Is Dairy Bad For You, or Good? The Milky, Cheesy Truth

Dairy products are controversial these days.

They are cherished by the health organizations as an essential food for bone health.

But other experts disagree and think that dairy is harmful and should be avoided.

Of course, not all dairy products are the same.

They vary greatly, depending on how the cows were raised and how the dairy was processed.

Also, as it is with most things in nutrition, the ultimate health effects depend on the individual.

Is it “Natural” to Eat Dairy?

One common argument against dairy products is that it is “unnatural” to consume them.

This makes sense… humans are the only species that consumes milk in adulthood and certainly the only species that consumes the milk from another animal.

Of course, the biological purpose of cow’s milk is to feed a rapidly growing calf. Humans aren’t calves… and adults usually don’t need to grow.

Before the agricultural revolution, humans only drank mother’s milk as infants. They didn’t consume dairy as adults… one of the reasons dairy is excluded on a strictpaleo diet (1).

Therefore, it doesn’t make sense from an evolutionary perspective that dairy is “needed” for optimal health.

That being said, people in some areas of the world have been eating dairy for thousands of years and there are many studies that document how the genes have changed to accommodate dairy products in the diet (2).

The fact that some of us are genetically adapted to eating dairy is a pretty convincing argument for it being “natural” for us to consume it.

Bottom Line: Humans are the only species that consumes milk in adulthood, as well as the milk from another animal. Dairy was not consumed until after the agricultural revolution.

About 3/4 of The World is Intolerant to Lactose

The main carbohydrate in dairy is lactose, a “milk sugar” that is made of the two simple sugars glucose and galactose.

When we’re infants, our bodies produce a digestive enzyme called lactase, which breaks down lactose from mother’s milk. But many people lose the ability to do that in adulthood (3).

In fact, about 75% of the world’s population is unable to break down lactose as adults, a phenomenon called lactose intolerance (4).

This photo shows how common lactose intolerance is in different parts of the world:

Photo source.

As you can see from the photo, lactose intolerance is rare in North America, Europe and Australia, but very common in Africa, Asia and South America.

People who are lactose intolerant have digestive symptoms when they consume dairy products. This includes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and related symptoms.

However, keep in mind that lactose intolerant people can sometimes consume fermented dairy (like yogurt) or high-fat dairy products like butter (5).

Some people can also be allergic to other components in milk, like the proteins. This is fairly common in children, but rare in adults.

Bottom Line: About 3/4 of the world is intolerant to lactose, the main carbohydrate in dairy products. Most people who are of a North European ancestry can digest lactose without problems.

Dairy Can be Quite Nutritious

Dairy products are very nutritious.

The milk contains all the proteins, fatty acids and micronutrients needed to nurture a growing calf.

Given that human muscles, cells and organs are similar to a calf’s, it makes sense that dairy products are also a good source of nutrients for humans.

A single cup (244 grams) of milk contains (6):

• Calcium: 276mg (28% of the RDA).
• Vitamin D: 24% of the RDA.
• Riboflavin (B2): 26% of the RDA.
• Vitamin B12: 18% of the RDA.
• Potassium: 10% of the RDA.
• Phosphorus: 22% of the RDA.
• It also contains decent amounts of Vitamin A, Vitamins B1 and B6, Selenium, Zinc and Magnesium.

This is coming with 146 calories, 8 grams of fat, 8 grams of high quality animal protein and 13 grams of carbs.

Calorie for calorie, whole milk is actually quite nutritious. It contains a little bit of almost everything we need.

Of course… there are many different types of dairy. Fatty dairy products like cheese and butter have a nutrient composition that is quite different from milk.

The nutrient composition also varies depending on what the cows ate and how they were raised, especially when it comes to the fatty components.

The composition of dairy fat is actually very complex, it consists of hundreds of different fatty acids. Many of the fatty acids are bioactive and can have powerful effects on health (7).

Cows that are raised on pasture and fed grass have more Omega-3 fatty acids and up to 500% more Conjugated Linoleic Acid (8, 9).

Grass-fed dairy is also much higher in fat soluble vitamins, especially Vitamin K2, a nutrient that is incredibly important for regulating calcium metabolism and has major benefits for both bone and heart health (10, 11, 12, 13).

Keep in mind that these healthy fats and fat-soluble vitamins are not present in low-fat or skim dairy products, which are often loaded with sugar to make up for the lack of flavor caused by removing the fat.

Bottom Line: Milk is quite nutritious, but the nutrient composition varies between the different types of dairy. Dairy from grass-fed or pasture raised cows contains more fat soluble vitamins and beneficial fatty acids.

Dairy is a Superfood For Your Bones

Calcium is the main mineral in bones and dairy is the best source of calcium in the diet.

Therefore, it only seems logical that dairy has benefits for bone health.

In fact, most mainstream health organizations recommend that people consume 2-3 servings of dairy per day, in order to get enough calcium for the bones (14, 15).

But many experts don’t think this is a good idea because countries where dairy consumption is low often have low rates of osteoporosis, while countries that consume lots of dairy (like the U.S.) often have high rates of osteoporosis.

However… this does NOT mean that dairy causes osteoporosis… there are many other differences between these countries.

Actually, dairy is one of the things that mainstream nutrition gets right.

The great majority of evidence shows that dairy improves bone density, reduces osteoporosis and lowers the risk of fractures in the elderly (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21).

Also, let’s not forget that dairy contains more than just calcium. It also provides many other nutrients that are highly beneficial for bone health, including protein, phosphorus and (in the case of grass-fed, full-fat dairy) Vitamin K2.

Bottom Line: Numerous studies show that dairy products have clear benefits for bone health. They improve bone density in the young and lower the risk of fractures in the elderly.

Full-Fat Dairy is Associated With a Lower Risk of Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

Full-fat dairy has some benefits for metabolic health.

Despite being high in calories, consumption of full-fat dairy is actually linked to a reduced risk of obesity.

In a review that looked at 16 studies, 11 of them showed that full-fat dairy was associated with reduced obesity, but none of them found such an effect for low-fat dairy (22).

There is also some evidence that dairy fat can reduce the risk of diabetes.

One observational study from Harvard researchers looked at the amount of trans-palmitoleic acid (a dairy fat) people had floating around in their bloodstream.

In this study, those who consumed the most full-fat dairy had less belly fat, less inflammation, lower triglycerides, improved insulin sensitivity and a 62% lower risk of type 2 diabetes (23).

Several other studies show that full-fat dairy is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes, but a number of studies show no association (24, 25, 26).

Bottom Line: Several studies show that full-fat dairy products are linked to a reduced risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes, but other studies find no effect.

Dairy May Protect Against Heart Disease… But it Depends on The Type

Conventional wisdom dictates that dairy should raise the risk of heart disease because it is high in saturated fat.

However, the saturated fat myth has been debunked in recent years.

There really is no link between saturated fat consumption and heart disease… at least not for the majority of people (27, 28).

It also seems that the effects of dairy on heart disease risk varies between countries, probably depending on how the cows are raised and fed.

The Nurses Health Study, a major epidemiological study in the U.S., found that dairy fat was linked to an increased risk of heart disease (29, 30).

However, many other studies show that full-fat dairy has a protective effect, on both heart disease and stroke.

One review of 10 studies, most of which were using full-fat dairy, showed that milk was linked to reduced risk of stroke and cardiac events. There was also a trend towards a reduced risk of heart disease, but it wasn’t statistically significant (31).

In countries where cows are largely grass-fed, full-fat dairy is associated with major reductions in the risk of heart disease and stroke (32, 33).

For example, one study in Australia (where cows are mostly grass-fed) showed that those who consumed the most full-fat dairy had a whopping 69% lower risk of heart disease (34).

This is probably related to the high vitamin K2 content of grass-fed dairy products, but there are also studies showing that dairy can improve other risk factors… such as blood pressure and inflammation (35, 36, 37, 38).

Bottom Line: Studies on dairy and heart disease have led to conflicting results. In countries where cows eat mostly grass, full-fat dairy products are associated with major reductions in heart disease risk.

Dairy, IGF-1, Acne and Prostate Cancer

Dairy is known to stimulate the release of insulin and IGF-1 (Insulin-like Growth Factor 1).

This may be the reason that dairy consumption is linked to increased acne (39, 40).

But these hormones are also believed to increase the risk of certain cancers (41).

Of course, there are many different types of cancer and the relationship between dairy and cancer is quite complex (42).

Some studies suggest that dairy is linked to a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, but an increased risk of prostate cancer (43, 44).

The association with prostate cancer is actually pretty weak and inconsistent. Some studies show up to a 34% increased risk, but other studies find no effect (45, 46).

Keep in mind that increased insulin and IGF-1 aren’t all bad. If you’re trying to gain muscle and strength, then these hormones can provide clear benefits (47).

Bottom Line: Dairy can stimulate the release of insulin and IGF-1, leading to increased acne and a higher risk of prostate cancer in some studies. However, dairy seems to be protective against colorectal cancer.

The Best Types of Dairy

The best dairy products are full-fat, from cows that are grass-fed and/or raised on pasture.

They have a much better nutrient profile, including more of beneficial fatty acids and more fat soluble vitamins, particularly vitamin K2.

Fermented dairy products like yogurt and kefir may be even better. They contain probiotic bacteria that can have numerous health benefits (48).

A lot of people also swear by raw dairy products. That is, dairy from milk that hasn’t been pasteurized… a process that may have some adverse effects on the taste and nutrient composition of the milk (49).

It seems clear that consuming raw milk isn’t nearly as risky as some people make it out to be.

Many people also claim that they don’t tolerate conventional dairy from cows, but get excellent results with dairy from goats.

Take Home Message

When it comes to dairy, there are no good answers that apply across the board. The health effects seem to vary greatly between individuals.

Some people tolerate dairy just fine, others have mysterious symptoms when they consume it and yet others can’t tolerate conventional dairy but feel awesome with raw dairy products.

I personally tolerate dairy and eat a lot of organic, grass-fed yogurt. I frequently use butter with my meals and also eat cheese occasionally. I don’t drink milk… but only because I’ve never really gotten into the habit of it.

If you tolerate dairy products and enjoy them, then by all means eat dairy. There certainly is no compelling evidence that people should avoid it and quite a bit of evidence of benefits.

Just make sure to choose quality dairy… preferably grass-fed/pasture-raised and full-fat.

Low-fat dairy (which is often loaded with sugar) seems to be a bad choice overall… the main metabolic benefits of dairy are due to the fatty components.

Source
http://authoritynutrition.com/is-dairy-bad-or-good/

Nutrition Plans For Weight Loss

It is important to have proper nutrition plans for weight loss if you are looking for a healthy way of getting slim. In order to maintain a good and healthy body shape, you need to eat healthy as well that would guide you properly in a gradual weight loss process.

You need to understand what type of nutrients each of your food in your diet plan contains and how you should allocate them properly to be consumed at different times of the day depending on your calorie needs. Therefore, it is important to have distinctive meal plans for breakfast, lunch and dinner to help you in the weight loss process to give you the most effective results.

Breakfast

If you want an effective weight loss, you must have proper breakfast where it is best if you make the breakfast the heaviest meal of your day. Add a lot of carbohydrates in the meal so that you have enough energy throughout the day that can be broken down from the carbs you consumed. A heavy breakfast will also allow you to take small meals throughout the day and thus going through a good fat burning process especially if you are working out regularly.

The food items that you can include in your breakfast are:

Green Tea
Oatmeals
Sugar/Fat Free Cereals
Scrambled eggs
Banana (not more than one)
French Toasts (with or without eggs)
Potato wedges
Yogurt

Make sure to keep a proper balance with each of these items knowing how much calorie you are consuming and how much you are likely to burn throughout the day. Also keep alternative options to keep you motivated to stay in the diet. Innovatively preparing several meals with these food items or other foods with similar nutrients will help you to stay motivated.

Lunch and Snacks

If you have a heavy breakfast, you can take very light lunch or perhaps taking snacks at regular intervals might be the best idea. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables throughout the day with some protein and as less carbs as possible.

Here is the list of food that you can include for lunch or other small meals.

Roasted Chicken/Turkey
Brown Rice
Chicken Sandwich
Tilapia Fish
Black Coffee
Apples

Berries

Grapes
Oranges
Lemon
Cherries
Pineapple
Fruit Salad
Avocado
Beans
Pulses
Carrots
Spinach
Lettuce
Zuchini

The list of fruits and vegetables are actually countless where you can combine them creatively to keep you going through the meal plans each day and enjoy them.

Dinner

It is actually better to keep similar meals in your dinner that you had for lunch where it is effective if you cut down the rice from the menu. Rice contains a lot of carbs where for your dinner the amount of carbs intake should be very minimum for you as you will not have any activity at night before going to bed that can be broken down into energy. Moreover, include most of the vegetable items that have been listed previously for your dinner with salads letting you help with the necessary fibers that your body needs. It is ideal to cut down the fruits as well for dinner where vegetables only can do the proper job. You can have sugar free yogurts too before going to bed.

Source
http://ifeellight.com/nutrition-plans-weight-loss/

How to Make Some Healthy Smoothies for Weight Loss?

These days it has become really hard for us to avoid commercial foods as it is easily available all around the stores and supermarkets. And the only solution for this is learning how to make healthy smoothies for weight loss. Now you should know that unlike your other unhealthy snacks, which only act to increase weight, healthy smoothies are not only tasty but also helps to lose weight. And as effective as it is it’s not that difficult to make, all you need is some fresh fruits and yoghurt or even honey will do.

Now the only equipment that is required for making a smoothie is a blender, which is quietly available in every kitchen these days. If you don’t have one, there is nothing to worry about, just go to your nearby superstore and purchase one up, as they come in really cheap price depending on the brand and complexity. Although do make sure that your blender can easily blend fruits and ice cubes and for long lasting equipment I would recommend you to go for good quality product.

Once you have your blender ready it’s time to prepare the ingredients. Now that is quite simple, just take a bunch of fruits that you like the most and cut them into small pieces and then put them into the freezer. However you don’t have to put every ingredient into the freezer. If you want a slim smoothie then add some yoghurt with the fruits and then blend it. Remember that the amount of yoghurt you mix will affect the taste of the smoothie. And make sure to avoid any kind of sweeteners to your smoothie, as consuming sugar is never a good sign for weight loss.

The best thing about healthy smoothies for weight loss is that as they are only made of fruits they do not require anything else to make them taste sweeter, unlike others. So you and your family can have it without any mixture of sweetener.

If you still question on how a smoothie can help you to lose weight, then the answer is quite simple. As the fruits contain different types of vitamins, by consuming them we are filling up our everyday needs and some of this fruits also contain a lot of water which is quite necessary for weight loss. So this smoothie helps us to balance our diet and makes our metabolic system function properly.

It also cuts down on the temptation of having unhealthy outside snacks, which is filled with ingredients that can cause an increase in weight, and can later on bring in the signs of diseases like diabetes and heart problems.

As healthy as it is, do not consider replacing your other daily meals with a smoothie. As your body requires different types of foods, so that it can fulfill its everyday need for nutrients.

Now that you know how to make a healthy smoothie, it’s time for you to rush into your kitchen and start making one for yourself.

Source
http://ifeellight.com/make-healthy-smoothies-weight-loss/

Natural Weight Loss Remedies

Natural weight loss remedies are probably the best and healthiest ways to ensure proper weight loss without any side effects. Certainly, the commercially sold diet pills or other products does not work as much as they would claim where it cause numerous health problems. Therefore, it is very important for you to stay as natural as possible in your weight loss program including a lot of natural food items in your diet with regular exercises. In order to lose weight according to your goals, it is essential to be patient and highly determined to stay on the weight loss program for a long time while ensuring positive health effects which is very important in the continuous weight loss process. In order to achieve such goals, there are few natural remedies you can follow that will allow you to lose weight safely without any adverse health effects.

Green Tea

Green tea is very essential in order to ensure a very healthy weight loss where the polyphenol contents of this tea releases enzymes that help to prevent the excess triglyceride substance in your body that cause fat gain. Moreover, because of its high concentration of caffeine, it increases the overall metabolic rate of your body allowing you to be active all the time and thus helps to develop a lot of energy during workout. Such increased energy and stamina levels will allow you to work harder during your workout sessions and thus ensuring more calories burning in the process. In addition to all these, the health benefits of green tea are unlimited where the various substances present in green tea helps to prevent many diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol levels and blood pressure and so on.

Natural Fruits and Vegetables

All sorts of different natural fruits and vegetables are essential to be included in your diet plan that would allow you to lose a lot pounds from your body. Most fruits and vegetables are incredibly low on calorie levels where having them during different meals would allow you to stay full for a long time. The high fiber contents alongside with rich minerals, vitamins and most importantly anti-oxidant concentration allow an effective weight loss process while also ensuring full nutrition that your body needs in the most natural ways possible to stay healthy and functional. Including fruits and vegetables like banana, orange, apple, berries, grapes, avocado, carrots, cucumber, zucchini, lettuce, broccoli, beans, peas, pulses and so on would help you enormously in your weight loss program.

Drink a lot of Water

In order to lose weight while staying healthy and fit, you need to hydrate yourself all the time. In this process, sufficient amount of water is important drink on a daily basis. Do not drink any sort of juice or sodas to quench your thirst with the belief that you are providing your body with the necessary fluid needs. You will be very wrong if you believe so, because in order to achieve healthy weight loss, you just need to drink plain simple water, nothing else. Water would increase your metabolic rates and generate enough fibers that aid the weight loss process.

Exercise regularly

Whatever you do, at the end of the day, there is no alternative to exercising or other physical activities when it comes to losing weight. Therefore, exercise regularly or get involved in any other physical activities like sports club or something making sure you burning off enough calories on a regular basis. With proper exercise and diet plan, you will be able to lose a good number weight from your body in no time while being highly healthy preventing the risks of many minor and major diseases.

Comment below what you guys do to lose weight. If you apply any of these weight loss remedies in your own lives? Let me know, I'm really interested! have a great day guys!

Source
http://ifeellight.com/natural-weight-loss-remedies/

The Best Natural Supplements For Weight Loss

If you are looking for natural supplements for weight loss, then without any shadow of a doubt green tea is best option. There has been much research on the impact of green tea in the weight loss process including the various health benefits this tea provides. The green tea has proved to contain many nutritional qualities that allow its regular consumers to prevent risks of many diseases and thus allowing leading a healthy disease free long life.

Certainly, if you are looking for weight loss supplements like diet pills or something similar, always consider the adverse health effects all these diet pills can have. In this way, if you are losing weight without having a healthy lifestyle, then there is no point in doing it. A weight loss program should contain healthy weight loss diet including healthy natural supplements like green tea.

The tea comes from the camellia leaves that are found mostly in the eastern parts Asia like China and Japan. Therefore, the green tea consumption has been a part of the cultures of the people of that part of the world for thousands of years where they have always celebrated the beneficial qualities of green tea.  Now green tea is a worldwide phenomenon with rising popularity among those who wants suitable means of losing weight supplements.

The substances present in green tea such as polyphenols play a vital role in the fat reduction process inside our body. This substance creates enzymes that prevent the excess production of triglyceride substances that can cause us to gain weight due to its fat storage capabilities. This triglyceride absorbs the fat and sugar substances that are being passed on into our body to store it and increase the transformation of food into fat.  In this way, the sufficient control on the amount of fatty food items in your diet while drinking green tea on a regular basis would help significantly in the fat reduction process.

The high caffeine contents of green tea make them to produce a lot of antioxidants that aids the boost of metabolism. The increase in the metabolic rate of your body will assist more physical activities in form of regular exercises and so on which is highly important for efficient weight loss. Moreover, the anti-oxidants help to make the fat storage in your body to be transformed into energy that can be broken down to ensure sufficient weight loss in the quickest manner possible.

However, to ensure the effectiveness of green tea, having a well-balanced diet with lots of natural fruit and vegetables and other healthy meals is very important. The diet should also be supported by regular exercises and if implemented the plans properly, the effectiveness of green tea will be incredibly high where you will able to lose a lot of pound at a very short time.

Source
http://ifeellight.com/one-best-natural-supplements-weight-loss/

Proper Meal Plans For Weight Loss

Developing proper and healthy meal plans for weight loss may be difficult for anybody who wants to have a clean and healthy diet for an effective weight loss program. A lot of research is needed to be done to understand the calorie levels and other nutrients that are present in each of the food items. It is also important to know which food helps the body in what ways with its nutrients that our body needs for a healthy weight loss process.

Generally speaking, the level of your diet should reflect the goal that you have set in your weight loss program where the more weight you want to lose, the stricter will be your diet.  It also depends upon the amount of exercises you do and the type of body you have to understand the daily calorie balance that you need to have during this program. However, you may acquire a general idea on what type of food to eat at different times of the day for the better effectiveness of the diet, so let us have a look at the meal plans you may have at different times of the day.

Breakfast

It is a clever idea to have a heavy breakfast in the morning where you can consume the most carbohydrates and fats of the day. Potatoes and bananas are the best are the best source of such carbs and fats which would be broken down into energy and let you stay active throughout the day. Taking sufficient amounts of fats and carbs would allow you to stay full throughout the day with very little need for heavy meals at the later parts of the day where your activities will be less and thus less room for the nutrients to be broken down into energy.

Therefore an ideal menu for a healthy breakfast can include potatoes, banana (do not take more than two where one banana is the best option), oatmeal, sugar or fat free cereals, green tea, lemon, eggs, and toasts and so on. Avoid any type of high fat food items like butter, cream or chocolates.

In this process, if you have a heavy breakfast, you can have small meals throughout the day like every two or three hours. The meals may include lots of fruits and vegetables and other snacks such as chicken sandwiches and so on. This will help you to be functional all the time being fresh and energetic throughout the day and also aiding the weight loss process.

Lunch

Since it is very effective to have small meals every two to three hours, many people skip lunch in the process as they are constantly eating and therefore does not have the need for a lunch. If you do not have the option to eat at continuous intervals for office work and so, you can always design your lunch at an innovative way to give you the most nutrients from it. In the lunch, make sure to have a lot of protein in the menu, like chicken or eggs. Also include many vegetable items like carrots, zucchini, spinach, avocado, lettuce, tomato and so on. If you want beef or turkey, make sure they are roasted pretty well. Also include fruits such as apples, berries or grapes to get you going.

Snacks

Many people eat a lot of chips, crackers and cookies in their snacks late in the afternoon. You must avoid all these junk foods at any cost where your snacks should be simple including all the fruit items mentioned above and also you can go for some healthy low fat yogurts to help your body with the necessary calcium needs that is important in the weight loss program, especially if you are exercising regularly.

Dinner

Dinner is basically your last meal of the day where after the meal you will not have any more activity for the day before going to bed. Therefore, it is important to eat as less carbs and fats as possible. Your dinner meal should be simple with lots of vegetables again and some protein source likes roasted chicken and turkey. You can include fish items also like tilapia which has high protein contents. If possible you can also add oatmeal in the menu which is the best food item dinner if you are on a strict weight loss program. A little bit of brown rice is also not bad with salmons, olives and almonds which are in fact very healthy.

Make sure you take your dinner as early as possible especially if you are adding a menu with rice, chicken and vegetables and eggs. If you go to bed directly after the dinner than the food you consume will easily turn into fat when you are sleeping as your body is not moving around much at night and thus having no activities for the food nutrients to be broken down into energy. It is ideal to have dinner three to four hours before going to bed which also helps in the proper digestion process.

Your meal plans and the menu would depend on how active you are throughout the day. If your work involves lots of movements, you may need to eat a bit more as you are burning off some calories with the movements. If you are exercising regularly, your diet plan will be different according to the type of exercises you do. For example, if you are lifting weights at the gym, you may need to add a lot of protein in your diet to burn fat and grow muscles. Moreover, the diet plan also would vary according to genders where males would need more calories than females where at the same time females should be including more calcium and vitamin rich food items in their diets. Furthermore, also drink a lot of water throughout the day; avoid any juice or colas or perhaps energy drinks where you should only drink clean simple water.

Source
http://ifeellight.com/proper-meal-plans-weight-loss/

Green Tea For Weight Loss

Green Tea for weight loss has been recently a very popular phenomenon. A lot of people who want to lose weight fast are including green tea in their diet plans most commonly with their breakfast meals. Certainly, without any doubt it has lots of amazing qualities that helps to lose weight and stay healthy, preventing the risks of many diseases making green tea the healthiest beverage on earth in the process. For this reason, the sales and distribution of the green tea products is rising enormously throughout the world providing many people with the necessary diet supplement needs in the healthiest and natural ways possible.

History of Green Tea

The consumption of green tea is being practiced for around five thousand years that originated manly among the people of China. Green tea generally comes from the leaves of the camellia sinensis plant that can be found in East Asian regions of China and Japan mostly. For over many centuries, green tea consumption has been an important part of the Chinese and Japanese cultures where there were many variations that had been made on the tea leaves preparing the tea in many ways to make people enjoy the drink. Japan for many years has developed the tea consumption process into an art form where there were many tea drinking ceremonies in their culture that are still being practiced today. Without any doubt, this is the reason why most of the green tea products do come from Japan.

Health benefits of green tea

The green tea is loaded with healthy nutrients that allows people to stay disease free and lead a long life if consumed on a regular basis. The bioactive compounds that are present in the green tea make sure of such healthy nutrients. The polyphenol contents in green tea such as flavonoid and catechins act as strong antioxidants that help in increasing the metabolic rates of our body. Such antioxidants help to prevent damage cells and molecules from our body keeping us disease free all the time. In this process, a lot of risky diseases like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, kidney failures, Alzheimer’s diseases and several other harmful old age diseases can be prevented.

Because of its high caffeine contents, the green tea can also help you to increase your brain functions and thus make you active all the time, especially during work where your productivity might increase. Certainly, the caffeine contents work as stimulants that assist faster brain functioning allowing you to make faster decisions on anything while increasing physical performance at the same time. 

Assisting the weight loss process

As mentioned before, green tea has high concentration of caffeine which raises the metabolic rate of our body. Because of this, our physical activities may see a boost in performance where you may feel to have gained more stamina and perhaps strength during exercising burning more fat in the process due to the high metabolic rate of your body caused by green tea. The polyphenol contents of green tea helps release certain enzymes in your body that prevents the excess amount of triglyceride to enter into the bloodstream that causes fat. Although triglyceride is an essential substance that several parts inside your body needs to function properly, excess amount of such substances in your system generally may cause you to gain weight by transforming into fat and thus the polyphenol contents of the green tea fights such excess triglyceride to control your weight in an effective manner.

Therefore, the benefits of drinking green tea on a regular basis are endless where along with a proper workout routine and diet plan; you will be able to lose sufficient weight in the fastest ways possible.

Source
http://ifeellight.com/green-tea-weight-loss/