You have heard all about green tea how it has many health benefits and could even help you lose weight. Nevertheless, you may be wondering does green tea have caffeine? Moreover, if so how much? To many diet products depend on caffeine to stimulate calorie burn, and too much caffeine can have a detrimental effect on health so it is important to know.

Caffeine

Green tea actually contains about a third of the amount of caffeine of a cup of coffee. It contains two coffee metabolites, theophylline, and theobromine.

Thophylline is caffeine like substance that is actually more potent than caffeine. It should be noted that the presence of this substance in green tea is merely a trace amount. Nevertheless, the properties of it should be discussed. The main actions of this substance are as follows:

• Relaxing the bronchial muscle

• Increases heart muscle function

• Raises heart rate

• Increased blood pressure

• Increases renal blood flow

• Anti-inflammatory effects

• Stimulates the central nervous system Theobromine is the weaker of the two caffeine like substances found in tea. It is most commonly found in the cocoa plant but is also present in tea to a lesser degree. The positive effects of theobromine are:

• Blood vessel dilator

• Diuretic

• Heart stimulant

• Anti cough effect better than codeine

• Effective in asthma as it relaxes the smooth muscles including those found in the bronchi.

The benefits of these two substances are noted when using extracts of them. The amount in green tea is much lower than recommended therapeutic dosage. The lower levels in it can still be beneficial and at the very least not as harmful as traditional caffeine intake.

Conclusion

Does green tea have caffeine? Yes but in smaller amounts than coffee. The difference with green tea is the fact that the tealeaves are not oxidized. This means that the tealeaves have not been processed in a manner, which releases oxygen, and therefore have retained all their nutrients.

Nutrients present in green tea include, iron, potassium, carotene, and vitamins B1, B2, A, C and D. These nutrients are what make this type of tea a healthy alternative to other caffeinated beverages.

The fact that the answer to the question, does green tea have caffeine, is yes does not mean that green tea is bad for you or should be avoided. Taken responsibly it is better for you than most of the alternatives.