The Green Tea/Caffeine Combination For Weight Loss

Copyright (c) 2007 Jon M. Stout

In recent years, the subject of green tea has garnered a great
deal of attention. Green tea has been touted for its
anti-oxidants and their unique ability to prevent illness and
fight aging. Green tea has also been purported to help with
weight loss, and it has been assumed that tea's anti-oxidants
were also responsible for this benefit. However, some findings
are suggesting that it's not just the anti-oxidants alone that
make green tea an effective weight loss supplement.

It appears that it's the combination of green tea with caffeine
that works magic for weight loss. This two-fold approach of green
tea's anti-oxidants (polyphenols) combined with caffeine appear
to have an effect that neither substance can have on its own.
Green tea's caffeine is unique, in that it doesn't appear to
raise the heart rate or blood pressure the way that other forms
of caffeine do. So green tea is a good choice for dieters who are
caffeine sensitive. And, we know that caffeine speeds up the
metabolism, helping us to burn more calories each day. So, the
caffeine in green tea, while not appearing to significantly raise
the heart rate or blood pressure, does seem to raise the
metabolic rate.

Green tea also seems to be helpful for weight loss because of its
potent anti-oxidants. Tea's polyphenols have been shown to have
many health benefits because they combat free radicals in the
body that can cause cell damage. These polyphenols also seem to
work with other chemicals in the body to intensify fat oxidation
and thermogenesis. This creates fat burning heat in the body.

Green tea's polyphenols also help depress leptin production in
the body. Leptin is a protein hormone that regulates our appetite
and our fat storage. Lower levels of leptin mean a smaller
appetite, but overweight people often produce too much leptin,
which may be why they eat too much. If polyphenols can decrease
your leptin levels, then you'll eat less without dieting. Green
tea may also help regulate the hormone that tells us we're full.
Obese people often over produce leptin and under produce this
hormone, which leads to an increase in weight.

Finally, it seems that green tea can help regulate insulin in the
body, too. Green tea helps the carbohydrates that we eat be
released more slowly, which keeps our insulin levels steady thus
reducing our chances of storing fat. Steady insulin levels mean
more efficient use of carbohydrates, which makes taking weight
off and keeping it off easier. When our carbohydrates are not
used properly, our insulin level drops rapidly, and we store our
food as fat. There is also ongoing research involving how green
tea might be helpful for patients with diabetes.

Several studies have reached similar conclusions regarding green
tea and weight loss. One of the most famous studies was conducted
by Dulloo and medical associates. This study noted that green
tea's polyphenols combined with caffeine produced an increase in
energy expenditure (or number of calories burned) in a 24 hour
period in their subjects. Further, this study concluded that
neither caffeine nor green tea's polyphenols produced the same
effect when prescribed independently.

In addition, the studies have shown that when the green tea
regimen ceased, the benefits ceased, as well. In some cases,
higher doses of green tea were needed over time to continue the
weight loss effect. This has led researchers to conclude that
green tea should become a lifelong habit. This finding correlates
with other studies on green tea's ability to prevent diseases
such as cancer and heart disease. In parts of the world where
green tea consumption is highest, with people drinking 8-10 cups
per day nearly all of their life, the incidences of cancer and
heart disease are the lowest in the world.

Of course, more research is needed about the benefits of green
tea in many areas of medicine. Much of the research that has been
performed has been on laboratory rats, whose results may be
somewhat different than the results on humans. Human trials on
long term use of green tea would take years to conduct and be
difficult to complete, which is why we rely on short term studies
and laboratory experiments.

However, even without long term conclusive results proving that
green tea can help you lose weight, you have nothing to fear from
adding a daily dose of green tea to your regimen. Green tea is
healthy and has no side effects. Even those who are sensitive to
caffeine can usually tolerate green tea without problems. Even if
you don't lose any weight, drinking green tea is a healthy
alternative to sodas.

And, in addition to being an overall healthy beverage, you may
gain other benefits from drinking green tea. You may be reducing
your risk of cancer and heart disease. You may see your blood
pressure and cholesterol lowered and you may find it easier to
lose weight. So, it seems that for all of us, green tea is a
healthy and refreshing addition to the diet.

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Jon M. Stout is Chairman of the Golden Moon
Tea Company. For more information about tea,
(http://www.goldenmoontea.com/greentea)
green tea (http://www.goldenmoontea.com/blacktea)
and black tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com

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