Green Tea for Pain Relief

Sometimes you do not need to spend money on medication to relieve pain. Green tea, a tea found in most countries around the globe, has great healing power for anyone experiencing certain aches and pains. It also offers a host of nutrients in the process.

Arthritis

• Arthritis is the number one cause of disability in America, according to the Center for Disease Control. If you are finding it difficult to perform daily tasks where you use your hands, or noticed a painful, sharp sensation in your joints, you may have arthritis. There is a compound in green tea called epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) that University of Michigan researchers found to alleviate arthritis pain. Drink green tea in the morning and night to soothe joint pain. Green tea works better when it is hot because the steam releases more of the EGCG compound.

Psoriasis

• Green tea can treat psoriasis, a sometimes painful condition in which the skin flakes and causes lesions. Medical College of Georgia researchers, who first tested green tea in association with psoriasis, found that the tea reduced skin cell production rates, thus treating the autoimmune disease. If drinking tea everyday is inconvenient for you, try taking green tea tablets, which serve as a supplement. Green tea tablets can be found at most health stores. Each manufacturer has different directions on the amount of tablets to intake, so always take the recommended dosage to help with psoriasis.

Chronic Gastritis

• When there is inflammation in your stomach, it is not only painful, but it can cause ulcers and gastric cancer. Green tea is known to decrease helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that causes infections in the stomach. A Japanese farming village found that people who consumed 10 cups or more of green tea on a daily basis were 37 percent less likely to get gastritis. For those who do not have gastritis, replace green tea with any other liquid you consume besides water for pain relief.

Other Benefits

• Green tea promotes a healthy digestive system, fights cancer and can help prevent cardiovascular disease. It also can reduce stress, slow the aging process and aid clear skin.