How the Green Tea Can Help to Lose Weight

Photo: Flickr user Alan Cleaver

Do you need more healthy reason to drink green tea? Apart from fighting cancer, heart disease and others, the scientists suggest that green tea can boost your metabolism and help burn fat faster. The polyphenols and caffeine, contained in green tea, help to increase absorption, metabolization of food, and normal digestion by 84%.

Since most teas contain polyphenols, the green tea is especially rich in type of polyphenols called catechins. Apart burning fats and lowering cholesterol levels, these substances also have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.

Green Tea Stimulates Metabolism

The study found that people who drank a bottle green tea every day for three months lost more fats than those who drank regular tea or water. That is because of the catechins and caffeine found in green tea that stimulate the body to burn more fats and speed up weight loss by using body fats as fuel. That also involves the production of extra energy, loosing excess water and burning of body fat.

Green Tea Improves Endurance during Exercises

The exercise is most effective way to lose more weight, increase energy levels, and boost your metabolism. The polyphenols found in green tea help your body to use more fatty acids by stimulating your muscle cells and liver. That will give you more energy for longer exercising and burning more calories.

So what do the Studies Show about The Effects of Green Tea for Weight Loss?

In one study of 35 Japanese men were looked the effect of catechins and weight loss. The men, who were similar weights and waist sizes, were divided into two groups. One group drank a bottle of oolong tea fortified with green tea extract with 690 mg of catechins, and other group – a bottle of regular oolong tea with 22 mg of catechins. The men had identical diet plan for all time.

After three months, the results showed that the men who consumed the green tea extract lost 5.3 pounds (2.4 kg) compared with men who had regular tea who lost 2.9 pounds (1.3 kg). The first group also decreased their ‘bad’ cholesterol levels.

Do you need more proofs? Here are they.

In another 3 months study, 60 overweight adults in a hospital were placed on a three-meals-daily diet. Half the group drank green tea and lost 24 pounds (10 kg) of their weight over 3 months period.

Other research’s results were not so significant and produced less than 1 pound weight loss. However, there was no diet and the amount of catechins was relatively low, only 458 mg per day (about 2 – 3 cups of green tea). On the other hand, this even modest dose of green tea catechins reduced the ‘bad’ cholesterol level and raised ‘good’ cholesterol which prevents insulin resistance.

For the Better Results

The amount of catechins varies by quantity of green tea used and steeping time. Based on previous studies, general recommendation is at least 4 cups per day. If it looks too much, the green tea extract supplements are available. Also do not forget to have healthy diet and take exercises. The green tea is only additional way which helps to lose more weight combining with other weight loss methods.