Contest: Facts And Information About Green Tea Including Its Health Benefits By @aloychidubem

Hello steemitians, hope you are having a nice day. This is my entry into the green tea contest. I hope you enjoy it and learn from it.

Intro

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green tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world

Green tea is a popular beverage around the world. Green tea is a variety of tea produced from the leaves and buds of a plant called Camellia sinensis. The leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant used to make green tea don't undergo the same withering and oxidation process used to make black tea and oolong tea. This is what gives green tea its famous taste.

Green tea was first cultivated in China, according to legend. Since its discovery in China, its cultivation and production has spread to other countries of the world, including my country Nigeria.

Green tea comes in many varieties. It is one of the most consumed drinks in the world.
Let's look at a brief history of green tea.

A Brief History Of Green Tea

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Green tea was discovered in China in 2737 BC

All types of tea originated from China including green tea. The Yunnan province in China is the first place green tea (Camellia sinensis) was cultivated. 260 out of the 300 species of tea can be found in Yunnan.

Some legends say that Shennong, Emporor of China discovered green tea in 2737 BC when tea leaves fell into his cup of boiled water and he drank it.

Other stories say that green tea was discovered by Buddhist monks who travelled in China and Japan. Buddhist monks drank green tea as a way to relax and also to help them in meditation.

Green Tea Cultivation In Different Countries Of The World

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Every year, about 640,000 tonnes of green tea are produced around the world

Around 640,000 tonnes of green tea are produced annually around the world. 83,000 tonnes are produced in Japan, 31,000 tonnes are produced in Vietnam, Indonesia produces 38,000 tonnes, India 9000 tonnes and Russia 2000 tonnes. 

About 1.7 million tonnes of green tea was produced in 2013, which is expected to double in volume by 2023. In 2015 80% of green tea in the world was cultivated by China, which exported more than 300,000 tonnes of green tea.

Process Green Tea Is Cultivated

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People preparing green tea by hand rolling

There are two ways green tea is grown. They are those grown under the sun and those grown under the shade. Green tea plants are grown in rows and are pruned to produce shoots.

 The green tea plants are harvested about 3 times a year.  The first harvest takes place from late April to early May. The second harvest take place from June to July. The third harvest takes place late July to early August.

Method Of Preparation Of Green Tea For Drinking

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Green tea is easy to prepare

Take 4 teaspoons of green tea leaves and put in a sieve to make 4 cups of green tea.

Boil water in a jar or teapot until it reaches boiling temperature. Switch off the let the water cool for 30 seconds. 

Place the sieve over a cup or mug and pour the water.

Put the tea leaves into the cup and let it seep for 3 minutes. After sieve the drink, add one teaspoon of honey and enjoy your drink.

Health Benefits Of Green Tea

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Green tea is a medicinal drink

The purpose of this article is to look at the health benefits of green tea. Green tea has so many health benefits, all scientifically proven. Let's look at a few of them.

#1. Prevents Cancer And Heals Inflammation

Green Tea contains a substance known as polyphenols. polyphenols helps to fight inflammation and also to  prevent cancer. Green tea also contains EGCG which helps in healing the body.

#2 Improves Brain Function

Green tea boosts the brain. This is because it contains caffeine. caffeine makes the brain work better, it improves the mood and memory and also reaction time. 

#3 Green Tea Burns Body Fat

Green tea increases metabolic rate of the body and therefore burns body fat. 

That's why green tea is often used as a slimming drink.

#4 Green Tea Prevents The Brain From Ageing

Green tea not only improves the work of the Brian but also prevents it from aging fast. 

Green tea helps prevent Alzheimer disease and Parkinson's disease which affect the brain. It also lowers the risk of irritability.

5. Prevents Bad Breath And Infections

Green tea contains a substance known as catechins which hinders the growth of bacteria preventing risk ojf infections. It also makes the breath fresh.

#6 Prevents Diabetes

Green tea helps to prevent type 2 diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity and lowering blood sugar levels in the body.

#7. Prevents Heart Disease

Green tea gets rid of cholesterol from the body thereby lowering the risk of contacting cardiovascular or heart diseases.

Things To Avoid When Drinking Green Tea

#1 Never have green tea on an empty stomach

#2 Never have green tea immediately after eating.

#3. Don't drink your green tea when it's too hot. It can hurt your throat and stomach.

#4. Don't add honey to your green tea while it is hot.

#5. Never take your drugs with green tea.

#6. Don't drink green tea too much. It can cause side effects like: headache, lethargy, sluggishness, anxiety, irritability.

#7. Don't seep or soak the leaves for too long.

#8. Don't drink your green tea in a hurry.

#9. Don't add two bags of green tea in the same cup at once.

Some Fun Facts About Green Tea

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Green tea has less caffeine than black tea and coffee

#1 Green tea comes from the same plant that produces black tea and oolong tea. The name of the plant is called Camellia Sinensis.

#2 The slight bitterness in green tea is caused by a substance known as tannins. It is a type of antioxidant.

#3 Green tea was very expensive before and only available to the high class members of society, before it became cheap and available to everyone.

#4 Two Buddhist monks named Saicho and Kukai were the first people to bring green tea to Japan.

#5 Green tea has less caffeine than black tea, and black tea has less caffeine than coffee.

#6 You can put green tea bags under your eyes to treat puffy eyes and dark circles.

#7 While green tea is the mist popular type of tea in Japan and China, black tea is more popular in the United States.

Conclusion

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Keep drinking green tea, it is good for your body

Thanks for reading. I hope you learned something. This is my entry into the green tea benefits contest.

@arthurwalter, @chukwu, @giftmbaba please come and participate in this contest.