Green Tea and Losing Weight
Did you ever think you would see “green tea” and “losing weight” in the same sentence? People are beginning to discover how drinking green tea can help them to lose weight. The medicinal qualities of green tea have been known for years and now more people are discovering how green tea can actually help them to shed unwanted pounds. There has been actual research to back up what people themselves are discovering. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition did research that shows green tea can speed up your metabolism and also oxidize fat without increasing your heart rate. The good news is that you can achieve faster metabolism now with green tea without suffering heart ill effects. There is another study in the American Journal of Clinical Study that reports that green tea promotes fat oxidation. So not only does green tea help you to lose weight but there are other health benefits to drinking green tea as well. In 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiologica study that states that drinking green tea reduces the risk for esophageal cancer in the study participants (Chinese men and women) by 60%.
What is it in green tea that makes it so special when it comes to losing weight and other health benefits?
Green tea is rich in catechin polyphenols, especially epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a very powerful anti-oxidant. EGCG can lower LDL cholesterol, inhibit abnormal blood clots from forming and in so doing reduces heart attacks and strokes.
People who do not like to drink green tea can have the same benefits by swallowing green tea extract capsules (500mg X2 daily). You may have to drink as many as five to ten cups of green tea a day in order to receive full benefits, the experts can’t seem to agree just how many cups it takes (shrugs).
Weight loss is a wonderful benefit but all the other health benefits make it a no brainer, just drink green tea! People should replace the coffee they drink with green tea and they could potentially lose up to ten pounds in six weeks.
Where to buy your green tea?
In general the green tea that you purchase in grocery stores is considered lower in quality than the loose-leaf green tea you can buy online.
You won’t lose weight fast using green tea, but it will be a permanent weight loss if you make drinking green tea or taking green tea capsules a regular habit.
Green tea contains less caffeine than coffee does. If you drink six – eight ounces of green tea you would get approximately 30 to 60 mg of caffeine compared to the over 100 mg of caffeine in just eight ounces of coffee.
