Green Tea: Your Clean Caffeine Alternative to Coffee
Caffeine is classified as a stimulant because it has an energizing effect on the brain and central nervous system. Though there are other activities in the body that involve caffeine, the substance has particular key behaviors as seen through years of scientific research, including:
> Giving your body a morning energy boost by preventing the accumulation of adenosine, a chemical that collects in your body over the day and leaves you fatigued by nighttime.
> Temporarily improving focus, alertness and reaction time temporarily through CNS stimulation
> Lowering the rate of perceived exertion (for example, when your workout seems easier than usual)
> Increasing the efficiency of fat store metabolism and muscle contractions
Many Americans drink a cup of coffee upon waking up in the morning, while others add to or three more later in the day.
Question is, can you get your caffeine from sources healthier than coffee? We know that coffee offers health benefits, such as diabetes and cancer prevention, but its disadvantages should not be ignored either.
For starters, coffee is known to discolor teeth and increase risks of hypoglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, osteoporosis, anxiety and many other health conditions. All these make people search for an alternative source that is healthier than coffee but equally potent in terms of caffeine benefits.
That alternative is green tea, which isn’t only abundant in antioxidants but also just as energizing as coffee. But that’s not where it ends. Green tea is known for its remarkable epigallocatechin gallage (ECCG) content, allowing it to actively fight the development of certain diseases and medical conditions, including Sjorgen’s syndrome, HIV, cancer and plenty others.
Of course, these ECCG’s are also linked to faster metabolism and more effective stimulation of the liver, the organ in charge of emulsifying fats. This is why green tea is such a buzzword among people who are trying to lose weight or maintain their ideal weight. Generally speaking, green tea is also scientifically proven to help in the prevention of cancer, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
The good news is, if you’re not such a big fan of the taste of green tea, you can simply take it in the form of supplements. This is one of the best things about green tea as a caffeine source. Simply pop the pill – convenient!
Of course, not all sellers of green tea are created equal, so you have to do your research to know their reputation in the market. You have to be sure you’re getting the real deal so you can get real benefits.