For years, I was a full-blown coffee addict (I blame it on the fact that there was a Starbucks on every corner of my college’s campus). As much as I loved my multiple cups of joe a day, once it got to the point that I was suffering from pounding headaches if I didn’t have my morning dose of caffeine, I knew my coffee obsession had gotten too far. Instead of quitting cold turkey, I decided to make the switch to green tea to try to ease my way out of my full-blown caffeine addiction. This ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made and has had a huge improvement on my overall lifestyle. Here’s a few reasons why you should consider ditching coffee for tea too.
- Because coffee has more caffeine than tea does, you could find that you sleep better at night with less of the stimulant.
- Green tea has proven health benefits, mostly from containing many nutrients and antioxidants, which do a range of good to our body, such as fight free radicals. And a healthy body means more constant energy and an overall better feeling throughout the day.
- Green tea has a proven ability to improve brain function and capability, which is from the much smaller amounts of caffeine found in green tea compared to coffee, synergising with the amino acid L-theanine (also found in green tea), and doing some great science-y stuff for your brain.
- Green tea contains the natural chemical theanine, which provides a calming effect. Coffee, on the other hand, containing large amounts of caffeine, releases adrenaline and norepinephrine, the hormones involved in the body’s fight or flight response. While this can be beneficial when getting tasks done due to increased alertness, it can also cause heightened irritability, agitation, and anxiety.
- Tea has been shown in studies to help reduce the chances of developing certain kinds of cancers and tumors.
- While it probably won’t help out a huge amount while you’re battling a bout of intense flu (apart from the benefits of just drinking something and helping to flush the bug out of your system), drinking tea can really help set up and improve your immune system for next time.
- Since tea is pretty much just water with dried leaves thrown in, you’ll be closer to reaching your daily amount of H20. All that added water will pump up your system and keep you in tip top condition, and anything that gets you drinking more water is a good move indeed. Besides, an excess amount of coffee (which is anymore than 3 cups) is known to dehydrate you, but the same amount of tea won’t rob you of fluids.
