Green tea is a drink that, although in Spain it is not consumed as much as in the United Kingdom, Japan, etc., is gaining quite a lot of popularity. Unlike other types of drinks that are tried to be sold as beneficial, green tea is because among its benefits, we find:
- It is high in antioxidants: green tea has a lot of antioxidant properties – especially matcha tea – so drinking this type of drink helps us maintain our health and prevent the occurrence of cell damage.
- It can help prevent cancer: it should be added that cancer cannot be avoided with any food, but there are studies that suggest that it can help reduce the chances of it appearing. Being an anti-inflammatory drink and rich in antioxidants, Helps reduce cell mutations.
- Helps burn fat: Green tea can help increase the amount of fat we burn while we exercise. At least that is what some research indicates, which indicates that fat burning during moderate exercise is increased by up to 17% thanks to green tea.
These are the contraindications that green tea has
It can cause anemia or aggravate it
Anemia is a blood disorder that affects 24.8% of the world population. This translates into 1.62 billion people worldwide suffering from anemia. In addition, anemia can be the consequence of a deficiency of several nutrients, such as iron or vitamin B12.
As with coffee green tea can decrease iron absorption since it has nutrients that can create bonds with iron atoms and prevent its absorption. For this reason, it is recommended that if you are going to drink tea, take it away from foods rich in iron, as they can be legumes, fish or drugs in case you already have anemia.
Increased activation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system
The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) is a hormonal system that regulates blood pressure, extracellular body volume, and sodium and potassium balance.
The higher the activation of the RAAS, greater stress suffers the organism and greater feeling of overwhelm presents the person. In some people, the nutrients in tea are capable of activating this RAAS a lot, so it can cause insomnia, anxiety, gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhoea, etc.
Sleeping problems
There are people who are able to tolerate the amount of caffeine or theine that green tea has very well; though there are people who are not able to tolerate themno matter how low the concentration is and, even if it is taken far from bedtime, they can have problems.
If you are one of those people, we do not recommend that you drink these types of drinks from 18 pm.
Transaminase elevation
There are studies that show that the consumption of green tea is able to increase transaminases. An excessive increase in transaminases may be caused by excessive liver work or liver damage.
Substances that can damage the liver include epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), and it has been seen that an intake of 800 mg of this substance is capable of increasing transaminases.
Despite this, it seems difficult to achieve these amounts if it is not through EGCG supplementation.
Beware of pregnant women
It is recommended that pregnant women do not consume substances that can increase blood pressure because could negatively affect the fetus.
In addition, in the same way that occurs with iron, the consumption of green tea can also decrease the absorption of folic acid, a fundamental vitamin for the development of the fetus.
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