Green Tea and Weight Loss

Green Tea and Weight Loss

For many years now, several benefits are attributed to drinking green tea and over the last few years many have pointed at weight loss as another perk of drinking green tea.

However, how effective is it for losing weight?  We’ll take a look at some of the facts and see how green tea stacks up as a weight loss helper.

For many years now, several benefits are attributed to drinking green tea. Today, researchers have come up with newer proofs to solidify the belief that green tea can be used as a treatment for obesity and for weight loss.

It is held that more than half of the American population have weight problems or are obese. Conditions like these are almost always linked to certain complications like heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, sleep apnea, gall bladder disease, and hypertension.

Scientists have  investigated on the weight loss benefits of green tea. They have found that green tea can actually enhance the total amount of energy spent by the body. From their findings, they were able to deduce that green tea has great potential for a weight loss benefit.

Other researches were able to confirm the weight loss benefit of green tea.

A recent study at the University of Geneva had the conclusion that, “Green tea has thermogenic properties and promotes fat oxidation beyond that explained by its caffeine content per se.” Where before it was generally believed that the caffeine content in green tea is the reason for its weight loss benefit, this recent study deviated from that theory. Green tea has other substances in them that are helpful in weight loss.

The same team who conducted the study on green tea’s caffeine content and weight loss banded together in Switzerland to perform another experiment. They were still able to come up with the same results – that green tea has several thermogenic attributes that make it perfect to use in any weight loss program.

Sample Studies:  Green Tea and Weight Loss
Green tea reduces body fat accretion caused by high-fat diet in rats through beta-adrenoceptor activation of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue. Conducted by chief scientist J.J. Choo of the Department of Food and Nutrition, Kunsan National University, this study aimed to find out if green tea can suppress body fat and to find out whether this suppression is connected with thermogenesis spurred by the body’s beta-adrenoceptor being activated.
To investigate the weight loss benefit of green tea on rats, the scientists placed their subjects on a high-fat diet and provided them with green tea extract. It was discovered that even though the rats were on a high-fat diet, the green tea extract counterbalanced fat gain without affecting the amount of energy they took in.

Green tea was said to have shown some weight loss benefits in the fact that it can prevent fat from being stored, can increase protein levels, and promote thermogenesis by triggering beta-adrenoceptor to action.
Recent findings of green tea extract AR25 (Exolise) and its activity for the treatment of obesity. This study is a collaborative work between Doctors P. Chantre and D. Lairon of the Laboratoires Arkopharma in Carros, France. Published in the 2002 issue of Phytomedicine, this study aimed to find out if green tea extract has weight loss benefits and can be a potential cure for obesity.
In their study, they used an 80% ethanolic concentrate in green tea extract with standardized 25% catechins. They tested the green tea extract and were able to find that it could directly inhibit gastric and pancreatic lipases.

It was also discovered in this study that green tea can stimulate thermogenesis.

Given to moderately obese patients, the green tea extract was said to have caused a decrease in weight by 4.6% and a reduction of waist circumference by 4.48% after only three months. The findings of the study clearly implicate the weight loss benefits of green tea.

You must remember that the weight loss effects of green tea are minimal for a person who drinks 2-3 cups a day and if this person puts sugar in their tea, it will actually cause them to gain weight.  And some studies have shown no weight loss properties at all.

So before you jump in and think that green tea will solve your weight loss problems, think again.  It may help, it won’t hurt and the antioxidant properties are very good so drink it if you like it but don’t drink it thinking that you are going to lose a significant amount of weight.

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Herbal Tea Gets The Green Light

Like coffee, green tea will induce some amount of thermogenesis in the human body through its caffeine content. No-one will drink coffee for its weight-loss possibilities, though, partially because the average coffee drinker will add sugar and/or milk and partially because it’s such an established part of many people’s day anyway.

From a scientific point of view, however, there is another good reason that people favor green tea for weight loss. This is the fact that green tea contains a high level of what are known as “catechin polyphenols” – clever little antioxidants that have all manner of health benefits which go beyond weight loss. They have also been shown to lessen the signs of ageing, and have certain antibiotic properties.

Certain green teas have also been seen to have an effect on the body’s release of carbohydrates, resulting in the burning of fat and more constant blood-insulin levels.

Of course just drinking green tea won’t see you losing weight at a noticeable pace. Unfortunately, you can’t just eat what you want and then drink green tea, but as part of a sensible diet it can make a real difference. Even if you don’t lose any weight for whatever reason, the other attendant health benefits of drinking green tea make the practice worthwhile.

The practice of drinking green tea for weight loss is without question gaining currency, although its effectiveness is debated. Some people say that misinformation is rife, with the idea persisting that green tea in isolation will solve people’s weight problems.

However, the same is true of any scheme to lose weight. Nothing will work in isolation to make the weight just drop off. Diets such as the SlimFast plan make very clear that no simple scheme exists to drive weight loss without significant input from the dieter.

Clearly it is naïve to expect a simple, immediate result from just one thing, and the most important phrase to remember is “as part of a calorie-controlled diet”. What is certain is that, if you drink green tea and watch what you eat, the results will come, particularly alongside a decent physical exercise plan.

Weight Loss Plans and Weight Loss Tips
It is advisable to assume that any mention of a product or service on this website is made because there exist, unless otherwise stated, an affiliate connection between the product or service owners and this website.