Decaffeinated and regular Green Tea

I am always looking for topics to research and include on the blog page.  This green tea question came to me during shopping.  Today while I was grocery shopping a lady asked me an interesting question.  She was reading the tea boxes and as I picked up my green tea bags she politely asked if I could help her.  She wondered if I knew the difference if any between regular and decaffeinated green tea.  This was a very good question and one that I never really thought  a lot about.  I buy regular green tea which I use to make iced tea.  She didn't want the effects of caffeine for it made her jittery yet she wanted the benefits of green tea.  I told her that it does contain caffeine however if that was her concern to buy decaffeinated or just don't drink it prior to bedtime. 

When I got home I began to wonder about her question.  I realized the health benefits of green tea and its effects with weight loss however I never stopped to think about the decaffeinated/regular differences.  I wondered if the health benefits were less or effected by the decaffeinated process.  The information that I discovered from my research was very interesting.

Some sources say the health benefits of green tea are ruined by the decaffeinated process.  The process of decaffeinating green tea results in the partial removal of antioxidants.  According to a study published in the 2003 edition of "Nutrition and Cancer" it was discovered that the flavonol content, a polyphenol antioxidant, of caffeinated tea ranged from 21.2 to 103.2 milligrams per gram while the flavonol content of its decaffeinated counterpart varied between 4.6 and 39.0 milligrams per gram.
According to health columnist Karen Collins, registered dietitian with the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington D.C decaffeinated green tea has only one-third as much EGCG as ordinary green tea.  EGCG stands for epigallocatechin 3-gallate is considered the most potent in disease fighting.  From these findings it is evident that regular green tea will provide the most health benefits and still has less caffeine that coffee or black tea. 


Green tea has great health benefits.  Research in Asia and the west find evidence of health benefits associated with green tea.  Drinking green tea can help people with cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, infection, cariovascular disease, high cholesterol, and impared immune function.  It is a powerful antioxidant.  Research at the University of Purdue showed there is a compound in green tea that inhibits the growth of cancer cells.  Independent studies have shown green tea to prevent tooth decay, weight loss, inhibits abnormal formation of blood clots which lead to heart attack and strokes, help prevent food poisioning as well as killing bacteria.  It improves the good cholesterol HDL and is effective in lowering the bad LDL cholesterol. 

Green tea has less caffeine than coffee.  Black tea has the most caffeine of the teas.  Green tea is in the middle between black and white tea which contains the least. I will  continue to drink regular green tea for the most health benefits.  I do not have any issues related to the caffeine.  However if caffeine keeps you from sleeping then you should not drink it after 4.  Decaffeinated green tea will still provide you with health benefits and is better than drinking coffee.  I hope this article helped you gain more insight into the differences between decaffeinated green tea and regular. 

References:
Antion, Tom G. (2012).  Difference Between Decaffeinated and Regular Green Tea.  Retrieved from FoodEditorials.com
Health, Julie.  Healthy Lifestyle Retrieved from Editorial Today.com
Lee, Stephanie, (2011).  Decaffeinated Green Tea vs. Caffeinated Green Tea.  Retrieved from Livestrong.com