The popularity of green tea pills seems to have increased exponentially in recent years. Everyone is becoming aware of the health benefits that tea has to offer. If you are like me, you are probably skeptical about some of the things you have heard, so let's clear up some of the confusion.

There is nothing magical about green tea. It is not the fountain of youth, as some would have you believe. However, it does contain some of the most powerful anti-oxidants found in any food. Anti-oxidants are substances that work to slow the aging process by repairing the damage caused by exposure to the sun and chemicals in our environment.

The damage our cells experience from free radicals causes many problems, ranging from various forms of cancer to wrinkled skin. The anti-oxidants found in green tea pills, or just from drinking tea, help reverse this damage and may even act as an anti-carcinogenic.

In addition to the anti-oxidant effect, many studies into the health benefits of green tea have shown the following:

1. It helps reverse arterial sclerosis.
2. It lowers LDL cholesterol levels.
3. It lowers blood pressure in some individuals
4. It increases the metabolism, leading to weight loss.
5. It helps improve cognitive functions.

However, it rarely makes sense to take only green tea pills. They might increase your metabolism for a while, but virtually all the benefits of green tea can be enhanced when combined with various other herbs and minerals. For instance, gingko biloba works synergistically with it as it increases the blood flow to the brain.

A broad based vitamin/mineral supplement that includes tea will be more effective in lowering cholesterol and include additional ingredients that have anti-carcinogenic characteristics. While the health benefits of green tea include increasing the metabolism (believed to be due to its caffeine content), there may be other issues that need to be addressed to speed up one's metabolism. A quality multi-nutrient supplement will address these other issues.

The same thing is true for cognitive functions. A deficiency in vitamins and minerals will lead to poor brain functions. You could take individual herbs to increase blood flow to the brain, but until you balance out your vitamin and mineral intake, you will not notice any improvement.

Low energy problems can be traced to chronic inflammation, in which case tea will provide no advantage. However, there are many nutrients that work together to counter chronic inflammation.

This is the reason I have chosen to always include a multi-nutrient supplement that includes green tea in my daily routine. It eliminates the trial and error that is so time consuming and can be very costly. Doing so has greatly improved my overall health. It just makes sense.

If you are among the thousands who are looking to green tea pills to improve your health, look beyond individual nutrients. Instead look to groups of nutrients that work together to increase the effectiveness of each. My website discusses in more detail how this works.