Is drinking decaffeinated green tea better for your health than the natural variety? Many people are making efforts to avoid overdoing it on their caffeine intake and that's a good choice, but proponents of natural healthcare advise that we choose decaf, only when we are sure of the method that is used to remove the caffeine.
The methods used today include the direct approach, the CO2 process and the Swiss water process.
That last one is only used at one plant in Canada, but it is a very safe method of decaffeination.
The CO2 process, which only requires the use of carbon dioxide, is also good, although I'm not sure about the environmental impact.
Since, we are trying to reduce CO2 output.
The direct approach is most common and requires the use of toxic solvents to make decaffeinated green tea, black teas or coffees.
Caffeine-free soft drinks are different.
Caffeine is one of the ingredients that are normally used in sodas.
Caffeine-free varieties simply exclude that ingredient.
Originally, manufacturers used benzene as a solvent in the decaffeination process.
But, since benzene is known to cause cancer in humans, that practice was abandoned.
The solvent that is most commonly used today is dichloromethane, which is only a "possible" human carcinogen.
If you care anything about your long-term health, you need to start living more naturally and avoiding these kinds of toxins.
They build up in the body over time, continuously increasing our cancer risk.
If the manufacturer of the product that you are about to buy does not list the decaffeination method that is used, don't buy it.
That's my advice.
But, even if they do say that the product is "naturally decaffeinated", they could be referring to the use of a solvent called ethyl acetate, which does occur in nature, but is usually produced synthetically.
You can make your own decaffeinated green tea at home, by buying regular organic leaves and doing a "double-steep" process.
Most of the caffeine is steeped from the leaves in the first 20-30 seconds.
So, if you steep the leaves for about a minute, discard that cup and then add the leaves to a fresh cup of boiling water, you will have a drink that is tasty, but contains only a trace amount of caffeine.
If you want the health benefits, you could simply take a daily supplement that contains the extract.
Supplement manufacturers don't need to use decaffeinated green tea, because 100mg of the extract, which is the amount you will find in the better supplements, contains only 2-4mg of caffeine.
That small amount won't bother you.
I recommend a daily multi-nutrient supplement that contains a variety of different plant extracts, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and co-factors.
Nutrients work best in combined form.
That's why many of the single-ingredient supplements on the market do not provide the claimed benefits.
Store bought decaffeinated green tea is not caffeine-free.
It just contains less than the regular version.
Well there is a product that I take that contains a wide range of vitamins, minerals and other herbal extracts that can have maximum impact on your health.
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