Searching for Happy

This week, I have been raising a teacup and extending my pinky to see if I can experience any of the benefits attributed to green tea in the timeframe of a week.

To see how the experiment was set up, check out my first post on the benefits of green tea.

It seems the tradition on this site is that the simplest experiments are the most profound, and this one did not disappoint. To see what I’m referring to, check out day 6 of the benefits of green tea.

So, what are my overall thoughts on this experiment?

Benefits of Green Ta – Conclusions

In my experiment on hydration, I found that drinking the recommended amount of water per day did impact my mood, cravings and weight.

While water will always have a place in my life, I think that I might be pouring a cup of green tea far more frequently. As I stated in yesterday’s results, there was a positive impact on my blood pressure. While this test is far from scientifically perfect, I personally will be continuing to monitor it and see if the new, lower blood pressure is consistent. As usual, I don’t recommend making any changed to your own diet, exercise or lifestyle routines without consulting a doctor.

The mental benefits of green tea were harder to note. It might just be the consistent, low-grade caffeine consumption that causes them, but I definitely felt “on my toes” this week.

As to the weight loss, this is the real winner of this story. Meeting my goal in time for my birthday, I’ve dropped to 229 pounds this week, down about 3-5lbs from my previous weight range. Thinking back over this week, my diet wasn’t great, and I don’t think I got more exercise than my long-term average. The only change I had was the green tea.

In conclusion, my personal experiences certainly seem to indicate that consuming the quantities of green tea described in the Queen Margaret University study can have a similar impact to those described in that study in as little as a week. Remember though, my experiments are not scientific and they are conducted solely on myself. You might experience different results, so please speak to your doctor before making any diet, lifestyle or exercise changes.

Cheers!

Today’s post will be a little bit shorter than normal, just because today was a day between my planned measurements.

If you’re just joining me today, this week I’ve experimenting with the benefits of green tea. To see how things have gone for me so far, check out yesterday’s results in the benefits of green tea.

Today, while productive feeling, has been slow. It was actually my birthday today, so I didn’t get the opportunity to run a blood pressure test. I’ll run tests of both blood pressure and weight tomorrow, so check in tomorrow for an update on the numbers!

Now, as it’s my birthday, I have many things to do other than blog. Have yourself a great evening!

So far, in the first three days of this experiment, I’ve drank more green tea than I have in the previous couple of months.

If you’re just tuning in now, I’m drinking 4 cups of commercial green tea per day in an effort to examine the benefits of green tea.

To see how this experiment has been going so far, check out day 2 of the benefits of green tea experiment.

And now to the present!

The Benefits of Green Tea Day 3

Well, without going into any detail, today was a stressful day.

It seems that, by day 3, the biggest benefit of the green tea was the blood pressure aspect.

While I was far too busy running between crises to measure my blood pressure, I did feel far calmer than I normally would in such situations. The only real difference was that I had my cup of green tea at my side constantly.

It will be interesting to see how the rest of this week measures up!

Green tea is one of those beverages that, quite frankly, seems perfect.

It’s considered to be healthy in almost every diet going, second only to water. It has a half-decent taste, even without any sweetener. Also, it has a number of health benefits that are attributed to it.

Let’s start with the basics though. What is green tea? According to Wikipedia:

Green tea is made solely from the leaves of Camellia sinensis that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. Green tea originates in China and has become associated with many cultures throughout Asia. It has recently become more widespread in the West, where black tea is traditionally consumed. Many varieties of green tea have been created in countries where they are grown. These varieties can differ substantially due to variable growing conditions, horticulture, production processing, and harvesting time.

Green tea is given credit with a huge number of health benefits. For the purposes of this experiment, I am specifically interested in two of the benefits of green tea: cognition benefits and weight loss (though I’ll measure blood pressure as well).

Improved brain function is really quite hard to measure, so I’ll do just self-monitor and report based on my own impressions.

On the green tea page it lists a specific study that took place at the Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. Consumption of 4 cups of green tea per day for 14 days led to all sorts of benefits, including: reduced blood pressure (both systolic and diastolic), body fat, and body weight.

Weight loss is far easier to measure, so that doesn’t require much explanation.

My blood pressure is typically quite well managed, but I’ll measure that as well to see if I can find some sort of change as well.

So, as with the study at Queen Margaret University, I’ll be drinking 4 cups of commercially available green tea per day.

The Benefits of Green Tea – Day 1

No change in weight or blood pressure yet, but cognition is easier to notice. The low-level caffeine of the large quantity of green tea was a definite extended boost for me today. It didn’t have the same ups and downs as I would have on a more powerful caffeinated beverage.

So, it’s too early to draw any conclusions yet, but it looks like it will be a fun week!