Are You Getting What You Expect From Green Tea?

Green tea is all the rage but are you getting all the health benefits from your brew? If you're buying bottled green tea instead of making it yourself, probably not.

Green tea is loaded with antioxidants known as catechins, which are believed to help prevent heart disease and cancer. So, with all the hoopla about this healthy beverage, the market for the product increased and manufacturers jumped on the bandwagon and started producing it.

Unfortunately, when green tea is bottled, it becomes cloudy. The process of "declouding" to improve the appearance involves removing many of the catechins which, in turn, reduces the health benefits. In fact, when bottled green teas (including major brands like Snapple and Lipton) were tested for the amount of catechins they contained, researchers found them to be extremely low and in some cases zero.

Another issue with any bottled tea is the high sugar content, which is not a good use of your calories if you're trying to drop body fat.

Last but not least, most commercial tea contains all kinds of unpronounceable chemicals. Our bodies don't even know how to properly digest that stuff. Healthy? No way.

As always, if it comes in a box, bag or bottle, limit your consumption if you're goal is good health, proper nutrition, and fat reduction.

So, if you're looking to take advantage of the many health benefits of green tea, stick to brewing your own.