Green Tea Can Help Recovery
ChefMD John La Puma reports that weightlifters who drink green tea are able to recover faster from the oxidative stress that occurs after workouts.
“Athletes who drank the green tea had less damaging lipid hydroperoxide and more protective polyphenols in their blood before and after exercise. Another key finding was a 37 percent higher post-exercise level of a protein called glutathione, which helps protect the body from oxidative stress caused by damage from free radicals. The researchers concluded that green tea provided significant benefits for sports participants.”
When you lift weights I think most of us are concerned more about results and less about keeping our body and cells healthy (especially from free radicals). That’s why getting enough antioxidants and polyphenols is so important.
The quicker you can recover, the quicker you can get back to the gym and the less sore you’ll be. Which will in turn allow you lift more weight, more often.
3 comments
I didn’t know that green tea offered these great benefits. That’s pretty unconventional but looks like there is some real science behind it. Worth a try.
Id never heard of this either and Im ALL ABOUT ANYTHING which aids in my muscle recovery (and has caffeine to boot :))
M.
I too had never heard anything about green tea helping recovery before reading this post. However, I have been meaning to buy it for some time. This week I finally remembered to put it into my shopping basket. I’ve been drinking a cup every night about an hour before I go to bed.
Do you know if the time that you drink the green tea affects the benefits listed i.e. is there a greater benefit drinking green tea before your workout, after your workout, first thing in the morning or last thing at night? Or does it make no difference when you drink it?
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