Lifestyle

Celebrate National Iced Tea Month with Green Tea

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June is National Iced Tea Month, and many companies are celebrating.

Brisk Iced Tea, of the Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership, will launch a new product this month called “Brisk Green Tea with Mango Dragonfruit.” The debut bottles will feature a “Green Lantern” design by DC Comics artist Kenneth Rocafort, and then will later get a second comics-inspired design.

Another company, XINGtea, is celebrating with TEArivia, a contest that allows consumers to test their knowledge of tea for prizes. To play, simply “like” the company’s Facebook page. Throughout the month, XINGtea will post trivia questions related to tea and choose one winner to win a case of tea. At the end of the month, one person will win a case of XINGtea every week for an entire year.

“It’s widely believed iced tea was made popular at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, so we’ve been enjoying this delicious and healthy beverage for more than a century,” Tom Lebon, one of XINGtea’s founders, said in a statement. “We are excited to celebrate National Iced Tea Month and hope everyone gets into the spirit playing TEArivia with XINGtea.”

But the companies are not the only ones who have a reason to promote the consumption of green tea. A recent study published in the journal “Immunology Letters” specified that the polyphenol EGCG found in green tea provides health benefits, including protection against autoimmune diseases such as cancer, juvenile diabetes and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The EGCG compound stimulates a higher production of regulatory T cells (which help maintain the balance of different cell varieties), thereby reducing the risk of autoimmune disorders.

Green tea also benefits a drinker’s health with its high amount of flavonoids, which create anti-oxidant effects. The flavonoids inhibit free radicals, which form from being exposed to pathogens and contaminants and from aging, and prevent them from corrupting cells.

According to teaguardien.com, green tea also helps reduce bad cholesterol levels and blood lipid levels, therefore lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases. And although doctors haven’t been able to confirm it yet, many believe green tea helps prevent certain types of cancers.

These benefits have caused avid drinkers to coin the term “green tea diet,” which simply requires drinking more green tea every day. The diet is not a means of weight loss, but a way to promote health.

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