Being a nation of chai-drinkers obsessed with brews, green tea, surprisingly, is the newest off the block. Now that actor Johnny Depp's jumped onto the Bandwagon, its popularity has soared. Active! gets the dope on the benefits of green tea
Being a nation of chai-drinkers obsessed with brews, green tea, surprisingly, is the newest off the block. Now that actor Johnny Depp's jumped onto the Bandwagon, its popularity has soared. Active! gets the dope on the benefits of green tea
Your trip to the caf ufffd just got healthier thanks to the newest addition to the menu. Green tea has gotten the world hooked and if reports are anything to go by, there isn't any reason why you shouldn't be too. 
"The chai we drink is made from processed tea leaves, which may have undesired chemicals. On the other hand, green tea has herbs which are least processed and brewed to the extent that they retain their natural antioxidants," says Dr Eileen Canday, Chief Dietician, Breach Candy Hospital.
Explaining the role of antioxidants, the main nutrients in green tea, Dr Canday says, "The supply of oxygen is absolutely essential for the existence of humans. However, too much of even the best is bad and very high concentrations of oxygen are found to be toxic and can damage tissues by producing certain free radicals.
The role of what we call 'antioxidants' is to delay or inhibit undesirable oxidation process, thereby protecting the cells from damages that could cause cancer, heart diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson's disease and various ageing processes." It is only natural that regularly drinking green tea will help protect against such diseases.
"Ideally, one can drink green tea twice or thrice a day. It's suitable for all ages, beneficial to all and can be had anytime of the day," says Dr Canday. However, despite all the goodness it's associated with, green tea is an acquired taste as not too many people like the bland taste it has. Go in for the flavoured ones that adorn the shelves in that case.
Is Johnny Depp's green tea diet healthy
In a bid to lose ten pounds for an upcoming movie, Dark Shadows, directed by Tim Burton, Johnny Depp has put himself on a green tea diet. This essentially means that the star is drinking gallons of green tea and supplementing his diet with low fructose fruits like pineapples and strawberries. Sounds interesting?
"This is like saying that you drink gallons of plain water and you will lose weight," says Dr Canday. "Green tea has added herbs, which are beneficial, but it needs to be supplemented with other nutrients. Otherwise, this is an unbalanced diet. You end up missing on fats, proteins and carbs, all of which are needed for a healthy body."
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