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Green Tea Loaded with Pollutants

For many people, enjoying green tea in the morning is simply part of starting the day. But together with the hot drink, not only the valuable ingredients of the leaves are absorbed, but also pollutants that are harmful to health. This is the result of the Stiftung Warentest.

Testing green tea

Stiftung Warentest examined a total of 25 types of green tea and examined them for possible harmful substances. The test included products in bags, capsules, and loose teas – nine of the 25 were organic products. The prices ranged from 87 cents to 83 euros per 100 grams.

The result

Seven of the tested products are so heavily contaminated with pollutants that they were only rated “poor”:

  • Aldi Sud/Westcliff Green Tea
  • Kaufland/K-Classic Green Tea
  • Penny/Mayfair Green Tea Natural
  • Norma/Cornwall Green Tea Natural
  • Messmer Finest Green Tea
  • Netto Marken-Discount/ Captains Tea Green tea based on Asian tradition
  • Chinese Green Tea CAP Special Gunpowder G 601

Seven other green teas were only rated “sufficient”. Five of the products in the test received the “good” award. Among them are three teas in a bag, one in a capsule, and one matcha. In the case of the loose green tea varieties, the best grade “satisfactory” was achieved. The exact placements can be found here.

Health hazards from pollutants in green tea?

According to Stiftung Warentest, however, there is no acute health risk. For lovers of green tea, however, the health risk from pollutants cannot be consistently ruled out. It only becomes critical if teas with a high level of pollution are drunk regularly. The substance pyrrolizidine alkaloid was found in nine of the 25 types of tea. This is considered potentially carcinogenic and can be completely transferred to the tea infusion – these types of tea should be avoided.

Tip: If you, as a tea fan, want to avoid excessive exposure to harmful substances, you should change the products regularly.

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Use Green Tea as an Effective Home Remedy

Green tea is a home remedy for skin and hair, as well as to support health. We’ll show you how the effects of green tea can help alleviate minor ailments and help you live a long life.

The beneficial effects of tea

Green tea as a silver bullet against nasty diseases? Probably not. But there are studies that show that tea drinkers lead healthier lifestyles and live longer as a result. And the tea has a few good properties that make it worth enjoying. For example, it contains tannins that are said to have a calming effect on the stomach and intestines. This tea also contains vitamins such as vitamins A, B, B12, and flavonoids. And these are good for strengthening the immune system and supporting metabolic processes. For the perfect green tea effect, you should always pay attention to the temperature and brewing time when brewing tea.

Buy green tea

Before we get to the health-promoting facts, you should know which tea you should buy. Because green tea is not just green tea. There are significant differences here! Many types of tea are contaminated with pesticides or other toxic substances. Therefore, it makes sense to always pay attention to an organic seal. Because organic cultivation guarantees you good quality. In addition, the people here also benefit economically from cultivation.

Green tea for better health

In the beginning, there were only a few people interested in green tea. Then, over the years, more and more people came to appreciate the miracle cure. In the meantime, green tea has become a popular drink for many and is also a versatile household remedy. Since there are many myths about the cult tea, we’ll tell you what you can use the versatile drink for.

1) To aid in weight loss?

It is said that if you want to lose weight, you can support this with green tea. Some believe that the tea boosts fat burning. Therefore, just a few cups of tea should help burn 70 additional calories a day. However, this effect has not been scientifically proven to be significant. Therefore, you should use other tricks for healthy weight loss.

2) Green tea for atherosclerosis

Green tea prevents atherosclerosis by increasing bad LDL cholesterol into good HDL cholesterol. In addition, green tea lowers high blood pressure and improves the flow properties of the blood, which counteracts clumping and blood clotting. With a joint intake of silicic acid, the blood vessels can be kept elastic. Studies also show that this tea can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. So if you suffer from arteriosclerosis, you should definitely drink green tea.

3) The tea helps with appetite disorders

You can recognize an appetite disorder by a permanent decrease or increase in the feeling of hunger. Physical as well as psychological reasons can be responsible for this. The green tea effect can help here since the bitter substances contained in green tea stimulate the appetite center in the brain. To get an effective effect, you should drink 1 cup of green tea 1-2 times a day, preferably 1-2 hours before meals. In order to have an optimal effect, the tea should steep a little longer (5 minutes) so that the bitter substances can develop optimally.

4) As a home remedy for sunburn

Sunburn can cause reddened skin, skin tenderness, and even burn blisters. Green tea contains flavonoids, tannins, and high vitamin C, which has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving effects on sunburn. In addition, the ingredients of the tea are stored in the skin tissue and keep it supple. Consequently, the tea is very helpful as a home remedy for sunburn both externally and internally. For internal consumption, simply drink the tea as usual. For external use, prepare 300 ml of green tea and let it steep for 5 minutes. Then let it cool down a bit. Then soak a linen cloth in it and place it on the burned skin for 20 minutes. Repeat this 2-3 times a day.

5) Green tea for bad breath

Green tea can help with bad breath caused by bacteria. Green tea has an antibacterial effect and prevents microorganisms from multiplying in the mouth area. In addition, green tea can reduce the acidity of the stomach and counteract putrefaction, which can also cause bad breath when exhaling. Consequently, you can fight bad breath by making a special green tea mouthwash. Or you drink a cup of green tea with each meal.

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Green Tea From The Himalayas: That’s Why It’s so Healthy

The positive effects of green tea on health are undisputed and are backed up by countless studies. Green tea from the Himalayas is of particularly high quality. We’ll tell you why Himalayan tea is so extraordinary and why green tea is generally so healthy and should be drunk every day.

Green tea from the Himalayas: That’s why it’s so healthy

Green tea from the Himalayas: At 800 to 2,500 meters, dry air alternates constantly with humid air, and it is both cool and hot (due to the strong sunshine). In addition, there is a lot of precipitation here during the monsoon, which together with the fog ensures high humidity. The southern slopes of the Himalayas offer ideal, albeit unusual, conditions for tea cultivation.

Green Tea: Numerous Health Benefits

As the German Green Cross explains, the consumption of
Furthermore, regular consumption of green tea can lower cholesterol levels. In addition, the good cholesterol, the HDL, is strengthened by reducing the bad cholesterol, the LDL. And also at

There is even suspicion that green tea may help with liver transplantation due to its antioxidant properties. Also who under one

Green Tea: Protects the heart and prolongs life

Those who drink green tea regularly may be able to prevent cardiovascular diseases and strokes – this is the conclusion reached by scientists from the Peking Union Medical College in a long-term study published in the European Journal for Preventive Cardiology. The European Union’s Community Research and Development Information Service CORDIS also reported on the results. According to this, consuming green tea at least three times a week should help you live longer and be healthier. The long-term study by the Chinese researchers examined more than 100,000 Chinese over a period of seven years, who were divided into two groups – regular tea drinkers and those who rarely consume tea.

The regular tea drinkers were, on average, 20 percent less likely to develop heart disease or stroke, and they were also 15 percent more likely to survive diseases that have been the death sentence for non-tea drinkers. On average, regular tea consumption can extend life by 1.26 years, and tea drinkers develop heart disease or a stroke about 1.5 years later

What the researchers also noticed is that the positive effects of tea on men’s health were particularly evident. Only slight improvements in health were seen in women. One reason for this could be that the proportion of tea-drinking men in the study was significantly higher than that of tea-drinking women. The scientists hold polyphenols in the tea leaves primarily responsible for the life-prolonging effects of green tea*. These are able to reduce inflammation and at the same time act as antioxidants

Green Tea: Can It Protect Against Cancer?

There is also evidence that green tea can protect against cancer. In an overview study authored by researchers from the Cochrane Collaboration, the scientists looked at a total of 142 studies on the effect of green tea on the prevention of colon, lung, breast, prostate and other types of cancer. However, the results are mixed.

In some studies, there appears to be a link between reducing the risk of developing cancer and consuming green tea. The scientists blame the antioxidants found in the substance epigallocatechin gallate contained in tea for this. These antioxidants inhibit free radicals in the body that have harmful effects. This means that oxidative stress is avoided, which damages the cells and thus causes cancer cells to develop.

Weight Loss: Lose weight with green tea

Regular consumption of green tea* can also have a positive effect on weight. A study published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry links green tea drinking to modest weight gain.

In the animal experiment, mice were given particularly high-fat food for eight weeks, which made the animals overweight. The control group continued to receive normal food. The highlight: Half of the mice in each of the two groups were given two percent green tea extract

The surprising result: the mice that had the green tea extract in their food gained an average of 20 percent less weight than the mice that did not consume any green tea. They were also shown to have lower insulin resistance. Green tea also had a positive effect on the intestines: the intestinal wall was less permeable, which increased the health of the microbes in the intestine. Since the study is an animal experiment, the results cannot be extrapolated to humans without further ado, so further studies must be carried out.

Beauty: Green tea’s positive effects on the skin

As reported by the Saarland University Hospital, the flavonoid epigallocatechin gallate contained in green tea is able to have a positive effect on skin damage caused by UV radiation. Green tea also proves to be a tried and tested remedy for some skin diseases, especially if they result in vasodilatation and reddened areas of the skin.

Furthermore, green tea can also counteract the natural aging of the skin if it is processed in creams. Studies have shown, among other things, that green tea can increase the thickness of the skin in older people when used locally. An increase in keratinocytes in the skin could be proven, which play a role in inflammation, the immune system and the self-healing of the skin – and also in the self-protection of the skin from harmful UV radiation.

Another study concludes that green tea may help with acne. For example, the administration of green tea extract reduced inflammation on the nose, forehead and chin. However, according to the researchers, further studies are needed to make precise statements about the effect of green tea on acne.

How to recognize high-quality green tea

You can tell whether green tea is of high quality by looking at a few characteristics. If these aspects are given, it is most likely a high-quality green tea, according to the eco-magazine Waschbär*. It is important, among other things, the cultivation

What makes green tea so striking is its so-called “noble bitter note” and at the same time a fresh taste, which is caused by the tannins it contains and the secondary plant substances catechins. At the same time, green tea should always taste sweet, which is caused by the polysaccharides and amino acids it contains. Furthermore, minerals, essential oils and the flavor umami also play a role, which is considered the fifth flavor. Umami is described as hearty and aromatic and has a weakening effect on the bitter substances in green tea, making it more digestible in terms of taste. If one considers the aspect of green tea, the best quality tea is fetched from the tea fields with the so-called “first flush”, which is the first harvest after the winter. After that, the tea is harvested about five more times in the same year, but it no longer comes close to the taste quality of the first harvest. If a tea is labeled “Blend”, it is a mixture of leaves from different harvests.

After harvesting, the tea leaves are processed and go through a number of work steps: after the leaves have withered, they are heated, for example steamed or roasted. Heating stops the fermentation and seals the leaves so the flavor and healthy ingredients don’t escape. The leaves are then rolled so that the tea tastes more aromatic when brewed. When processing, it is important for the quality if as many work steps as possible are carried out by hand, as they are more careful than if the tea leaves are processed exclusively by machines. If the tea is processed manually, this is usually stated on the package, as this is an absolute sign of quality. Finally, it is also important that the tea is as fresh as possible. If the leaves are stored for a long time, they lose both flavor and healthy ingredients. However, there are a few types of tea that only become really high-quality through long storage.

Conclusion: Green tea from the Himalayas has many health benefits

Green tea has countless health benefits that have been confirmed in many studies. Green tea from the slopes of the Himalayas is particularly recommended, as it is considered to be of particularly high quality and tasty due to the external conditions.

In order to get green tea of impeccable quality, you can consider a few aspects of green tea production. Among other things, you should consider cultivation, taste, harvest, processing and freshness. You can ask about these aspects on the packaging or directly from your tea retailer – tea that is organically certified is generally recommended. Green tea can contribute a lot to our health – the miracle tea has a positive effect on this, among other things:

lowers cholesterol and blood sugar levels
helps the liver
protects the heart and against strokes
can prolong life
can protect against cancer
helps with weight loss
can have a positive effect on the skin

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Preparing Green Tea: This is How it Does Not Become Bitter

Preparing green tea takes a lot of learning: you have to pay attention to a few things when it comes to the infusion and the temperature so that the green tea doesn’t become bitter and the desired effect occurs.

Green tea is said to have many positive effects on the metabolism, fat burning and the immune system. Since it contains caffeine, it also wakes you up and is better tolerated than coffee.

If you want to prepare green tea in the traditional Japanese way, there are a lot of things to consider: the type of tea, the brewing time, the water quality, the temperature and the amount of tea. The teapot can also affect the taste.

Preparing green tea: that’s what matters

The water temperature and brewing time are particularly important when preparing green tea. If it brews too long, it becomes bitter. If it is too short, it hardly tastes good. If the water is too hot, good ingredients such as antioxidants or tanning agents are dissolved. If the water is too cold, these substances are not bound in the water and your tea has no effect.

For a good green tea you have to pay attention to the following:

Use low lime water
Brewing time: Depends on the type of tea, but no longer than three minutes
Water temperature: depending on the type of tea between 60 and 90 degrees Celsius
Amount of tea: 1 -2 teaspoons loose tea or 1 tea bag (approx. 10 g)
Amount of water: depending on the type of tea, one cup to one pot
In most cases, the packaging states how much tea needs to be brewed, for how long and at what degrees.

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