ITO EN Pure Green Tea Giveaway

Ito En  Green Tea is offering some refreshing ways to battle the summer heat! 

Wouldn’t we all like to coast through the summer as cool as a cucumber?  Unfortunately, aside from the rising mercury, the arrival of summer brings a range of heated concerns including protecting our skin from the damaging effects of the sun, slimming down for swimsuit season, and battling pesky seasonal allergies. Ito En TEAS’ TEA Green Tea can help keep you cool, AND soothe your summer stresses. Green tea has been proven to help slenderize, fight sniffles, and protect your fresh-from-the-winter pasty skin. Read on!

Green Tea Burns  Fat, Stimulates the Metabolism & Accelerates  Weight Loss, and  Even Helps You Exercise Longer 

Triglycerides from food are a source of energy for life support and physical activities.  However, excess triglycerides become fat. Green tea contains polyphenols which activate the enzyme that is responsible for dissolving excess triglyceride to aid in burning fat.

Green tea also contains powerful antioxidants called catechin polyphenols that are responsible for many of the health benefits of green tea. EGCG (or epigallocatechin gallat), has been found to  stimulate the metabolism and accelerate weight loss.

Finally, a study using green tea extract on lab rats increased the amount of time the animals could swim before becoming exhausted by as much as 24%. The catechin  polyphenols in green tea appear to stimulate the use of fatty acids by liver and muscle cells. This subsequently reduces the rate that carbohydrates are used and allows for more endurance and longer exercise times. More endurance means more exercise, which means more calories burned. It  all adds up to more pounds lost for you.

Green Tea Skin  Protection 

Recent  research also shows that antioxidant  supplementation may protect our skin. A paper published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Clinical  Nutrition found that supplementation with carotenoids (25 mg/day) and vitamin E (500  IU/day) "may be useful for diminishing sensitivity to ultraviolet  light" so slather on that sunscreen and drink up your Ito En TEAS’ TEA for healthier, protected skin.

Green Tea to  Beat Seasonal  Allergies 

Science Daily recently reported  that allergy sufferers may want to add green tea to their sniffle-fighting arsenal. New evidence suggests  that drinking the popular brew may provide some relief. Researchers in Japan identified a compound in green tea that, in laboratory tests, blocks a key cell receptor involved in producing an allergic response. The compound, methylated epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), may have a similar effect in humans, they say.

Ito En TEAS’ TEA has a recipe for Green Tea Summer Punch that will keep you refreshed and healthy this summer.

GREEN TEA SUMMER PUNCH
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3   hours
Makes: 3 quarts / 12  servings

Ingredients:
 

• 2 quarts TEAS’ TEA Pure Green  
• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 8 whole cloves, plus more for garnish  
• 4 peeled slices fresh ginger (about 1 inch by 2   inches each)
• 1 apple
• 1 orange
• 1 quart apple  juice

Preparation:

1. Combine the tea, cloves, two pieces of ginger and two cinnamon sticks in a large pitcher.
2. Let steep at room temperature for about two hours. Refrigerate for up to an hour.
3. Wash the orange and slice it into thin pieces.     
4. Wash, core and slice the apple. Stud the slices with cloves.
5. Remove the cloves, cinnamon and ginger from the tea.    
6. Mix the tea, juice and remaining cinnamon sticks and  ginger in the pitcher.
7. Serve chilled and enjoy!

Win:  Three lucky winners will each receive a bottle of ITO EN Pure Green Tea!

***THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

Congratulations to willdebbie, Sweeter the berry, kolpin!

• To enter, visit ITO EN and comment on your favorite product or product you'd like to try (excluding the giveaway item).
• You’ll get one extra entry each if you do any of the following (be sure to leave a comment for each “entry”):
• 1)Blog about this giveaway and link back to Sage and Savvy and (leave the link in your comment)
• 2)Subscribe to my feed
• 3)Add my button to your sidebar
• 4)Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name in your comment)
• 5)Tweet this giveaway--you may tweet once per day based on HST (leave the link in your comment) 
• 6)Follow ITO EN on Twitter (leave your Twitter name in your comment)
• 7)Like ITO EN on Facebook (leave your user name in your comment)
• The deadline for entries is June 11, 2011, 11:59pm HST.
• If you submitted an eligible entry and it is chosen by random.org as the winner, you will be notified via email on or about June 12, 2011 (make sure your email address is in your profile or comment and be sure to check your junk/spam, etc. folders) and will have 3 days to respond.
• Valid for US addresses only.
• By entering in this giveaway, you have read and agreed to Sage and Savvy’s policies regarding giveaways.
  Good luck!

Thank you to the sponsor for providing the product for review and/or giveaway free of charge. All opinions are my own. I received no monetary compensation for this post.

12:00 AM Posted in: giveaways
Gem is a Hawaii Mom Blogger who posts reviews and giveaways, and blogs about life in Hawaii as a mom of 3 boys, including one with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. She loves to travel, bake, and eat anything with chocolate.