Let’s be honest, most people notice a significant increase in urination when they start consuming green tea. It’s a question and a giggle that I get from people all the time. So much so that I thought it would be worth looking into. Here’s what I found in simple terms.

We know that green tea is healthy as it contains catechins : Natural polyphenols (antioxidants) with the super powerful one — found mainly in green tea — EGCg (epigallocatechin-3-gallate). Green tea also has the amino acid theanine as well as caffeine. These three active ingredients support the body’s ability to detox. 

That statement says a lot. Green tea doesn’t detox you, but rather supports your body in doing so. Your body knows how to detox. You do go to the bathroom, don’t you?! It’s the active ingredients in green tea that support the process. 

We have several ways the body detoxes and gets rid of the toxins including our skin, breath, and liver; which all work to cleanse the body. 

The liver is our main detoxing organ.  It’s green tea’s catechins that have a direct impact on your liver and the antioxidants — especially EGCg — are like ninja warriors fighting the free radicals bombarding your body, delivering them to the liver.

The little bit of caffeine in green tea has a stimulating effect on the bladder and what gives green tea the label of being a good diuretic, causing an increase in urination to flush out the toxins. The liver collects the toxins and the bladder gets stimulated to flush them out. 

Green tea acts in partnership with the liver to speed up the detoxing ability of the body; and with the diuretic effects, this is why you seem to urinate so much when you drink green tea. It’s a good thing – so drink up and take those needed pee breaks! 

Reference: International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Medicine June 2015.