Determining which is better ultimately comes down to your specific needs. Green tea and coffee are both healthy and safe. Green tea may be a better choice for people with anxiety or insomnia. In contrast, coffee may suit you better if you're looking for increased alertness or improved physical performance.
Green tea is loaded with antioxidants that help your body detox, slow aging and combat inflammation. Most notably, green tea has a ton of L-theanine, an amino acid that boosts dopamine and reduces anxiety. It may help you relax so well during the day that your quality of sleep might actually improve.
There are several pieces of evidence that prove that both beverages can be effective when trying to lose weight. It does not make much difference. But when it comes to overall health then green tea is more beneficial than black coffee. It is rich in antioxidants and has numerous proven health benefits.
The Benefits of Morning Tea
In short, tea beats any alternative morning drink. Although it may not have the same amounts of caffeine as coffee, nor the same levels of vitamin C as orange juice, tea has a host of other benefits that make the case for tea – hot or cold – being your new choice of drink in the mornings.
While coffee has some of its own health benefits, green tea has been proven to be a much healthier caffeine alternative. In the long term, green tea has been proven to improve brain function, boost fat loss, protect against cancer and lower the risk of heart disease.
Coffee has its advantages, but tea wins in the war of the antioxidants. While green tea is most commonly associated with antioxidants, white tea actually contains more. Coffee also contains antioxidants, but in a much lower concentration than white tea.
Drinking three to five cups of green tea per day seems to be optimal to reap the most health benefits. Very high doses may be problematic for some, but generally, green tea's benefits far outweigh its risks. In fact, drinking more green tea may greatly improve your health.
Best for Overall Health: Green Tea
When it comes to tea, green tea gets the gold. “Green tea is the champ when it comes to offering health benefits,” says Czerwony. “It's the Swiss Army knife of teas.
Water. My favorite morning beverage is always water, first and foremost. Your body is deprived of water when you sleep, so it is best to rehydrate with water first thing before anything else. I then follow with coffee or a homemade matcha tea latte for a caffeinated boost.
Green tea is an exceptionally healthy beverage. It contains caffeine and the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), both of which appear to boost metabolism ( 71 , 72 ). EGCG is a catechin, which several studies suggest may help you lose belly fat.
Consultant Nutritionist Rupali Dutta explains, "Green tea has zero calories. It also tends to fill your tummy, and take you to a point of satiety thereby preventing you from binge eating fatty food. They are also rich in antioxidants and catechins that aid weight loss.
Green tea is another healthy alternative to coffee in the morning. A cup of green tea also has roughly half the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee, according to the FDA.
Green tea contains a catechin called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). Catechins are natural antioxidants that help prevent cell damage and provide other benefits. These substances can reduce the formation of free radicals in the body, protecting cells and molecules from damage.
Tea has been used for medicinal purposes in China and Japan for thousands of years. Green tea as a beverage or dietary supplement is promoted for improving mental alertness, relieving digestive symptoms and headaches, and promoting weight loss.
You can put milk in green tea. White tea can be great with milk, and oolong tea with milk can be beautiful. The worst kind of tea to drink with milk is a tea that does not taste good on its own. If a tea is bitter and astringent, your body is telling you not to drink it.
Like all produce, lemons contain phytonutrients, which protect your body against disease. These phytonutrients have powerful antioxidant properties, which prevent cell damage from oxidation, the same mechanism that causes rust. Juice half a lemon into your water and you'll add a mere 6 calories to your diet.
Huberman recommends delaying coffee consumption for a minimum of 1.5 to 2 hours after waking in order to maximize energy, reset your Circadian Rhythms, and improve sleep.
People with peptic ulcers or acid reflux should not consume green tea excessively. A 1984 study concluded that tea is a potent stimulant of gastric acid, which can be reduced by adding milk and sugar. 2.
Green tea can cause side effects due to caffeine. These can include anxiety, tremors, irritability, and sleeping problems. This is more likely if you're sensitive to caffeine or take large doses. Side effects are less common with green tea than with other drinks that have caffeine.
Matcha green tea is considered one of the healthiest green tea because the entire leaf is consumed by tea drinkers. The beverage is commonly brewed as a matcha latte or traditionally according to principles of the Japanese tea ceremony.
Excessive drinking of green tea can cause stomach problems, diarrhoea and can even cause iron deficiency. You may also experience insomnia. Hence, drink it in limit as excess of green tea can prove detrimental to your health.
The researchers recommend incorporating the small amount of one cup of green tea a day instead of coffee or soda for a healthier heart (2). Green tea catechins are also known for their anti-inflammatory properties, which can help eliminate free radicals and prevent oxidative stress.
Green tea's anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce skin irritation, skin redness, and swelling. Applying green tea to your skin can soothe minor cuts and sunburn, too. Due to its anti-inflammatory properties, studies have also found topical green tea to be an effective remedy for many dermatological conditions.