Drinking green tea is surely beneficial to one’s health. It contains a lot of vitamins and minerals, plus properties that could reduce the risk of heart diseases. Due to its astounding benefits, you may be thinking of drinking a lot of green tea. But here’s the thing, there is the best time to drink green tea. And you don’t just drink it out of nowhere because you may also run the risk of gaining its negative side effects if you drink too much.
If you are looking for the best time to drink green tea, we can think of five times that you can do so. Here are the following times:
- upon waking up
- in between meals
- before working out
- after working out
- before going to sleep
In this article, we are going to delve deeper into why these are the best times to drink such kind of tea. By getting to understand the reasons behind each time, you will be made aware that you do not need to drink green tea all the time.
Benefits of Drinking Green Tea at a Certain Time
In order to understand what the best time to drink green tea is, let us first identify the benefits of drinking green tea. Moreover, let us find out the benefits that it could give when you drink it at a certain time. In addition to this, it is also important to know the dangers of drinking too much green tea, especially if you do so at the wrong time.
Green tea is hailed all over the world due to the benefits that one can get from drinking it. This type of tea is loaded with polyphenols and antioxidants. It also contains some vitamins, fibers, and minerals. Studies show that green tea is beneficial in preventing cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Moreover, it has antiarthritic, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, and antiangiogenic effects. Those who are trying to lose weight can even use green tea to bolster their weight loss regime. But then, it also consists of caffeine.
Hence, it is not recommended to drink more than three cups of green tea a day. If you do so, you might get dehydrated. Drinking too much green tea can be a triggering factor in eliminating several essential elements from your body. So there is a need to drink green at a certain amount at a certain time.
Speaking of time, it is also worth noting that the time you would consume green tea would also determine its effects on your body. For instance, nutritionists believe that drinking green tea on an empty stomach can be harmful to your liver. But more on these later.
To guide you then, we have specified five of the best times to drink green tea.
Drink upon Waking Up
A lot of people decide to drink a hearty serving of green tea in the morning. They believe that consuming a cup of green tea early in the morning could boost concentration and focus. Rightfully so, green tea has mind-sharpening properties that can be attributed to the presence of caffeine in such tea. Caffeine is a proven stimulant that can improve one’s alertness and attention. Which is why many resort to drinking coffee. But if you want a subtle drink to jumpstart your day, you could opt for green tea.
What makes this drink different from coffee is that it contains L-theanine, an amino acid that has calming effects. L-theanine helps prevent caffeine rush, giving you sustained energy throughout the day. Both caffeine and L-theanine would work together to enhance your mood and your mind functions without having to worry about negative effects. Plus, you will not feel any drowsiness throughout the day.
But be cautious as to drinking green tea very early in the morning. As we have mentioned earlier, consuming green tea when your stomach is empty could be harmful to your vital organs. So we suggest that you partner your tea with something that can fill your stomach.
Drink in Between Meals
To maximize the intake and absorption of nutrients such as iron, you can drink a cup of green tea in between meals. We recommend that you drink two hours before or after eating a meal. If you suffer from anemia, we suggest that you avoid drinking green tea along with your food. However, you have to take note that there is an appropriate meal that you could pair with green tea to maximize its efficiency. Pairing green tea with sweets is not a good choice, so better plan your meal well.
For best results, we recommend drinking green tea 30 to 60 minutes after taking a meal. This way, you can improve your digestion and boost your metabolism.
Drink Before Working Out
Because of its caffeine content, drinking green tea before going on a workout can actually help you burn more fat. It could even help you increase your energy so that you can have a longer duration working out. A study shows that consuming green tea before exercising has increased the fat-burning capacity of 12 men by 17%. Another study shows that drinking three servings of green tea a day before working out plus another three servings two hours before working out can increase fat burning while doing exercise. For increased weight loss, we suggest you stick to this schedule.
We, then, recommend that you choose green tea with higher amounts of EGCg (Epigallocatechin gallate) before working out. Studies show that EGCg, together with caffeine, which is found in green tea can increase fat oxidation rate during exercise. This comes into play when you drink the green tea 90 minutes before working out.
Drink After Working Out
While it is true that drinking green tea before working out is beneficial, drinking green tea after working out is also the best time to drink green tea. This drink could help you recover quickly after having an intense workout. It helps reduce the markers of muscle damage that has been caused by the high-intensity workout. Moreover, drinking green tea after working out can help replenish and refresh the body.
Drink Before Going to Sleep
You may also drink green tea before going to sleep, too. But you have to be careful with the variant of green tea that you may be drinking. This is because some of the green teas have strong amounts of caffeine. To reduce the caffeine content of your tea, we recommend that you use cooler water and reduce its steeping time. This might reduce the EGCg that you will extract from the green tea, but it would give you its benefits nonetheless.
Wrapping Up
So there you have it. Like what has always been said all throughout this article, getting to know the best time to drink green tea is important because it would allow you to reap its benefits much better. Moreover, you avoid risking yourself of the probable consequences when you drink too much green tea. Always stay safe and be self-aware when drinking green tea. Don’t forget to enjoy drinking.