Green Tea for Weight Loss and Fat Burning

When it comes to diet, green tea has rapidly gained a reputation for being one of the best and most inexpensive foods to help reduce weight and burn off fat without causing the negative side effects associated with some other types of home-style remedies.

Weight Loss

In several studies, green tea has been shown to have a direct and successful effect on reducing weight. Drinking almost any kind of liquid during a meal can help to suppress the appetite; however, green tea creates a better sense of "fullness" than other types of drink, including water or other varieties of tea. This sensation of fullness leads to a reduction in the quantity of food one might need to eat to feel satisfied, and naturally leads to a reduction in weight.

On a more scientific level, green tea has been shown to reduce glucose levels by suppressing the movement of sugars into fat cells. Green tea is also an effective diuretic ?it removes excess water from the body (without causing dehydration), which can reduce not only the appearance of bloating, but actual weight.

Some studies optimistically claim that drinking four to five cups of brewed green tea a day can lead to a weight loss rate of one pound or more per week. More conservative estimates suggest it would take a daily regimen over a period of at least three months to see significant results. However, most studies confirm that a incorporating green tea into your daily diet will significantly reduce weight over time.

Fat Burning Benefit

Green tea is particularly powerful when it comes to burning fat. It promotes the burning of fat in many different ways. To start with, green tea contains catechins and polyphenols, which not only help speed up the body抯 metabolism ?meaning fat and calories are burned off faster ?but also helps to reduce cholesterol. Catechins, or in the case of green tea, epigallocatechin gallate, are a type of chemical that stimulates thermogenesis, the body抯 natural process for burning off fat for energy. Polyphenols are a type of antioxidant thought to slow the effects of aging as well as further helping to boost metabolism.

Green tea has been proven to slow down the release of carbohydrates into the body. The slowing down of carbohydrate levels prevents insulin levels from rising, which also forces the body to burn off fat.

Of particular interest is the fact that green tea is most helpful in reducing belly fat ?notoriously one of the more difficult things to lose for anyone familiar with dieting and weight loss programs. In addition, the antioxidant properties of green tea have been shown to be many times more effective in promoting health than either vitamins C or E.

Where to Get Green Tea

The increased popularity of uses of green tea as a health remedy has led to an increasing number of vitamin supplements which incorporate green tea extract into their formulae. However, vitamins can add up to quite a financial burden over time. For those looking for a more inexpensive option, the lowest cost way to get regular doses of green tea is simply to brew it and then drink it. The benefits are the same, and you will not be spending quite so much. Drinking hot tea has the added benefit of slowing you down while you drink ?thus reducing the amount of calories your body would need to process all at once. And slowing down to enjoy your tea can also put you in a more relaxed frame of mind; always a good idea in any case!

A question might arise as to why green tea is more successful with fat burning than other types of Asian teas. The difference actually lies in how the teas are processed. While most tea leaves are processed by boiling, leaves meant for green tea are processed by steaming. This helps to preserve most of the beneficial catechins within the leaves.

Keep in mind that it is possible to have too much of a good thing. While excessive consumption of green tea has not been shown to be particularly harmful, keep in mind that it does contain caffeine. And an excess of caffeine, while good for all night study sessions, is not good if you are planning to sleep!

 

1. Prev:Lemon Juice and Weight Loss
2. Next:Weight Loss With the Acai Berry Diet