On a hot summer day, a cold drink relinquishes your thirst and provides you with a cool effect throughout the body.
Why not choose a healthier option that has fantastic benefits and taste great?
We are talking about iced green tea.
Yes, it’s a thing!
Green is mostly enjoyed and perceived as a hot drink. But iced green tea on a hot day may turn out to be more refreshing with amazing benefits.
If you are yet not fond of the taste you may add sugar or sweeteners to your tea and a perfect summer drink full of nutrients is ready for you.
Cold Green Tea Benefits:
Your iced green tea may be more energizing than all energy drinks. It got all the benefits of making you active and refreshes your mind and body for a longer period. The benefits of iced green tea are numerous, some stated below:
1) Low-Calorie
With all the health-conscious individual’s first thing we all notice is the number of calories any food or drink contains. The good news is that iced green tea contains very a much smaller number of calories.
Although many iced packaged green teas may have added sugar content in them and may have more than 10 -100 calories in an iced green teacup. The iced green tea made at home has very few calories, about 2-4 calories in an 8oz cup if made un-sweetened.
2) Full Of Catechins
Catechins are the main anti-oxidants present in any type of tea. NYU Langone Medical Centre states that it has the highest number of catechins that fight the diseases in the body because of the processing methods it goes through. Higher catechin means more benefits. This is the reason iced green tea is considered the healthiest beverage.
3) Polyphenols
Good news ladies, the polyphenols in iced green tea have cosmetic and skin benefits.
It makes your skin healthy by protecting it from the sun and UV rays.
If you drink iced tea, it will not only refresh your body but also make your skin and fresh by treating wrinkles and lines.
4) Contain Most Flavonoids
Green tea comes from the same plant as other teas like black tea, white tea, etc. But it contains the highest number of flavonoids.
This means that green is among all other teas is oxidized less than all other teas.
It is available in the purest form. Studies suggest that these are anti-oxidants that are helpful for most bodily functions.
5) Increased Longevity:
Research done at “The Journal of the American Medical Association“ showed a link between consuming green tea and loner life.
In the research Japanese adults were observed for 11 years, and the ones who drank green tea all these years had fewer heart diseases.
Who doesn’t want a longer life? What’s your excuse not to include green tea in your life now?
Does Cold Green Tea Have the Same Benefits as Hot Green Tea?
Green tea has a lot of benefits brewed cold or hot. Let’s compare both for our good and see what suits us the most.
Iced Green Tea Vs Hot Green Tea Benefits
| Iced Green Tea Benefits | Hot Green Tea Benefits |
| Nutrients remain the same when making iced green tea. | Brewing more may lose nutrients. |
| No chances of brewing in hot water. | Green tea Brewing in boiling water is not recommended. |
| Nutrients maybe are absorbed efficiently while taking iced green tea. | Studies suggest that nutrients may be absorbed more in hot green tea. |
| Although cold green tea is also efficient in weight loss, it might be a little less effective than hot green tea. | Hot water is associated with burning more fats and making metabolism faster means more weight loss. |
Iced green tea and hot green teas both are popular around the world.
One fun fact to notice is that in the most eastern part of the world where temperatures are warmer, these countries consume more warm green teas. While in western countries iced green tea is more popular.
To answer whether iced green tea is a healthier option or a hot one, we leave it to you. Both contain all the good nutrients like anti-oxidants, polyphenols, and bacteria-fighting agents.
Whether you consume it cold or hot both have equal benefits and their properties cannot be destroyed by brewing it hot or cold.
What Are Things to Consider While Making Green Tea?
We now know that iced or warm green teas are a healthier option rather than other drinks like coffee or carbonated beverages.
The things to consider that matter while making green are:
- The quality of green tea used to brew. The processing part is what makes the best or not-so-good quality green tea.
- Packaging is used to save green tea from the harsh environment. Lightly packed green tea may lose its moisture which makes it lose its taste and flavor.
- Brewing effects, the flavor of green tea the most. Due to over brewing green tea may lose its some benefits.
Is Iced Green Tea Good for You?
Yes, why not? Iced green tea is as good as hot green tea. It’s a good drink to choose among soda, carbonated drinks, and other decafs.
The taste of cold green tea may vary and be different from a steaming hot cup of green tea but the beneficial goodness remains the same.
Studies reveal that sipping on this magic tea increases your brain functions, saves you from heart failures, improves blood flow, and in addition refreshes & hydrates your body in severe hot temperatures.
How Do You Make Iced Green Tea Taste Better?
Although iced green tea from Starbucks may be your favorite drink, iced tea brewed at home might not have the same taste as the bottled one. What you can do is follow the steps below and make your iced tea taste better instantly:
- Firstly, do yourself a favor and buy a good quality green tea to brew. Teabags might be an easy option but as they don’t contain tea leaves, the original flavor can’t be obtained with teabags. We recommend you pure form of tea leaves that expand in water when you steep the tea.
- Did you steep your tea too long or forget it in the refrigerator for 2 days? Don’t worry add lemon or lemon juice to it. It adds Vitamin C as well as a dash of flavor to your green tea.
- If you want to sweeten your tea, put some sugar or stevia in it to give it a wonderful taste.
- For a natural sweetener, honey can be added.
- Mint has its benefits and combines perfectly with the flavor of iced green tea.
Is Cold Green Tea Good for Weight Loss?
Iced green tea is brewed longer for a few hours yet it has a similar amount of anti-oxidants as in hot tea.
On the other hand, cold decaffeinated green tea may not be full of as many benefits as a normal one. Less caffeine means less burning of calories. Thus, you lose less weight with decafs.
The good news is that many experiments done on obese people tell us that iced tea may be the best drink for obese people.
For people whose goal is to lose weight, unsweetened and cold green tea is very effective and beneficial.
Cold green tea contains catechins which are most helpful in breaking down fats and increasing the metabolism level in the body.
The other useful compound that cold green has is caffeine. This increases the energy in the body to burn out excessive fats.
Due to these, cold green tea may turn out to be a great drink for a weight loss journey.
Does Iced Green Tea Prevent Cancer?
Many times, we have come across the statement that green tea fights cancer cells. How true is it and does cold green tea prevent cancer as well?
The studies suggest that polyphenols in green tea inhibit tumor cells. More than 50 epidemiologic researches show the association between consuming green tea and the risk of cancer.
Many studies among them link reduced risks of cancer when green tea is consumed. It also includes Cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, and colon.
Can Iced Tea Replace Water for The Body?
Brewed iced tea is healthy for the body. But make sure it is not full of sugar or artificial flavors. It may add to the daily intake of water but you need to keep a check on caffeine content in the iced tea.
If taken in excessive amounts caffeine may lead to dehydration and may also result in increased oxalic acid which is not good for the body.
According to Harvard Health Publishing green tea & black contains about 20-40 mg of caffeine per 8-ounce cup. The maximum amount of caffeine limit for a healthy adult is 400mg, so until you cross that limit you can replace iced tea with water.
Fluids help you stay hydrated, drinking plain water may be difficult so you can quench some of your thirst with flavorful iced tea.
Can I Drink Cold Green Tea Every day?
Iced tea may be declared the healthiest drink by many nutritionists. But it doesn’t mean that we drink too many cups of it daily. The recommended amount is not more than 3 cups.
To reap the benefits, 2 cups are more than enough to get all the nutrients in green tea absorbed by the body.
Drinking a lot of it can cause too much oxalic acid in the body. This can lead to something dangerous like kidney failure.
Is Green Tea Acidic?
The pH scale determines the acidity level and nature of anything. 7 is the neutral level and under 4 comes everything very acidic in nature.
Most teas may be acidic in nature but surprisingly green tea is not one of them. Green tea has a level of 7.3 if you take the purest form of it, this makes it alkaline.
Some brews when combined with green tea may become acidic like blackberry green tea and jasmine green tea.
According to studies, Lemon tea and black tea are most acidic in nature, and should be avoided taking on empty stomach or right after meals.
Make sure to look out for these types of teas specially if you have a sensitive stomach which and are intolerant to acidity.
Does Cold Green Tea Detox Your Body?
Green tea is full of catechins, antioxidants, and caffeine, all these compounds work together and act as a detoxifier for the body.
The cold drink not only cleanses your body from inside, but also improves your outer skin by reducing the harmful effects of UV Rays, making fine lines clear, and stopping the aging process.
It also helps your body by boosting the immune system. It clears the liver from toxic substances.
Therefore, you can safely call it a natural detoxifier.
To make it more effective you can add ginger, lemon, honey, and mint in the steep as well.
Conclusion:
Iced tea is a beloved refreshing drink for summer for many people. Not only does it quench thirst it also has loads of benefits for the body. It is a great detoxifier. Cold green tea improves hydration in people who usually don’t fill their water intake needs.
Make sure to take unsweetened iced green tea, that is the healthy option. Try to brew your tea at home. Canned teas are full of sodium, sugar, and artificial flavors.
Including iced tea in your routine is your choice. Keep in mind that the recommendation are 3 cups per day. Anything more than recommended may lead to issues and reverse effects that you don’t want in your life. So, the rule is to enjoy the most of it but never overdo it!
