Reading all the good news on green tea has had me thinking lately…
I currently drink 1-2 diet soft drinks per day. I know this is not optimal, so I want to replace these with green tea.
How many cups of green tea should one be drinking per day to receive the health benefits associated?
As always, all responses welcome.
Texcel
I’m going to take a stab and say that, even though there is probably some optimal amount per day below which the benefits are not as pronounced, ANY consumption of green tea WHICH REPLACES SOFT DRINKS is going to produce immediate benefits.
Don’t wait until you get an answer measured in fluid ounces; switch immediately.
Well I don’t remember exactly but to to get the same effects as taking it in capsule a gram a day. Somewhere around 7-10 cups a day would be what you’d need.
Not trying to Hi-jack but figured this would be a good place to ask. Do you still get the full benefits of Green Tea if you were to keep it chilled in the refrigerator compared to making it hot and fresh? Also, does it taste decent when chilled? Thanks. Also, I don’t know how much you would have to have to optimize its effects.
I like to keep a container of chilled green tea in my fridge and I think it tastes great. I just make some with boiling water at night and let it cool off until the next day.
Works great on hot days or when I want something other than water.
I was actually doing a lot of reading on green tea the past few days, and I figure it would prolly be helpful but…it said something like 7-10 cups a day, and thats just to much tea for me lol.
Shugart once mentioned a company in one of his blogs called ‘TeaTech’ which supposedly has a different process where 1 cup of their tea is equal to 8-10 cups of most other green teas. I think he mentioned something about doing a followup on it in a future blog but I haven’t seen it yet. Maybe he’ll chime in on this thread.
I’ve used Teatech’s tea since that article & recommend the lemon and raspberry.
For God’s sake, don’t try the ‘natural’ flavor.
you can just buy raw leaves (at most asian markets) for really cheap and brew your own really concentrated tea. I’m not sure I would recommend this.
I’ve tried concentrated “Catechins” tea in Japan, it tastes bitter and almost gives me as much of a caffiene rush as coffee. However, 2-3 cups of it is probably equivalent to the 7-10 regular cups.
[quote]hiroprotagonist wrote:
you can just buy raw leaves (at most asian markets) for really cheap and brew your own really concentrated tea. I’m not sure I would recommend this.
I’ve tried concentrated “Catechins” tea in Japan, it tastes bitter and almost gives me as much of a caffiene rush as coffee. However, 2-3 cups of it is probably equivalent to the 7-10 regular cups.[/quote]
What I do is that I buy raw tea leaves…and use a teapot design (can be bought at asian stores) that has a filter mechanism, just like the one’s for coffee.
Instead of just replacing soft drinks with tea…why not replace all drinks with tea. I do this always when I’m home.
Agree with above, and go for the whole leaves if possible. I go through nearly a gallon on a daily basis.
A couple tablespoons of the leaves and you can make a concentration that is strong enough to make over a gallon and then chill it if you like.
For a nice change from, time to time ad a pack of nunsweetened koolaid, like lemonade, or really whatever flavor and sweeten with stevia. Damn good stuff. But I use it for about everything. Just drinking as well as Grow! shakes, my Power Drive, Etc…
I am also a coffee feind and will add a little loose green tea leaves to my coffee before brewing from time to time just for good measure. LOL
Hope that helps,
Phill
Thanks for all the feedback.
After doing some research on the web, several places site 6 - 10 cups of Green Tea daily for maximum benefits. That is quite a variation. I guess it is like all other training aspects…Try it and see what works best for you personally.
Texcel
Doing the switch is very simple. This time last year, i was drinking 2-3 soft drinks per day. And add 2-3 coffees and approx 4 shots of espresso per day. Then I decided to ditch the regular coffee and soft drink for green tea (whether hot or cold) Its very refeshing and does not bloat me as much coffee…
However, I still need my espresso but I’m down to about 1 shot a day…
On a similar note. Over the fall, when we had AM Conditioning or practices i started to drink green tea before and i liked the way it helped me wake up. Not to mention all the other positive things it does. Now heres my question, as lacrosse season is now in full swing, and this division one stuff is crazy, practice 6-8 in the morn, 230-530 in the afternoon everyday, plus lifting 530-630 three times a week. I’m gonna start having green tea again before each session when i feel i need it. But heres the question, i hate the taste and picked up “standardized-full potency green tea.” Its 300 mg extract in a whole herb base(108 mg catechin & polyphenols)per capsule. Is this a good substitue, and also, how much is equal to a cup of tea. Thanks for any help you guys can give me.
I switched from a hard Starbucks espresso habit (4 shots/day) to a concentrated green tea from New Vitality called ‘Green Tea Plus,’ standardized to 90% polyphenols per 2 eyedropperful servings into 16oz water. I end up consuming a gallon per day and it’s been VERY positive. Has kept my energy levels up as well as my metabolism. Each serving is the equivalent of 8 cups strong brewed green tea.
Microslash - “Turning other guitarists ‘green’ with envy since the ‘Sweet Child of Mine’ guitar solo was laid down on tape.”
Don’t get caught up on the 6-10 cups issue. If you are replacing crap drinks with green tea, it will be better for you.
If I’m not mistaken, the 6-10 cups refers to the amount used when conducting studies with proven benefits.
If you want to achieve the benefits of the studies, but refuse to drink 10 cups a day, take standarized green tea extract capsules or something.
Finally, you can get decaf green tea or extract if you don’t want the caffeine.
Any good tips on brewing a large amount (like a gallon) at one time?
Most of the things I have read state that you get the tea benefits from pretty much any kind of tea, even commercial teas.
Black tea has less of the good stuff than green, but not very much less. If you prefer black, don’t feel guilty for sticking with it.
Also, there have been recent studies showing similar antioxidant effects from coffee. Don’t think you have to completely remove coffee from your diet, if it’s a drink you prefer.
[quote]ToShinDo wrote:
Any good tips on brewing a large amount (like a gallon) at one time?[/quote]
You can buy “ice tea makers” that make brewing a pitcher of tea really simple.
Gallon at a time. I do this a couple times a week. Simple my man. A couple tble spoons of loose leaf G Tea, boil a pot of water, let tea steep for well a while I say atleast an hour. Then simply pour what you have into a gallon container strining out the leafs. It’ll be VERY dark. Top off with water. there you have it. a gallon of G Tea. I usually have two of these on hand
Hope that helps,
Phill
Wow, that is simple Phil. I just need to find some economical loose leaf. Being that I live in kind of a redneck town, I’ll need to go to a specialty store, most likely. Or tear open a bunch of bags of Celestial Seasonings 