Drinking tea is a staple for people all over the world. And for good reason.
Green tea has been shown to have many, many health benefits, and many possible benefits.
What are the health benefits of drinking green tea
- Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease
- Lowers fasting blood sugar
- Lowers total cholesterol
- Linked with a lower risk of death from any cause
Other, non-conclusive, possible benefits of drinking green tea
- Decreased risk of cancer
- Increased metabolism and weight loss
- Improved brain function
*Studies have shown inconclusive, inconsistent results of the above benefits.
How is green tea made / where does it come from
- Green tea is grown in rows and pruned
- The leaves are then dried using a variety of methods
What types of tea I drank during my #7daydrinkgreen challenge
- Matcha, which is a high caffein green tea powder.
- I mixed it with some water and ice in a shaker, or tossed it into my green veggie shake.
- Sencha is a high caffein green tea that is made by steeping in 175 degree water for less than 2 mins. Or you can steep it overnight in the fridge.
- I’ve only made the Sencha hot so far, but will try steeping it overnight in the fridge.
- Hojicha is a low caffein tea that is steeped for less than 2 mins in 195 degree water.
- I consumed this tea with my dinner to aid in digestion.
- Genmaicha tea is blended with roasted brown rice, can be used as an appetite suppressor, and is made with hot water (205 degrees).
- I used this tea on my off training days to keep from overeating. Even on the off days your hunger can get the best of you, and this tea was a helpful friend.
How often should you drink green tea
- From my studies, it seems that people will drink green tea 1 to 7 times a day, and the benefits seem to outweigh even the small possibility of any side effects.
What did I experience during my #7daysdrinkgreen challenge
First, what is the 7 days drink green challenge…
It is not only drinking green tea, and eating or drinking nothing else (like some crazy cleanse).
Side note: I actually made the mistake of posting that I was only drinking green tea for 7 days on my Instagram, and people immediately jumped to the conclusion that I was not eating or drinking water for 7 days. And ONLY drinking green tea.
The #7daysdrinkgreen challenge is to drink only green tea and water as your only fluids for 7 days.
Just green tea, water, and food.
That’s the challenge.
When I was approached by Nanami Tea to try their teas I was immediately excited.
I am a self improvement junky (as you know), and the benefits of drinking green teas regularly is widely know.
I should also state that I am a coffee lover, so giving up my coffee for this 7 day challenge had the potential to be a big challenge. But a challenge I was up for.
Here’s my tea drinking routine for the 7 days…
- Upon waking, drink the matcha tea in a shaker bottle with ice and lemon.
- If I felt like I wanted more caffeine, sip on some Sencha green tea before lunch.
- If I wasn’t feeling like I wanted more caffeine, I would go with Genmaicha green tea before or after lunch.
- Lastly, I drank the Hojicha green tea with my dinner.
The results
What I immediately experienced was that green tea does not give me the hard caffeine kick that coffee does.
Before you freak out…
… This isn’t a bad thing because although the green tea is more of a subtle caffeine kick, the longevity of the caffeine (or brain stimulation) is much longer than most coffee that I’ve had.
So, after drinking the matcha tea in the morning I would hit my stride around early afternoon.
It was a slow assent, rather than a jolt.
I also have to admit that I experienced a bit of a headache from Monday (day 1) through Wednesday (day 3).
Now, I only drink one cup of coffee per day, so I wasn’t expecting any withdrawal symptoms, but there they were.
Although, the headaches weren’t bad at all, and by Thursday I was good to go!
Like I said above, I didn’t get that jolt that my morning coffee gave me, but I was finding that my day was full of motivation, and productivity was going up.
It was a slower lift off, but once I was cranking, that lasted for most of the day.
As far as other things that I noticed…
My sleep was hit or miss on the nights that I drank the Hojicha green tea with dinner. Which is par for the course if I’m working out after 4pm.
I will say that I did feel more relaxed during (and after) drinking the Hojicha tea with dinner.
My head seemed to be clearer, or I was able to think better.
The #7daysdrinkgreen conclusion
I’m very grateful for having the opportunity to try the Nanami green teas, and because of the opportunity, doing research on green tea that has furthered my knowledge about how good it is for you.
As far as I can tell, there is no reason why we all shouldn’t be drinking green tea on a regular basis.
The health benefits are undeniable, and it’s so easy to make the adjustment to drink more green tea.
You can try Nanami Green Teas by going to their website.
Full disclosure: I was giving product for this review by Nanami Green Tea, but that in no way has impacted what I have written. In fact, I will not write about anything that I do not like, or take myself. I will simply send the product back.
