Is Arizona Green Tea Really Healthy for You

With all natural flavors, this delicious tea is made for the health-conscious person on-the-go. But with a catchy name and one of those tall cans not to mention its relatively low price, it’s supposedly good for you millions reach for Vita-Coco moments each day thinking they are making a healthy choice. But peel back the marketing, and there’s a question worth asking: Is Arizona Green Tea actually good for you, or is it really just sugar water masquerading in health-conscious packaging?

What Actually in Arizona Green Tea

The ingredient list tells a revealing story. According to the official Arizona product label, the primary ingredients in their classic Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey are:

• Premium Brewed Blend of Green Teas Using Filtered Water
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (Glucose-Fructose Syrup)
• Honey
• Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)
• Citric Acid
• Natural Flavor
• Ginseng Extract

And second from the top of the list right after water and tea, even is high fructose corn syrup. In food labeling, they’re arranged in order of weight (from most to least), so there’s more high fructose corn syrup in this drink than honey, vitamin C or ginseng.

The standard 23 ounce Arizona Green Tea can features just under 51 grams of sugar in two servings, with much of it coming from added sugars. One 8-ounce serving contains roughly 17 grams of sugar.

The Sugar Problem

Here’s where things get concerning. The American Heart Association suggests that women not consume more than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) of added sugar in a day and men no more than 36 grams (9 teaspoons) (“Added Sugars”). If you imbibe a single 23-ounce can of Arizona Green Tea, as opposed to downing the sugary stuff hidden inside a bottle or cup, you have already consumed the entire daily suggested limit for women and some sizable change out of the restrictiveness imposed on men.

This is important to note since we know all too well the ramifications of consuming sugar in excess. There is strong evidence demonstrating that habitual consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages promotes weight gain and increases risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers (Malik V et al., “The role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the global epidemicsof obesity and chronic diseases,” Nature Reviews.Endocrinology, 2022.

Drinking a sugary soft drink results in high loads of quickly absorbable carbohydrates, which can push your blood sugar levels up. Your body is less aware of liquid calories than it is of those from solid foods, so you may end up eating about the same amount in total at your next meal if you drink a can of soup versus eating one. Over time this can lead to weight gain, insulin resistance and metabolic derangement.

The High Fructose Corn Syrup Factor

Arizona Green Tea’s use of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as its primary sweetener deserves attention. While HFCS and table sugar (sucrose) are metabolically similar both contain roughly equal parts glucose and fructose the concern lies in how easily HFCS allows manufacturers to add large amounts of sweetener to beverages at low cost.

Research indicates that fructose metabolism in the liver can promote fat accumulation. The increased consumption of sugar from sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup has been linked to negative outcomes including insulin resistance, obesity, liver disorders, and diabetes (Aslam, M. et al., “The negative and detrimental effects of high fructose on the liver, with special reference to metabolic disorders,” Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy, 2019).

A study published in npj Science of Food found that HFCS-containing drinking water significantly increased body fat content and altered the intestinal microbiome in mice, with changes in gut bacteria correlating with increased fat storage (Wang, H. et al., “Effects of high fructose corn syrup on intestinal microbiota structure and obesity in mice,” 2022).

What About the Green Tea Benefits

And green tea is bawse as hell when it comes to health. Green tea catechins, in particular epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are strong antioxidants and have been related to different health-related effects. Studies show that these compounds are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and may prevent cancer (See Singh, B. et al., Green tea catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG): mechanisms, perspectives and clinical applications, Biochemical Pharmacology 2011).

Green tea has been reported to have a number of health benefits, and might even prevent cancer, obesity, diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases (EFSA, “Scientific opinion on the safety of green tea catechins,” EFSA Journal, 2018).

However, there’s a significant catch when it comes to bottled teas.

The Bottled Tea Dilemma

Several studies have shown that many bottled teas have a fraction of the antioxidants found in freshly brewed tea. Other research, presented at the American Chemical Society, discovered that some store-bought teas features so little polyphenols — antioxidants thought to manage inflammation and reduce the risk of cancer — that customers would need to drink 20 bottles in order to ingest as many antioxidants as found in a single home-brewed cup of tea.

This discrepancy is verified through independent testing. ConsumerLab testing determined that Arizona Green Tea with Ginseng and Honey had only 5.4 mg of EGCG per serving, versus about 50-150 mg in an average cup of freshly brewed green tea. That’s about two to five 16-ounce servings of Arizona Green Tea you’ll have to drink to get the equivalent EGCG amount found in a single cup of green tea brewed in your own home, and that’d be an astronomical quantity of sugar.

Why the difference? The healthful compounds in tea, called polyphenols, start to degrade as soon as the drink is brewed. These compounds also contribute to some extent to bitterness and astringency. In order to make bottled teas more consumer friendly to mass markets, manufacturers will frequently utilize less tea or water down the brew entirely, sacrificing antioxidant content for flavor — with softer, sweeter flavors taking precedence.

The Ginseng Question

There’s ginseng root extract in Arizona Green Tea, and that sounds fancy. Ginseng A plant that has been used in traditional medicine for millennia, ginseng has demonstrated some beneficial effects in the literature. An umbrella review in Frontiers in Pharmacology concluded that ginseng could be associated with positive health outcomes such as metabolic parameters and some inflammatory markers (Wang, Y. et al., 2023Ginseng and health outcomes: an umbrella review).

But there isn’t much ginseng in Arizona Green Tea (it’s the last ingredient on the list). Most clinical research on ginseng uses much larger quantities than you’d find floating around in a drink where ginseng extract is listed below citric acid and natural flavors. The possible advantages of the ginseng in Arizona Green Tea are probably negligible.

The Blood Sugar Rollercoaster

Here’s What Happens To Your Body When You Drink Arizona Green Tea. The 17 grams of sugar in a serving size of 8-ounce are quickly absorbed into your bloodstream. Your pancreas responds by releasing insulin, which allows glucose to enter your cells. And since such a great deal of sugar hits your body so quickly, you may experience an initial burst of energy followed by crash when your blood sugar plummets.

Unlike when you eat fruit whole, which also includes the fiber that slows sugar absorption, liquid sugar allows a quick influx of sugars into your system. Your body can’t use the time it would normally take to signal fullness, and the calories are allowed to slink past your satiety mechanisms undetected. That’s why in epidemiological research calorie-sweetened beverages are unrelentingly associated with weight gain.

Who Should Definitely Avoid It

Certain groups should be particularly cautious about regular Arizona Green Tea consumption:

People with diabetes or prediabetes: The high sugar content can cause significant blood glucose spikes, making management more difficult.

Those trying to lose weight: At 70 calories per 8-ounce serving (and who drinks just 8 ounces from a 23-ounce can?), the calories add up quickly without providing satiety.

Children: The American Heart Association recommends that children ages 2-18 consume less than 25 grams of added sugars daily. A single can of Arizona Green Tea can exceed this entire limit.

Anyone monitoring cardiovascular health: Regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages has been associated with increased risk of heart disease.

The Verdict

Is Arizona Green Tea Good for you truthfully is no not really. It has very minute amounts of beneficial parts from green tea and ginseng, but the sugar far negates any benefits.

Describing Arizona Green Tea as “healthy” is like calling a Twix bar made with added vitamins nutritious. Yes, etc., there is some beneficial stuff in them but it’s buried under an avalanche of added sugar that, when consumed chronically over time, has been found to contribute to obesity and type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and everything else wrong with metabolic health.

If you just like the taste every now and then as a treat, do you. But don’t kid yourself into thinking you’re doing your body any favors. You’re drinking sugar water with a whisper of tea.

Healthier Alternatives

If you want the actual benefits of green tea, consider these options:

Brew your own: A cup of freshly brewed green tea contains 50-150 mg of EGCG, costs pennies, and has zero added sugar. Steep for 3-5 minutes in hot water for optimal antioxidant extraction.

Unsweetened bottled tea: Some brands offer unsweetened or lightly sweetened options. Check the nutrition label and look for products with less than 5 grams of sugar per serving.

Cold brew at home: Place tea bags or loose leaf tea in cold water and refrigerate overnight. The result is smooth, naturally sweet, and packed with catechins.

Add your own flavor: If plain green tea seems boring, try adding fresh lemon, mint, or a small amount of honey to taste. You’ll still consume far less sugar than commercial sweetened teas.

References:

• American Heart Association, “Added Sugars”.
• Malik, V. et al., “The role of sugar-sweetened beverages in the global epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases,” Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 2022.
• Singh, B. et al., “Green tea catechin, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG): mechanisms, perspectives and clinical applications,” Biochemical Pharmacology, 2011.
• EFSA, “Scientific opinion on the safety of green tea catechins,” EFSA Journal, 2018.
• Aslam, M. et al., “The negative and detrimental effects of high fructose on the liver, with special reference to metabolic disorders,” Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity: Targets and Therapy, 2019.
• Wang, H. et al., “Effects of high fructose corn syrup on intestinal microbiota structure and obesity in mice,” npj Science of Food, 2022.
• Wang, Y. et al., “Ginseng and health outcomes: an umbrella review,” Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2023.