Iced Green Tea
The moment someone makes a reference to green tea, your mind automatically conjures up the image of a cup of good, hot brew that is pale green in color. With all its nutritional and medicinal value, drinking a cup of this hot brew is indeed a tempting proposition, at any time of the day. However, it might come as a total surprise to at least a few of you, that the same wonderful brew can also be savored in the chilled form -as iced green tea! So what’s so wonderful about iced green tea?
For someone on the look out for a chilled drink that refreshes you while at the same time provides beneficial health effects, iced green tea stands out as the first option. The invigorating effects of consuming iced green tea has to be experienced rather than described in words and thus we pass on to the beneficial effects of the drink.
As reported in a large and growing number of studies, the health benefits of green tea are truly remarkable. From its magical ability to selectively kill cancer cells, (without affecting normal tissues) to its potent cardio protective effects, green tea can easily be classified as a most amazing health drink.
Making green tea a regular part of one’s diet has several other positive health effects. Since green tea can regulate the blood sugar levels, it can aid in the treatment of diabetes. Also, regular green tea consumption has been linked to lower levels of bad cholesterol in the circulation, which in turn, contributes to its beneficial effects on the heart. Not to be sidelined is the importance of green tea diet to those looking to lose weight in a safe manner.
In the diverse array of chemical compounds found in green tea, the catechins, represented by the molecule EGCG (for Epigallocatechin gallate), are pivotal in conferring green tea its near-magical medicinal properties. EGCG has clearly been identified as the potent biologically active component of green tea that also happens to be a strong antioxidant. Thus, in addition to the molecule’s efficacy at killing cancer cells, it can also quench the harmful by-products of metabolism.
Iced Green Tea is Easy to Prepare
So, does drinking iced green tea provide all of these health benefits conferred by the hot version of the brew? The answer is a resounding yes! Chilling green tea does not in any way mitigate the beneficial effects of the drink. With this in mind, one can examine the different ways in which iced green tea can be prepared.
One way of preparing iced green tea is to dip the green tea bag into tepid water, move the tea bag back and forth for a short period of time and then chill the whole brew (with the tea bag still dipping into the cup!) by placing it in the refrigerator for a longer period of time. Another way of preparing iced green tea is to put ice cubes into the normal green tea brew.
If you need the “pick-me-up” after your set of aerobic exercises in the morning, drink up the charming cup of iced green tea, with those chilling ice cubes still floating in it!
