Like all things "super food," I did not come to green tea naturally, nor did it become a habit "just like that" because I read about it somewhere and decided it was the smart thing to begin drinking. I worked up to it gradually, to the point now where it is a part of my routine which I actually enjoy.
That's what all habits are, things which are routine which you do because you enjoy them. Good habits are not established overnight. And bad ones aren't broken of a sudden. I quit smoking over the course of a month one summer by drinking 1.75 liters of Bombay Sapphire Gin. Ten years later I stopped drinking booze while recovering from the after effects of a particularly nasty stay in the hospital because it was making me a fat slob. How people get to the point of making such decisions is as variable as their number. But in my experience what mattered was getting to the point of that intangible inner movement of the soul where one simply decides "enough of that." In other words, you have to get to that place and time in your life where you have really got to want to change something. Nobody can do that for you, nor can anyone else get you to that point. You have to come to it and want it for yourself.
For me, breaking a bad habit lead me to tea after dinner. At first it was herbal tea of one kind or another, without caffeine. At the beginning I think I was drinking five or six cups of the stuff in the hours before bed, just to have a glass in my hand. What this did for me was enormously important because it spelled death to the old patterns. As a consequence, I stopped the input of a tremendous number of useless calories. I naturally lost weight. Without alcohol to interfere, I slept better, which meant I lost more weight (you burn calories even while you sleep). I had more energy, to the point where this "morning person" now makes a good show of productivity also in the evenings.
Another thing hot tea does for you which is much underestimated is sabotage the hunger reflex. If you want to curb after dinner snacking before bed, hot tea is the way to do it. Any hot liquid will do this, which may be why so many people also fail to eat a good breakfast. The first thing I do every morning is make a hot cup of coffee, and I can go for hours without feeling hungry afterwards.
Green tea is not an "herbal" tea. It derives from the same plant as black teas. And "it's the antioxidant flavonoids in tea that give it its health-promoting power," according to Steven Pratt. Green tea is especially high in these, and its consumption is correlated with lower blood pressure, effective blood sugar management, reduced body fat, healthy skin, prevention of cancer and cataracts, and resistance to viruses, inflammation, and allergens. Pretty potent stuff for such a small, inexpensive package.
Not all green tea products are created equal, of course. Some, frankly, remind me of the smell of a freshly mowed lawn in my cup. Yuck. But not the Good Earth brand of green teas. I especially enjoy the decaf version blended with lemongrass in the evenings. The caffeinated version is also excellent, until two in the afternoon. Try them. I think you'll like them.
