Or Tea - Which Is Better For You?

Most people cannot function without either their morning cup of coffee or tea. While, it's mostly the caffeine that gets people going, a side benefit from drinking these beverages is that you may be boosting your immune system and helping to fight disease.
While the health benefits of drinking green tea have been much publicized, few people realize that drinking coffee can have health benefits as well but recent studies show that coffee may share some of the healthy attributes that green tea has shown.
Both coffee and green tea have been shown to contain compounds which have antibacterial properties that can help prevent tooth decay and may help to fight food poisoning. All of which help in glucose metabolism and result in those who regularly drink coffee having a reduced risk of diabetes. Like green tea, coffee has antioxidants including quinines, chlorogenic acid and tocopherols as well as essential minerals such as magnesium.
Green tea has been shown to have a role in the prevention of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cataracts, and to help boost your immune system. In addition, green tea may also help you lose weight and is said to help lower blood sugar and cholesterol as well as slow the aging process.
Coffee is said to contain compounds that boost the activity of enzymes which may protect against colon cancer (according to animal studies published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry). Other health benefits of coffee include a reduced risk of developing Parkinsons Disease, help in relieving asthma symptoms, stopping tension headaches, and inhibiting the formation of gallstones.
Some say 10 cups a day, others say you can experience the benefits with 3 cups a day. While most everyone agrees that the caffeinated should only be taken in small amounts (no more than 3 cups of coffee a day) to avoid the addictive qualities of the caffeine, it's a bit more vague on how much tea is recommended. When it comes to the question of how much coffee or tea you need to benefit the answers can be a bit confusing.

The Benefits of Green Tea

It is a miracle. People have been drinking green tea as treatment for everything from weight loss to curing cancer to skin problems.
In the 1994 edition of the Journal of National Cancer Institute, the results of an epidemiological study showed that one of the health benefits of drinking green tea is that it can reduce the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by up to 60%.
A powerful antioxidant, EGCG can not only inhibit the growth of cancer cells but can also destroy them without harming healthy cells. The rich presence of catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is the reason why green tea has so many health benefits.
This is a leading cause of strokes and heart attacks. Also another benefit of green tea is its ability to lower down cholesterol levels and improve the ratio between good (HDL) cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol.
Green tea has greater health benefits compared to other Chinese teas like oolong and black tea, which come from the plant Camellia sinensis. What makes green tea different is the process by which it is made. Green tea owes much of its health benefits to how the Camellia sinensis leaves are steamed. The process stops the EGCG health benefit of green tea from oxidizing.
Many People have embarked on green tea dieting with great success and benefit. This was proven in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 1999, men who take both caffeine and green tea burn down more calories than men who only take caffeine or a placebo. Drinking green tea can allow more calories to be burnt which will result in weight loss.
Another health benefit of green tea is that it can help prevent food poisoning and also prevent tooth decay.
Well known for its countless health benefits such weight loss and curing cancer, green tea is a miracle.

The Benefits of Green Tea for Dieting

There are many different ways to tackle the prospect of losing weight.
Many choose to restrict or calculate what they eat, while some focus on additional help received from supplements, vitamins, as well as other items.
This is especially true when it comes to the benefits of green tea for dieting. Drinking tea can lead to beneficial results when dieting.
The benefits of green tea for dieting and medical use have been recognized for centuries in countries like India and China.
The Health Benefits of Drinking Green Tea
Green tea has been proven to reduce cholesterol levels, as well as triglycerides. It can even prove beneficial for those who wish to increase their HDL ("good") cholesterol levels.
A boost in the immune system, as well as weight loss, has been seen in those who drink green tea on a regular basis.
Green tea also provides anti-cancer agents that can also be found in black tea.
When dieting, some of the benefits of drinking green tea can be seen through the high concentration of antioxidants that can be found.
Reports have found that green tea possesses 50 times more strength than Vitamin E and C.
A loss of five pounds is one of the advantages to making this a habit. Studies have also shown that the benefits of green tea for dieting are visible when drinking one cup every day for one year.
Using Sweeteners with Green Tea
The benefits of green tea for dieting is drastically reduced when sugar or honey is added. This completely defeats the purpose of tapping into some of the benefits of green tea for dieting. When you absolutely cannot live without a sweetener, pick up the herbal replacement called Stevia.
How much can Green Tea can you Safely Drink?
When dieting, the benefits of green tea are not affected by the amount of tea that is drunk by the dieter.
There are no significant side effects and it is completely safe to drink green tea. Some people have been known to drink up to 20 cups of green tea per day. Decaffeinated selections are available, which does not decrease the benefits of green tea for dieting.
When integrating green tea on a regular basis, a newcomer may experience insomnia or restlessness, but these effects soon pass once the body has adjusted.
How to Prepare Green Tea
To fully reap the benefits of green tea for dieting, the way you prepare the tea influences its effects and strength. The size of the tealeaves should be small and loose, presenting the best choice because it provides quick infusion. It takes longer to prepare a large tealeaf.
Even though loose leaves are recommended, the most common way a dieter will prepare their green tea is by using a teabag. In order to increase the benefits of green tea for dieting, teabags should be dunked on a continuous basis to extract a higher amount of helpful polyphenols, which contain a high concentration of antioxidants and health benefits.
It is not recommended to leave teabags floating on the top of a teacup.
Using boiling water also increases the extraction of polyphenols.
In regards to the amount a time that a teabag is steeped, there are two routes to follow. If you want a high content of polyphenols, the steeping time should be high. A shorter steeping time creates a high level of caffeine, but sacrifices the polyphenol content.