Assignment after assignment, a test on Thursday and on Friday is your group presentation…you barely get any sleep, and the little sleep you get probably makes you feel even more tired. Not only that, but you feel like the ‘kwashiorkor’ kid that you once learned about in biology class – as your eating patterns and choice of foods have gone totally off-balanced since you’ve been living with ‘peer-cookers’ (room mates) and spending time at uncle ‘Mc Donald’.
Headaches have become chronic; depression too, and putting on weight seems to be the only ascending results in your life. And just look at you – you look like a half dead species from another world!
It’s definitely time to stop the slaughtering of your own life; time to bring on the changes. Keeping that the life of a student is unpredictable – a test might pop up or there’s some research to be done – this change needs to be quite effective and also quick. It needs to be something easy, like drinking a cup of tea. So… just how about that? How about drinking tea? Green tea!
Table of Contents
Origin of tea
It was the Chinese Emperor Shen Nong, a skilled ruler and scientist, who discovered the amazing effects of boiled H20 (water) combined with leaves. This was an unplanned discovery. Shen Nong had been sitting underneath a tree enjoying his morning cup of boiled water, which is another Chinese ritual, when a leaf fell into his cup. Shen Nong was too lazy to remove the leaf and drank the ‘leafed beverage’ anyway.
Surprisingly, he was delighted with the new infused taste he had just experienced, also the refreshing feeling he had as result. Shen Nong, thus decided to conduct research, concluding later that drinking tea has medical properties.
Until today, scientists including medical professionals continue to expand on the health benefits that tea has to offer, especially green tea.
Drinking green tea for the first time
Although green tea is initially not the most desirable taste one would expect, that taste soon matures into a pleasant one; as one consumes more and more of it. The habit-process emerges, including the positive effects it carries with it. This acquired taste, is due to the the Catechins, a common type of tannin, that is found in green tea.
Green tea comes in many different styles, from tea bags to loose leafs. There’s also a wide range of flavors to choose from. Common flavors include jasmine, lemon, mint and berry. Whether you like hot, warm or cold; the temperature that you drink green tea does not matter much.
Green tea versus boosters
So, how does a simple cup of green tea compare to boosters such as Red Bull and Bio Plus? For starters, the nutrients in boosters increases your energy and concentration levels. It does add a boost to your system, but sadly it contains a fair amount of preservatives and other chemicals that could have an opposite effect, especially if you are allergic to those compounds.
A cup of green tea is the ideal daily dosage of antioxidants needed for busy students. Antioxidants, that are found in the EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate) component of green tea, enhances your body, both physically and psychologically. It helps protect the body from cancer by combating dangerous free radical activity and inhibiting uncontrolled cell growth.
The curative properties of antioxidants extends to reducing the possibility of heart attacks. Antioxidants purify the blood cells which plays an important role in the cardiovascular system.
Contents of green tea and its benefits
Green contains amino acid substances, epicateechins and L-theanine, these compounds strengthen and aid the immune system in combating and naturally resisting infection, bacteria and viruses. Anti-body protection implies that you will be less likely to catch the flu or those nasty stomach viruses (gastro) that are floating around on campus. Being punctual in lectures and well-being are utmost important for success.
Other benefits of drinking green tea include oral health benefits. This may sound rather strange for a ‘tea’ characteristic, but green tea has it all it seems! The flavonoids help reduce plaque, which lowers the chance of cavity and gum disease, and the fluoride (extracted from the soil) in tea may aid in protecting against tooth decay by supporting healthy tooth enamel.
In addition, osteoporosis and other risks of bone fracture are reduced. Yes, this tea consists of minerals such as calcium, potassium, manganese, magnesium and also vitamins C, K, B12, B6 and E. All these minerals and vitamins lowers cognitive impairment; implying that your brain will be a ‘productive brain’ thus memorizing or learning information will no longer be a battle.
Detoxifying and washing out lactic acid (a by-product in muscles) is another feature to green tea as it prevents muscle-paining after gym or a day spent participating in sport. Green tea fits perfectly in with exercising, and so many other tasks. Having a tea pot on your study desk or a flask (or any plastic bottle container) in your gym bag, can serve as your magic potion to success.
And if you think acne is just another phase to the life of a student, well a splash of green tea can help rid those messy dots on your face according to Gulnigar Adil, an Asian pharmacist.
The calming and refreshing feeling after having drunk a cup of green tea, helps to put you in the ‘study mood’ – The stronger the brew, the stronger the concentration levels will be. So, go get started, go have a cup of green tea.
