Medical Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. The information provided should not replace professional medical consultation, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making significant changes to your diet or health routine, especially if you have existing health conditions or are taking medications.
So this is embarrassing to admit, but two winters ago I was basically a walking petri dish. I got sick in November. I got sick again right before Christmas. Then I got sick AGAIN in January. At that point I was convinced my immune system had just given up completely.
My friend kept bugging me about green tea. And I kept ignoring her because, honestly? Green tea sounded boring as hell. I’m a coffee person. Always have been. The idea of switching to some mild-tasting tea that health bloggers rave about just didn’t appeal to me at all.
But after the third cold, I was desperate enough to try literally anything. So I grabbed a box of green tea from Target, made a cup, and… it tasted like grass water. Terrible. Almost threw the whole box away right then.
Turns out I was making it completely wrong (more on that disaster later), but once I figured out how to actually brew it properly, something weird happened. I started actually liking it. And then I started feeling better. And now here I am two years later writing about green tea like some kind of converted health nut. Life’s funny that way.
Table of Contents
What Even Is Green Tea Though
Before I got into this, I legitimately thought green tea was just a different plant than black tea. Nope. They’re the same plant—Camellia sinensis. The difference is black tea gets processed way more. It’s exposed to air for a while (oxidation, apparently that’s what it’s called), which changes the color and flavor and all that.
Green tea barely gets processed at all, so it keeps more of whatever’s naturally in the leaves. The stuff researchers get excited about are these things called catechins—they’re a type of polyphenol, which is basically a plant compound. The main one is EGCG, which stands for something ridiculously long that I can never remember.
These catechins act as antioxidants. You hear that word thrown around everywhere, right? But what it actually means is they help protect your cells from getting damaged by free radicals. Which sounds very scientific and abstract until you realize free radicals are produced by normal stuff like stress, pollution, even exercise.
Anyway, green tea has a lot of these antioxidants because it doesn’t go through heavy processing. That’s the basic idea. I didn’t know any of this when I started—I was just trying not to be sick constantly.
Does It Actually Stop You From Getting Sick
Okay so I need to be super clear here because I don’t want to mislead anyone. Green tea is not going to make you immune to colds and flu. That’s not a thing. If someone tells you they haven’t been sick in five years because of green tea, they’re either lying or just really lucky.
But—and this is where it gets interesting—there IS research suggesting it might help reduce how often you get sick. Not eliminate it, just reduce it.
There was this study in Japan where they followed people during flu season. The ones who drank green tea regularly got sick less often than the ones who didn’t. Not zero times, just less frequently. Another study looked at whether the catechins in green tea have antimicrobial properties, and they found some evidence that they do.
Green tea also has this amino acid called L-theanine that might support immune function. The research on this is still pretty new and evolving, but multiple studies have pointed in that direction.
My personal experience? That second winter after I started drinking it daily, I got one very mild cold. That’s it. The whole season. Compared to my usual three or four nasty ones, that felt like a miracle. Last winter I didn’t get sick at all, which honestly shocked me.
Is that definitely because of the green tea? I don’t know. Maybe I also just got lucky with which germs were going around. Maybe my overall stress levels were lower. Maybe I was washing my hands more consistently. It’s impossible to say for sure.
What I do know is I’m not planning to stop drinking it and risk finding out. I still do all the normal preventative stuff—flu shot every year, washing hands constantly, trying to sleep enough, eating reasonably well. The tea is just one piece of it.
The Hydration Thing Changed Everything For Me
This benefit was totally unexpected but honestly might be the biggest one for me personally.
Winter hydration is weird. In summer you sweat, you feel thirsty, you drink water. Simple. In winter the air is super dry (especially with heating running constantly), you’re still losing moisture through breathing and just existing, but you don’t FEEL thirsty the same way.
I used to go entire days drinking almost nothing because cold water when it’s 15 degrees outside feels wrong on a gut level. I’d force down maybe one glass in the morning with my vitamins and that was it. Shocking that I felt terrible all the time, right?
Green tea completely solved this problem. It’s warm so it’s actually pleasant to drink when it’s freezing. It has flavor (once I learned to make it right) so it’s not boring like plain water. And it still counts toward your daily fluid intake despite having caffeine in it.
The caffeine thing worried me at first. But green tea only has like 25-50 mg per cup. Coffee has 95-200 mg depending on how strong you make it. So it’s a much gentler amount. Enough to give you a little boost but not enough to make you jittery or crash later.
I will say though—don’t drink it too late in the day unless you want to be wide awake at midnight. I learned that lesson the hard way during week one when I had a cup at 7pm and then couldn’t fall asleep until almost 2am. Now I stick to mornings and early afternoon, and if I want something warm at night I’ll do herbal tea instead.
Winter Exercise Is Hard And I’m Not Pretending Otherwise
Can we just be honest about winter exercise for a minute? It sucks. I know some people are all “there’s no bad weather, only bad gear” but those people are lying to themselves. Running when it’s 20 degrees out and getting dark at 4:30pm is objectively miserable.
So like most normal humans, I move way less in winter. My gym motivation tanks. My running shoes collect dust. I tell myself I’ll do home workouts and sometimes I actually do, but mostly I just… don’t.
Which means come spring I’m always a few pounds heavier and feeling sluggish. It’s a pattern I’ve repeated for years.
Now here’s where I need to be careful because I’m NOT saying green tea is a weight loss solution. It’s not. Anyone who tells you they lost significant weight just from drinking tea is either lying or leaving out major parts of the story like starting a whole new diet and exercise program.
But there is some research suggesting green tea might give metabolism a very small boost. Several studies have looked at this, and one big meta-analysis combined results from a bunch of them. They found that green tea catechins were associated with small amounts of weight loss—we’re talking like 1-2 pounds over several months.
That’s not nothing, but it’s also not dramatic. It’s the kind of thing that might help a tiny bit if you’re already doing other stuff, but won’t do anything on its own.
I think about it this way: if I’m moving less because of weather, probably eating slightly more comfort food (winter does that to me), and generally in maintenance mode rather than improvement mode, having something that might nudge my metabolism even 3-5% seems like it can’t hurt.
But I’m also realistic about what’s actually making a difference. When I force myself to do YouTube workout videos or take walks on the decent weather days, that matters infinitely more than any tea.
If winter weight is a real concern for you, honestly the best thing is to talk to a doctor or dietitian. They can give you actual strategies that work for your specific situation. I’m just sharing what fits into my overall approach.
The Mental Health Piece Was Unexpected
I wasn’t expecting green tea to affect my mood at all. That wasn’t even on my radar as a potential benefit.
But winter is hard on my mental health. November through March is just rough. Some of it is definitely seasonal—less sunlight messes with me. Some of it is circumstantial—holidays stress me out, work gets intense at year-end, I hate driving in snow and ice.
Somewhere around my third month of drinking green tea daily, I realized I was feeling less anxious in the afternoons. Which was weird because nothing else had changed in my life. If anything work was more stressful than usual.
I got curious and looked into it. Turns out green tea has both caffeine and L-theanine, which seems contradictory. Caffeine is a stimulant, L-theanine promotes relaxation. But apparently when you have them together—which is what naturally occurs in green tea—they create this state of being alert but calm at the same time.
There’s actual research on this. Studies have measured people’s brain waves and stress markers after taking L-theanine, and found it promotes relaxation without making you drowsy or foggy. One study described it as “relaxed alertness” which is honestly a perfect way to describe how I feel after drinking green tea.
The difference from coffee is noticeable for me. Coffee gives me energy but also amps up my anxiety, especially if I’m already stressed. By 3pm on coffee I’m wired but not in a good way—more like nervous and on-edge.
Green tea gives me enough energy to avoid the afternoon slump but doesn’t make me feel anxious or jittery. It’s a much smoother, more sustained kind of alertness.
I want to be really clear about something though. If you’re dealing with actual clinical depression or anxiety disorder—the kind that interferes with your daily functioning, your relationships, your ability to work—tea is not the solution. I’ve dealt with anxiety issues before. I’ve been to therapy. I know the difference between feeling a bit down during winter and actual mental health problems that need professional treatment.
If you’re struggling, please talk to a therapist or psychiatrist. Green tea might be a nice complement to proper treatment, but it’s not a replacement for it.
My Doctor Actually Brought It Up
Heart disease runs heavy in my family. Both grandpas had heart attacks in their 60s. My dad has high blood pressure and cholesterol. Two uncles have had stents. So I’m pretty paranoid about cardiovascular health even though I’m only in my early 30s.
At my last physical, my doctor was going through the usual questions about diet and lifestyle. When I mentioned I’d been drinking green tea every day for over a year, he actually stopped and said “oh that’s great, keep that up.”
Apparently there’s quite a bit of research connecting green tea with better heart health. Multiple large studies—like thousands and thousands of people tracked over many years—have found that regular green tea drinkers have lower rates of cardiovascular disease.
One big review paper looked at data from tons of studies and found associations between green tea consumption and better cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, reduced arterial plaque. The effects aren’t huge for any individual person, but they’re consistent across different populations and studies.
My doctor was quick to point out that correlation doesn’t equal causation. People who drink green tea regularly might just be more health-conscious overall—maybe they also exercise more, eat better, don’t smoke, manage stress better. So it’s hard to isolate exactly what the tea is doing versus what their overall lifestyle is doing.
But the research is strong enough that he told me to definitely keep it in my routine, especially given my family history.
Winter is particularly tough on hearts because cold weather makes blood vessels constrict, which raises blood pressure. So anything that might help with cardiovascular function—combined with actual prescribed treatments and lifestyle changes recommended by doctors—seems worth doing.
One important thing: if you’re on heart medication, especially blood thinners, you need to check with your doctor before drinking a lot of green tea. Compounds in the tea can interact with certain drugs. My doctor gave me the green light, but your situation might be different.
My Skin Improved And I Didn’t Even Notice At First
This one caught me completely off guard.
I’ve always had terrible skin in winter. Dry, flaky, red, irritated. That combo of harsh cold wind outside and bone-dry heated air inside just destroys my face. I’d use heavy moisturizers, run a humidifier, do everything my dermatologist recommended. It helped but my skin still looked pretty rough all winter.
Around February last year, a coworker commented that my skin looked really good. Which was bizarre because February is usually peak disaster season for my face. I hadn’t changed my skincare routine. I wasn’t using any new products. The only thing that was different was I’d been drinking green tea daily since November.
That got me curious so I went down a research rabbit hole. Turns out there are actually studies on green tea and skin health. The polyphenols in it have been researched for their potential protective effects against UV damage and oxidative stress, both of which contribute to aging and skin damage.
Even in winter, UV rays are still affecting your skin—they reflect off snow and ice and can actually be more intense than you’d think. I still wear sunscreen every single day (my dermatologist drilled that into my head years ago), but maybe the green tea is adding another layer of protection from the inside.
There’s also research on green tea and skin inflammation. My skin tends to get inflamed and red in winter, so maybe that’s part of what improved.
I’m not saying green tea replaced my skincare routine. I still do all the topical stuff—gentle cleanser, heavy moisturizer, sunscreen. But I do think the tea is contributing something. At minimum the hydration aspect alone probably helps since dehydrated skin looks and feels worse.
How To Actually Make It Not Taste Terrible
Okay this is important because I almost gave up on green tea entirely due to user error.
My first attempt at making green tea was a disaster. I used boiling water like I do for every other kind of tea, steeped it for like 5 minutes while I was doing other stuff, then took a sip and it was genuinely gross. Bitter, grassy, almost metallic tasting.
I texted my friend like “this is disgusting how do you drink this” and she was like “wait, how did you make it?”
Turns out I was doing literally everything wrong.
Water temperature is critical. Do not use boiling water. Boiling water burns green tea and makes it bitter. You want water that’s hot but not boiling—around 160-175°F. If you don’t have a thermometer (I don’t), just let the water sit for 2-3 minutes after it boils before pouring it over the tea.
Steeping time matters. 2-3 minutes MAX. Not 5, not 10, definitely not “however long it takes me to get ready in the morning.” Set a timer. If you steep green tea too long it gets super bitter.
Quality actually makes a difference. Those cheap tea bags with dust-sized tea particles from the grocery store? Not great. I upgraded to loose leaf tea from an actual tea shop and it was like discovering a completely different beverage. Way smoother, slightly naturally sweet, no bitterness.
Japanese sencha is my favorite—it’s smooth and has this pleasant grassy sweetness. Chinese green teas like longjing or bi luo chun are also excellent. I buy organic when I can because conventional tea can have pesticide residues.
When to drink it. I do one cup around 10am and another around 2-3pm. Nothing after 4pm unless I want to be awake until midnight. I learned this through several nights of unexplained insomnia before I connected the dots.
Ways to mix it up. Plain green tea is great once you’re used to it, but sometimes you want variety. I’ll throw in a cinnamon stick, some fresh ginger slices, or a little squeeze of lemon. When it’s really cold and I want something more substantial, I’ll make a green tea latte with steamed oat milk. Just watch the sugar—adding a bunch of honey or sweetener kind of defeats the purpose.
Be consistent. The research showing health benefits generally involved people drinking 2-3 cups daily for months, not just occasionally when they remember. I think of it like exercise or any other health habit—regular modest effort beats sporadic intense effort.
Stuff You Should Probably Know
Green tea isn’t perfect and it’s not risk-free. Here are things I wish someone had told me upfront:
It can mess with iron absorption. This is especially true for iron from plant sources. I found this out the hard way when my iron levels dropped during my first winter of heavy green tea drinking. My doctor told me it’s because compounds in green tea bind to iron and prevent absorption. Solution: drink tea between meals instead of with food. If you’re vegetarian or already have low iron, be aware of this.
Caffeine sensitivity is individual. Some people can drink green tea at 8pm and sleep fine. I am absolutely not one of those people. Know your own body. If you’re pregnant or nursing, talk to your doctor about safe caffeine levels.
It can interact with medications. Green tea can affect how your body processes certain drugs, especially blood thinners like warfarin. It can also interact with some antibiotics, stimulant medications, and others. Always tell your doctor what you’re consuming regularly, including tea.
Supplements are different from tea. Those concentrated green tea extract pills? Some people have had liver problems from them. The amount of active compounds in supplements is way higher than what you get from drinking brewed tea. Stick to actual tea, it’s much safer.
Your results might be different than mine. Everyone’s body is different. Genetics, overall diet, stress levels, sleep quality, existing health conditions—all of this affects how you respond to anything you eat or drink. What worked for me might not work the same way for you.
What I Actually Think After Two Years Of This
Look, green tea didn’t transform my life or solve all my problems. I didn’t lose 50 pounds, cure my anxiety, or achieve perfect health. That’s not realistic and anyone claiming that is full of it.
What it did do is become a solid part of my winter routine that seems to help with several things. I get sick less often. I stay better hydrated. I feel calmer in the afternoons. My skin looks better. Are all of these things 100% definitely because of green tea? Impossible to say for sure. But the timing lines up and I feel noticeably better than I did before I started.
The ritual aspect matters too, honestly. Taking 10 minutes in the afternoon to step away from work, make a proper cup of tea, and just sit with it—that’s good for my mental health regardless of what’s in the tea. We all need those little breaks and moments of calm, especially in winter when everything feels harder.
All the standard health advice still applies. Eat vegetables. Move your body even when you don’t want to. Sleep as much as you need. Find ways to manage stress. See your doctor regularly. Green tea isn’t a substitute for any of that. It’s just a nice addition that fits into an overall approach to staying healthy.
If you’re curious about trying it, grab some decent quality green tea next time you’re at the store. Not the cheapest dusty tea bags, but you don’t need anything super expensive either. Brew it properly—water temperature and steeping time really do matter. Give it a couple weeks to become a habit. See how you feel.
Maybe you’ll end up loving it like I do. Maybe you’ll decide I’m crazy and it’s not worth the effort. Either way is completely fine. We’re all just trying to get through winter feeling as good as we can, and different things work for different people.
Just remember I’m not a doctor, nutritionist, or any kind of health professional. I’m literally just some random person who stumbled into a habit that works for me. For actual personalized health advice that accounts for your specific situation and medical history, talk to your healthcare provider.
Stay warm out there, and maybe give green tea a shot. Worst case you’re out a few bucks. Best case you find something that makes winter a little more bearable.
sources: journal of nutrition
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
