Green Tea - Losing Weight by Thinking Green

Green tea is one of the hottest products on the market today. As more focus is being placed on the effects of being overweight in the world of today, some advocates are pressing for the use of green tea for weight loss.

Being a natural product, many believe that it is therefore better than most of the chemicals that are being pushed into the mainstream to help with weight loss. While using green tea for weight loss by replacing the caffeine in coffee and salicin in aspirin as a fat burner does offer other health benefits, there are other factors that need to be looked at as well.

For instance, green tea works as an anti-oxidant with some researchers claiming that it is even more powerful that Vitamin E. Vitamin C and beta-carotene are long-popular anti-oxidants, but green tea for weight loss is showing signs of being even more advantageous.

Research conducted for the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that a green tea diet can speed up your metabolism and oxidize fat without increasing your heartbeat.

This means that you can achieve a fast metabolism with green tea without suffering heart trouble. In other words, green tea enables you to increase your expenditure of energy without causing adverse health effects.

If you find the taste of green tea difficult to swallow, you can obtain green tea extract in a pill. Of course, you might be wondering at this point how much green tea is enough. Some medical experts recommend as many as ten cups a day.

Other health specialists say that two to three cups are sufficient. Yet other medical experts recommend splitting the difference, calling for four to five cups of green tea daily.

Advantages Of Green Tea

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently published a study showing the ingestion of catechins, which are a key component of green tea extracts, can lead to a reduction of body fat as well as cholesterol, making it an ideal part of using green tea for weight loss.

Similar studies conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition also show an increase in metabolism by those using green tea, and it has been well documented that weight loss is accomplished by burning more calories than those taken in and with green tea for weight loss having many other documented benefits can help lead to a healthier lifestyle.

Other researchers, however, are concerned with the fluoride content in green tea and its possible effects on the thyroid, and there is also the matter of the caffeine that is in green tea; so while green tea for weight loss can be a bonus along with the other benefits, it is advisable to check with a physician about the possible effects on the thyroid before consuming too much green tea for weight loss.

Reduces Cholesterol Count

Green tea reduces your “bad” cholesterol count, while enhancing your “good” cholesterol count. As a result, those who drink green tea can substantially increase their consumption of high cholesterol food; yet maintain a relatively low bad cholesterol count.

Reduces Blood Sugar

Green tea can also decrease your blood sugar, protecting you against diabetes or at least reducing symptoms of diabetes. A number of studies have been done in order to ascertain the benefits of green tea.

For instance, researcher William Rumpler conducted a study in order to determine the effects of green tea consumption on men. The results indicated that the energy expenditure for green tea drinkers was three percent higher after they ingested the green tea. However, Rumpler and his colleagues believe additional research needs to be conducted in order to determine the full effect of green tea upon the human body.

Prevents Alzheimer’s disease

Of course, in addition to weight loss, there are other advantages to the Green Tea diet. It is believed to be effective in preventing Alzheimer’s disease, combating flu and colds and boosting your immune system. As a result, a number of people drink the green tea strictly for its medicinal value.

On a segment of the “Oprah Winfrey” talk show, Dr. Nicholas Perricone said that if you replaced coffee with green tea, you could lose as many as ten pounds in six weeks.  Perricone stated, “Coffee has organic acids that raise your blood sugar, raise insulin. Insulin puts a lock on body fat. When you switch over to green tea, you get your caffeine, you’re all set, but you will drop your insulin levels and body fat will fall very rapidly. So 10 pounds in six weeks, I will guarantee it.”

Fat Oxidation

However, note that the physician is not prescribing green tea per se, but rather calling it preferable to coffee. However, it appears clear that green tea is a healthier beverage than coffee.

Purchase of Green Tea

It is interesting to note that some people wonder which is preferable: loose-leaf green tea that you buy online or the green tea that you can purchase at the supermarket. Generally speaking, supermarket green tea is considered lower in quality than green tea purchased over the Internet.  It has been said that green tea offered on the Web also enables you to get the most out of your money.   

It appears that green tea is more than just a passing fad. It has emerged as a legitimate health aid—a product, which can help you lose weight over the long run. While there is no such thing as a magic fix for weight loss, you should consider adding green tea to your diet, not only for its weight loss value, but for its medicinal properties as well.