Green tea has become one of the most popular drinks of late, however, for those who don’t know it has been consumed in China & Japan for centuries now. It offers immense health benefits when consumed regularly. And the health benefits of green tea with lemon is even more powerful. There have been studies going on for years on confirming the health benefits of green tea, however, there hasn’t been concrete evidence found so far on the right quantity of the drink to be consumed in a day.
It is generally said that consuming anywhere between 3-4 cups of green tea in a day would be ideal. However, overdoing it may cause some damage as well. Hence, consume within limit & do consult your nutritionist or dietician for the same.
Having said that, let’s quickly take a look at the top 19 health benefits of green tea with lemon!
1.Improves Digestion
Green tea comes with loads of antioxidants. But, when consumed with lemon the citrus juice increases the absorption of these antioxidants in your body. The lemon juice also boosts the absorption of the catechins from green tea by up to six times. Addition of lemon also reduces the effect of slow iron assimilation which is caused by a few compounds in the green tea, overall improving digestion. Isn’t this one of the amazing benefits of green tea with lemon?
2.Increases the Basic Metabolic Rate
It is also said that green tea improves your metabolism and researches have stated that green tea alone increases the basic metabolic rate by 4% over a day which is like burning about 70 calories a day. And this gets me to the next point.
3.Promotes Weight Loss
If you are on a weight loss journey then adding green tea with lemon can give you immense benefits. There have been multiple studies that suggest consuming green tea can bolster weight loss and boost fat burning.
As mentioned above, green tea increases the metabolism, it in turn augments the fat burning and weight loss process. And the addition of lemons help battle the hunger desire due to the rich content of pectin fiber.
4. Antioxidants Rich
Many studies have suggested that antioxidants play a vital role in diseases pertaining to the heart, diabetes, cancer and obesity. Multiple studies have also pointed out that both green tea and lemons contain high amounts of antioxidants that help protect against inflammation and cell damage due to oxidation. Green tea especially is rich in numerous antioxidants like epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), quercetin, chlorogenic acid, and theogallin. Lemons are a good source of antioxidants like hesperidin, ascorbic acid, naringin, and ferulic acid. Hence, the combination becomes a rich source of antioxidants
5. Retention of Antioxidants
Like mentioned above, both green tea and lemon contain multiple antioxidants but their combination certainly makes the absorption & retention of antioxidants higher. A study showed that adding lemon juice to your green tea actually helped in retaining unique antioxidants, even after simulated digestion. Again like mentioned above lemon causes 80% of green tea catechins to be retained in the body. The main healthy compound of green tea that supports the reduction of the risk of cancer, heart attack and other diseases is catechins. And our intestines lack the proper absorption of catechins which is taken care of by vitamin C in the lemon.
6. Boosts Immunity
The most important health benefit of drinking green tea with lemon is it strengthens the immune system. The vitamin C rich drink helps protect your body from disease-causing microbes and helps fight them back without antibiotics. As vitamin C is key for your immune system as it decreases inflammation and enhances the function of immune cells, regular consumption empowers you to be safe and healthy. And mind you guys, I have been consuming this drink daily without fail & on an average I have fallen ill like maximum twice a year.
7. Supports Quick Healing of Wounds
Amongst all this is one of the key health benefits of green tea with lemon where again lemon plays a vital role in this drink. As lemons are a rich source of vitamin C which can cure the wound and additionally protect the strength of the bones this drink supports quick healing of wounds.
8. System Cleaning
The citrus rich lemons augment the dissemination of urine that supports the washout of surplus materials in the body. And again the citric acid aids in exploiting enzyme function which stimulates the liver helping in detoxification.
9. PH Level balance
Of all this is one of the excellent health benefits of green tea with lemon, wherein it aids in removing the general acidity in the body, also including uric acid in the joints, which causes pain & inflammation.
10. Great for Skin and Hair
Glowing skin and shiny hair is what many of us desire and this is one of the many cool benefits of green tea with lemon. Green tea & lemon are rich in many antioxidants & vitamins that improves the health of our hair and skin. This drink helps your fight against skin infection because of its antiseptic and antibacterial properties.
11. Protects from Cold And Flu
As mentioned above building a strong immune system is one of the important health benefits of green tea with lemon, it helps ward off the common cold and flu. This drink surely helps you to get well soon if you do catch a cold all due to its rich content of vitamin C.
12. Increases Energy Levels
The high content of EGCG and caffeine gives you the right amount of push, energy and alertness to get through the day. As caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, green tea which has high content of caffeine helps to increase energy levels. As this drink has less caffeine compared to coffee or other energy drinks, it can be a good option for those people who are sensitive to high doses of caffeine.
13. Hydration
As there are numerous health benefits of green tea with lemon this is a very simple and straightforward benefit. As it is very important to keep yourself hydrated to stay away from multiple diseases or complications like digestive issues, weight management, kidney stones and many more, drinking green tea with lemon is a great way to stay hydrated and keep all these issues at bay.
14. Good For Liver Health
The lemon helps in restoring the natural pH of the body and also cleanses the liver. This helps in making the liver produce more bile that helps digestion. Also, certain antioxidants present in the drink such as EGCG, EGC etc., work by reducing the cell damage caused due to oxidation. Regular consumption of this drink can repair these damaged liver cells and encourage fresh growth.
15. May Protect against Diabetes
Protection against type 2 diabetes is one of the critical health benefits of green tea with lemon. As mentioned above a couple of times, the drink reduces inflammation. It also enhances the body’s ability to utilize insulin effectively which helps the movement of sugar from the bloodstream to the cells, hence this reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.
16. May Prevent Heart Problems
From all the above points so far we have clearly understood that green tea with lemon has several health benefits but this one is very crucial is what I feel. This drink is good for the heart, as it brings down the cholesterol levels, which block the arteries. One piece of research has found that citrus flavonoids, those found in both green tea and lemons, may suppress inflammation and improve the function of the blood vessels.
17. May Support Brain Health
This is something which is subject to further research however the research done so far suggests that drinking green tea helps reduce the risk of dementia & cognitive impairment.
18. May Prevent the Formation of Kidney Stones
Superb benefit amongst the other health benefits of green tea with lemon is the reduced risk of kidney stones. Like mentioned previously the citrus present in lemon boosts urine formation in the body and discharge of which reduces the potential of kidney stone formation.
19. May Protect against Cancer
Both green tea and lemons may possess the powerful properties of fighting cancer. A few researches have suggested that certain elements obtained from lemons might help prevent the growth and spread of cancer cells.
These are just a few health benefits of green tea with lemon that I wanted to highlight. I hope you got the point and maybe this article has given the right motivation to start the consumption of green tea.
And to keep the motivation going do read my other workout blogs here.
If you guys know more benefits apart from the ones mentioned above then feel free to mention them in the comment section below. I’ll add them to the article and don’t worry, I will surely give you the due credit.