green tea

what is everyone's thoughts on drinking green tea while dieting?  I have heard it has so many benefits.   so even though I hate the taste of it I do drink a cup of green tea everyday. 

also how do you know which green tea has all the benefits?   I bought lipton.  but do you suggest getting it organic?

My dietitian swears by green tea - she recommended I make jugs of it and guzzle it all day.  I'm not that wild about it either, but I've gotten used to it so it doesn't taste like anything to me now.  For some reason I prefer it when it cools down, maybe because sipping requires savoring and it's just not that tasty!

I have no idea about how good or organic or expensive you have to go to get the antioxidant benefits (I assume that's what you're talking about, grandmabx3).  I go with what my budget will tolerate - if I can afford organic high end tea, I get it.  If not, I buy Tazo Zen (green tea plus spearmint, lemongrass, lemon verbena).  Some people would poo-poo Lipton, and others would poo-poo the pricey stuff. 

My advice:  Do what you're able to do and trust that whatever it is, you're treating your body better than you used to!

thank you! I like your comment that whatever I am doing it is treating my body better than I used to!  that is so true!!

I am not crazy about most green tea either but I do enjoy the Celestial Seasonings decaf mint green tea. I drink a big mug at lunch every day.

I think green tea is just another fad.  I hate the taste and wouldn't bother with drinking it, let alone carring whether it was added to all sorts of other food/diet products to sell them.

I have found that Good Earth Green Tea Blend with Lemongrass and other natural flavors is very good. There is no need to add sugar. Just seep the tea bag for 3-5 minutes. If seeped longer, then the tea is very strong (at least for me). In the summer, I make "sun" green tea blend and then refrigerate it to make iced tea. Good Earth can be found in a regular supermarket; it is not limited to food co-ops or health stores.

thank you for your reply.  I will have to look for that brand.  I too like suntea in the summer.  I always buy lipton though.  and after reading so many posts about using organic foods I got to wondering about whether my lipton green tea even had all the health benefits I thought it had.

have a great day.  Barb

Hi Barb,

I bet your Lipton is just fine. Compare the labels to make sure that the main ingredient is green tea leaves! Easy.

A good and inexpensive brand is Salada. If you are trying flavored green tea - which most seem to be - try one that is just green tea. You might like it better. I found out that what I did not like was the added flavoring. Or you could just try all the flavors until you find one you like. There are a million of them.

You could also try treating it as iced tea - loads of ice and some lemon could be more to your taste.

Salada also makes a lovely white tea which is supposed to have all the antioxidant effect that green has but with even less caffeine - it also has a less intense or grassy flavor.

You do have to be careful about developing a taste for tea though. Or you will find your house inundated with tea pots and bags of beautiful leaves from the too expensive Teavana!

have a great tea time!

I live in Thailand and green tea is common here. At first, I didn't like it. It tasted like medicine but now I like it. You can get it with all sorts of flavours. As someone already said, just check the lable.

I mainly drink Rooibos, African red bush tea. I never drink ordinary tea and never have done but my sister does. She hates the Rooibos while I love it. She can't  even stand the smell. Good job she's in the UK. Try it but if you're a tea drinker you might hate it.

Incidentally, both teas can be iced for that long refreshing drink when it's hot. Like now. No rain for months and we're desperate.

One way to make green tea taste better is to not let it steep too long and DON'T squeeze the tea bag when you take it out of your cup!!!!!  That makes the tea very bitter.

I really like Genmaicha tea...Roasted Rice tea.  It's got a great flavor with the green tea. 

Just remember that the tea does not count towards your water intake.  Don't sacrifice water intake to ingest green tea.

My reading has a different take on counting it as water. You do count it. Yes, it has caffeine which is a diuretic, but it does not take away the benefits of an entire cup of water. If you are worried about it drink decaf, but count it either way.

Here's a good article on the topic:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/healthy_living/nu trition/healthy_water.shtml