Green tea if not the best, then is one of the best and popular tea in the world. It has an enviable reputation of being a curative tea with vast benefits.
Unlike other beverages, green tea is good for all seasons be it summer or winter. However, even though you can drink green tea all year round, and any time of the day, you will agree with me that there is the best time to drink it.
But… Is it before or after a meal? Is it in the morning or at night? Or immediately after you wake up from bed? Not to worry, here are the answers to all your questions. So, read on!
When is the best time to drink green tea?
Normally, it is suggested that you drink green tea 30-45 minutes before or after eating food.
This is because of the caffeine content present in green tea.
However, whether after a meal or before a meal, the best time to drink green tea depends on what you are trying to achieve with it.
1. For weight loss and flat tummy
If your tummy is bigger than normal or your weight is more than you think, drinking green tea isn’t bad to achieve your aim.
But before then, you must be aware that you can’t drink this tea all day when trying to lose weight or get your tummy flattened and expect the best results.
Therefore, for optimum results, the best time to drink green tea is immediately after your meals.
According to a review, green tea helps speed up the breakdown of food because it contains caffeine and catechins. The latter breaks down fat in the body while both can increase the amount of energy you’ll use up.
2. As an energy booster
Taking green tea early in the morning is an efficient way to get your power-up. The caffeine content gives you the much-needed spark and brightness to begin the day.
The l-theanine constituent of the tea works to counter the side effects of caffeine. Hence, it gives a calming effect to prevent you from being hyperactive.
3. For workouts
Green tea comes in handy for those who love to hit the gym or take exercises. The best time to take the beverage to help gain more from your daily workout is 30 minutes before commencing.
Drinking at this time would not upset your stomach as against starting immediately after a drink.
According to a medical publication, green tea helps to increase fat oxidation during moderate exercises. Hence, there is a conversion of fat to glucose, allowing you to continue exercising for a longer time.
4. For diabetes
Green tea is low in sugar, and so it is ideal for anyone with diabetes. The caution is not to drink more than two cups in a day to keep caffeine to the minimum.
You can pick a convenient time except at night. The caffeine component of the beverage is not healthy for diabetes, but its high polyphenol content is great.
5. For glowing skin
There is no hiding that green tea helps with glowing skin. Using green tea for a steaming treatment detoxifies your skin. You can do this in the morning and evening before turning into bed.
How much green tea should you drink a day?
Although green tea is therapeutic, drinking in excess can cause several problems such as constipation, dehydration, and dizziness, among others.
At most, three cups at a seating, and three to five for a day are enough for you to achieve your desired results.
The recommended maximum caffeine intake for an adult is 200mg a serving. An 8-ounce cup of green tea can contain as much as 50mg of caffeine.
Playing safe by staying below the limit is advisable. That said, green tea cannot take the place of water in hydration as the required quantity of water is well above the limits of green tea recommended.
What happens if you drink green tea every day?
Green tea contains several constituents which are invaluable to the body. One of these constituents is catechin – a type of flavanol that helps in fat oxidization. For this reason, green tea can attend to weight loss and fat burning.
Meanwhile, studies have shown that drinking green tea every day can help prevent cancers and minimize the risk of having heart disease. We also have its load of antioxidants to thank for these.
If you’re looking to preserve your appearance, drinking green tea can be beneficial as well. With sufficient proof, scientists believe that it can slow down the aging process.
The potent antioxidants in the beverage protect the skin’s collagen from the sun. Hence, wrinkles won’t begin to appear on the body too soon.
Some other ways green tea is helpful are in reducing cholesterol, lowering the risk of stroke, reducing inflammation, and helping in digestive health, among others.
Also, taking green tea avails you of several nutrients such as vitamins, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, and many more.
What is the best way to drink green tea?
Unknown to many, there are proper ways to take green tea to reap its many benefits. The quantity and method of preparation affect the quality of your green tea.
Drinking green tea hot or cold depends on your preference. What matters most is how you prepare it. If you are using leaves, ensure the quantity you want is already in the teacup. Then, heat water and pour it into the cup.
When preparing green tea, you must give the green tea leaves enough time to diffuse nutrients into the water. The time of infusion, temperature, and water volume will vary on the type of green tea you wish to drink.
If the temperature is too high, it may not draw out some flavor components such as theanine. Too low also means astringency components such as catechins would remain in the leaf.
For example, 2g of Sencha green tea requires 80 to 90 degrees of 90 ml of 3 oz water and an immersion time of one minute at the most.
The quantity of tea leaves you need depends on the number of cups you want to brew.
On a general note, the infusion time of the leaves will vary between 30 seconds to 2 minutes.
The water type also plays a vital role in green tea preparation.
Soft water (low in calcium and other constituents) is preferable for preparing this beverage. You must also ensure it is free from chlorine odor.
What can you mix with green tea?
Some do not like green tea for its taste. That shouldn’t prevent anyone from taking it. While many prefer to take it as a pure brew, it wouldn’t harm you mixing a few things with it to please your taste buds.
You can add some lemon to it or some honey to sweeten it a bit. If that doesn’t suffice, ginger and some mint leaves would add some flavor to encourage you to drink green tea.
For example, I prefer mixing mint and honey in my iced green tea.
Can you Drink Green Tea on an Empty Stomach?
Either seldom or every day, drinking green tea on an empty stomach is not advisable. The tannin in green tea can increase the acidity of the gut and that’s dangerous when the stomach is empty.
So, if you must drink green tea in the morning, you can take a light snack to prevent complications. Also taking it one hour after your meal is ideal.
Meanwhile, if you must drink green tea before going to bed, you should ensure it is more than two hours before you plan to sleep.
Caffeine in green tea can make you stay awake. Meanwhile, green tea as a diuretic would cause you to urinate often and this can disturb your sleep quality.
Consequently, it is better to drink green tea in the morning.
P.S. – Normally, one hour before eating and two hours after eating are defined as an empty stomach by F.D.A.
Final Thoughts
There is no one-size-fits-all time to drink green tea. As I have examined, different timing gives varying results. Knowing what you want to achieve is what is most important.
Meanwhile, I’ll advise that you take note of how these timings work with you. Everyone has a different body system that responds in diverse ways to taking green tea.
For some, taking it immediately after a meal cannot work owing to their sensitivity to the extra gastric juices the tea stimulates the stomach to release.
Taking green tea at the wrong time may cause you to experience its side effects. Among them is that it inhibits the absorption of food nutrients such as iron.
You would want to consider taking some supplements to compliment what you’ve missed if you must drink green tea immediately after a meal.
Overall, drinking green tea an hour before a meal or two hours after is still the safest time for you.
It is also advisable to stay away from drinking green tea at night to prevent distortion of your sleep due to the effects of caffeine in it.