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Best time of the day to drink green tea

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Believe it or not, there is a best time of the day to drink green tea for optimal health benefits.  Enjoying your favorite tea at the correct time can help jump start a healthy lifestyle and promote wellness.

Fraser Tea has a wide range of premium organic green teas available in both non-GMO pyramidal tea bags and in loose-leaf packages. We have everything from Jasmine, sencha, matcha and many green tea blends for you to try. However, few know there are optimal times of the day to drink green tea if you want to maximize all the health benefits.  In this article we will also discuss the times of the day we should avoid consuming green tea.

The Benefits of Drinking Tea Everyday, especially green tea, is known to help with obesity, diabetes, cancer, heart disease, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, skin health, brain health and much more because of its abundant catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG).

In this article, we are going to discuss 6 amazing health benefits of green tea and the best time to drink green tea for optimal effects.

Organic Green Tea

  1. Weight Loss & Diabetes

Our organic green tea blends have zero calories. Therefore, green tea is a delicious option either hot or iced when you are trying to lose weight or watch your carbohydrate intake. It also helps boost your metabolism, burns fat, and keeps you feeling full.

Can you guess the best time of the day to drink tea to lose weight? Yes, it is in the morning and in the afternoon. Green tea is known to promote fat loss especially if consumed right BEFORE moderate intensity exercise [1, 3].  Try our Sencha Organic Green Tea to jump start your workout routine.

If you want to increase your morning energy and jump start your metabolism, try one of our caffeinated organic green teas. Coffee can give you a bolt of caffeine that might make you feel jittery and anxious. However, green tea is different.  The lower caffeine level in green tea combines with an amino acid called L-theanine.  This combination creates a more relaxed and gentle alertness. L-theanine in green tea also eliminates the vasoconstrictive effects like elevated blood pressure and jitteriness. [2]

Green Tea has a lower caffeine level compared to coffee.

You would think it would make most sense to make a cup of green tea to start your day and then workout. But maybe not…

In a perfect world, the best time to drink green tea is on an empty stomach BUT this does not take in consideration many other health factors. Specifically, green tea is packed with polyphenols (also known as tannins).  These tannins help protect the body by decreasing blood sugar levels. [4]. These tannins can be quite harsh on an empty stomach. This can lead to a stomachache, nauseousness, and heartburn. Therefore, it is best to eat something first and allow your food to digest for 1 to 2 hours before drinking green tea.

Not everyone is sensitive to green tea. However, if you have issues with gastric reflux, other gastrointestinal issues, or liver issues – try eating first.  Then, allow time for your food to digest before consuming green tea.

In addition, drinking green tea with meals is not the best way to enjoy the health benefits as eating may interfere with the absorption and function of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) and iron.

Organic Green Tea

  1. Immunity

Don’t wait to get sick - PREVENTION is the key! Did you know that green tea’s active ingredient, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), helps our bodies’ immune system to fight back harder? Studies have suggested that EGCG increases the number of regulatory T-cells that play a key role in fighting off foreign pathogens while controlling your immune reactions [5].

Green tea has antiviral and antibacterial properties to protect you from cold, flu and other upper respiratory illnesses. A great way to boost your immunity is to try some of our favorite green teas like our Turmeric Ginger Organic Green Tea or Soothing Lemon Mint Organic Green Tea about 1-2 hours after breakfast or lunch.

  1. Skin Health

Green tea’s is rich in antioxidants like epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). These antioxidants promote healthy skin by reducing acne [6], reducing skin pigmentation, improving skin elasticity [7] and reducing skin damage from sun exposure.  The best time to drink green tea for skin health is in the morning 1 to 2 hours after food or in the afternoon, after lunch. You can also try a cup of our Decaffeinated Sencha Organic Green Tea in the evening as it does not have caffeine to keep you awake at night.

Do you have puffy eyes after a long hard workday or late night? After you are done drinking your green tea, don’t throw out your tea bags. Place the cool slightly damp green tea bags on your eyes for 15 to 20 minutes to help reduce swelling around your eyes. It is very relaxing. 

Organic Green Tea

  1. Cancer Prevention

Drinking a cup of green tea in the morning 1-2 hours after breakfast or in the afternoon 1 to 2 hours after lunch is the optimal time to drink green tea to boost your antioxidant dose. Antioxidants surround and neutralize free radicals preventing them from causing damage and cancer development. Green tea consumption has been shown to reduced risk of hormone-related cancers, such as breast, ovarian and prostate cancers [8]. 

Try our Genmaicha Organic Matcha Tea made with superior organic sencha green tea, imperial grade matcha and organic toasted rice for a delicious dose of antioxidants.

  1. Heart Health

Drinking a cup of green tea, every day could possibly keep the doctors away. Green tea contains catechins. Catechins are natural antioxidants that help prevent cell damage. These compounds have been shown to exhibit positive vascular protective effects such as lower vascular inflammation, less clotting and lowering plasma lipids (fats) that circulate in our blood [9].

Anti-inflammatory catechins in green tea have shown promising results in studies that have shown decreased lipid levels.

In a study performed by Shinichi Kuriyama, patients that drank green tea had lower cardiovascular disease risk and stroke compared to those that did not. When they compared women who drank less than one cup of tea to those that drank more than 5 cups of green tea. The group had a larger green tea consumption was significantly associated with reduced mortality from stroke [10].

Therefore, drinking a cup of your favorite organic green tea blend, in the morning or afternoon 1 to 2 hours after meals may help prevent cardiovascular disease.

Organic Green Tea

  1. Brain Function

Have you tried our Focus Organic Green Tea?  You may have enjoyed the sweet blueberry, floral and bright flavors. However, did you know this tea is packed with the perfect blend of green tea and herbs to support mental alertness? 

  • Green tea may reduce anxiety, increase memory and attention and brain function. According to a study review by Mancini, et al, they were able to assess increased brain function on MRI scan results. They determined that these positive results were from a combination of L-theanine and caffeine in green tea [11].  
  • Ginkgo biloba has been found to increase blood flow to the body and brain to help you get those creative ideas flowing and cognitive tasks completed [12].
  • Eleuthero is also known as Siberian Ginseng may help with memory and learning by protecting the body from stress, burnout, and depression [13].
  • Gotu kola enhances memory, effective natural antidepressant and may play a promising roll in the treatment or prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease [14].

The best time to drink green tea for brain health is in the morning or early afternoon 1 to 2 hours after meals. As lack of sleep can cause increase anxiety and restlessness, it is best to drink this tea in the morning or early afternoon so that you do not interrupt your sleep routine.

Now that you understand the best times to drink green tea for optimal health benefits without compromising your gut health or sleep habits, let’s look at our Organic Green Tea Collection.

Want to learn more? Be sure to Explore our website and learn more about tea basics, wellness, origins of tea, tea traditions and new recipes using tea.

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Please Note: Before starting any change to your diet and routine, you should always discuss this with your primary care physician first and make sure that it does not interfere with any health conditions or your current medications.

Disclaimer: This website is not intended for the purpose of medical advice. All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. If you have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately.

Organic Green Tea

Sources

  1. Daniel Gahreman, Rose Wang, Yati Boutcher, and Stephen Boutcher. Green Tea, Intermittent Sprinting Exercise, and Fat Oxidation. Nutrients. 2015 Jul; 7(7): 5646–5663. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
  2. F. L. Dodd, D. O. Kennedy, L. M. Riby, and C. F. Haskell-Ramsay. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating the effects of caffeine and L-theanine both alone and in combination on cerebral blood flow, cognition, and mood. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2015; 232(14): 2563–2576. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  3. Michelle C Venables, Carl J Hulston, Hannah R Cox, Asker E Jeukendrup. Green tea extract ingestion, fat oxidation, and glucose tolerance in healthy humans. American Journal Clinical Nutrition 2008 Mar;87(3):778-84. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. Naheed Aryaeian, Sara Khorshidi Sedehi, and Tahereh Arablou. Polyphenols and their effects on diabetes management: A review. Medical Journal Islam Republic Iran. 2017; 31: 134. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  5. Munkyong Pae, Dayong Wu. Immunomodulating effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate from green tea: mechanisms and applications. Food & Function. 2013 Sep;4(9):1287-303. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  6. Suzana Saric, Manisha Notay, and Raja K. Sivamani. Green Tea and Other Tea Polyphenols: Effects on Sebum Production and Acne Vulgaris. Antioxidants (Basel). 2017 Mar; 6(1): 2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  7. Annie E Chiu, Joanna L Chan, Dale G Kern, Sabine Kohler, Wingfield E Rehmus, Alexa B Kimball. Double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of green tea extracts in the clinical and histologic appearance of photoaging skin. Dermatology Surgery 2005 Jul;31(7 Pt 2):855-60; discussion 860. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  8. Anna H Wu, Mimi C Yu. Tea, hormone-related cancers and endogenous hormone levels, Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. 2006 Feb;50(2):160-9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  9. Pon Velayutham, Anandh Babu, and Dongmin Liu. Green Tea Catechins and Cardiovascular Health: An Update. Current Medicinal Chemistry. 2008; 15(18): 1840–1850. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  10. Shinichi Kuriyama. The Relation between Green Tea Consumption and Cardiovascular Disease as Evidenced by Epidemiological Studies. The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 138, Issue 8, August 2008, Pages 1548S–1553S. https://academic.oup.com
  11. Edele Mancini, Christoph Beglinger , Jürgen Drewe , Davide Zanchi , Undine E Lang , Stefan Borgwardt. Green tea effects on cognition, mood, and human brain function: A systematic review. Phytomedicine. 2017 Oct 15; 34:26-37. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  12. R. B. Silberstein, Pipingas, J. Song, D. A. Camfield, P. J. Nathan, and C. Stough. Examining Brain-Cognition Effects of Ginkgo Biloba Extract: Brain Activation in the Left Temporal and Left Prefrontal Cortex in an Object Working Memory Task. Evid Based Complement Alternative Medicine. 2011; 2011: 164139. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  13. Alain Jacquet, Adeline Grolleau, Je´re´my Jove, Re´gis Lassalle and Nicholas Moore. Burnout: Evaluation of the efficacy and tolerability of TARGET 1 for professional fatigue syndrome (burnout). Journal of International Medical Research 2015, Vol. 43(1) 54–66. https://journals.sagepub.com
  14. Amala Soumyanath, Yong-Ping Zhong, Edward Henson, Teri Wadsworth, James Bishop, Bruce G. Gold, and Joseph F. Quinn. Centella asiatica Extract Improves Behavioral Deficits in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease: Investigation of a Possible Mechanism of Action. International Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, Volume 2012, Article ID 381974. https://www.hindawi.com