Green Tea and Weight Loss – the real deal

There has been a lot of hype in the weight loss news concerning green tea. Green tea’s weight loss effects have caused more and more people to drink this ancient Japanese herbal brew.

But the question is, how does green tea help you lose weight? Does it really work or is it all just hearsay? Here are some interesting facts about drinking green tea to lose weight.

Advantages of Green Tea for Weight Loss

1. Green tea boosts your metabolism – Researchers reported to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that green tea extract resulted in a dramatic increase in energy expenditure (metabolism boost). They have also concluded that over a 24 hour period, green tea extract increases the body’s metabolic rate by 4%. These effects might have been due to the high concentrations of catechin polyphenols found in green tea. These substances work to help increase and intensify levels of fat oxidation and thermogenesis (rate at which your body burns calories and excess fat).

2. Green tea reduces fat absorption and helps glucose regulation – Experts suggest that the substances in green tea called catechins help reduce the movement of glucose into fat cells. Green tea also acts as a glucose regulator. It helps regulate the rise in blood sugar after a meal. This prevents high insulin spikes and subsequent fat storage.

3. Green tea reduces cravings and appetites – Scientists found that the green tea caused rats to lose up to 21 percent of their body weight. Rats injected with the green tea extract lost their appetites and only consumed up to 60 percent less food after a week of daily injections. This may have resulted with the blood sugar regulating effects of green tea.

4. Green tea helps you save calories on your morning cup of brew – We are a culture of people hooked up on caffeine to give us that morning rush of energy that we need to start off our day. Try substituting green tea for coffee if you want to save off calories in the morning but still want to get that fix of caffeine.

But how much do you have to actually drink to get these metabolism boosting effects?

Experts have a lot of different answers but the main consensus is 3 to 5 cups of green tea daily is the ideal and optimal intake. Drinking green tea daily can help you burn an extra 70 calories per day which would amount to 7 pounds in a year, which is good for cutting calories and not exercising right?
However, 3-5 cups may be a lot for some people, so others consider green tea extract, green tea patch and/or green tea pills.

Bottom line

Green tea helps you with your weight loss by increasing and boosting your body’s metabolic rate, blood sugar regulation, suppresses your appetite and giving you something else besides high sugar coffee beverage with high calories that you are drinking in the morning. While it’s not exactly that magic bullet of weight loss, it can give you the boost in weight loss and your overall health.