Can Green Tea Help You Lose Weight?

Many of us are interested in losing weight. Weight loss
products are huge sellers – even when they make ridiculous
claims. But there is evidence to suggest that some substances
can help speed up our metabolism.

We all know that a faster metabolism means more calories burned
in a day – and that can easily translate into weight loss.

One substance that does seem to have promise in the battle of
the bulge is green tea. First of all, green has caffeine, which
does speed the metabolism somewhat. What's special about tea is
that, for some reason, the caffeine in tea doesn't appear to
raise the heart rate or blood pressure rate the way other forms
of caffeine do.

This makes tea an effective way to speed up the metabolism
without worry for those who are caffeine sensitive.

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. It also helps 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, you'll
automatically eat less.

One of the biggest problems found in those who are obese is
this overproduction of leptin along with an underproduction of
the hormone that tells us we're full.

If green tea can help regulate these hormones, it may take us a
long way to helping the chronically obese get their weight under
control.

Another advantage to green tea in terms of weight loss and
maintenance is the fact that green tea seems to help with our
insulin levels. Green tea helps the carbohydrates that we eat
be released more slowly, keeping our insulin at a steady level.

This helps reduce our chances of storing fat. If we can keep
our insulin levels steady throughout the day, we can lose
weight, or keep it off, more easily.

Too many carbohydrates often cause our insulin levels to drop
in a hurry, so more of our food is stored as fat rather than
burned as energy. For these reasons, green tea is thought to be
helpful for patients with diabetes, as well.

One important study reported by the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition supports these thoughts. This study
concluded that green tea does promote fat oxidation – and in a
more significant way than simply its caffeine content would
suggest.

This study looked at a cross section of men, with varying
lifestyle habits. Some were of normal weight and some were
overweight. The participants were divided into three groups.

The first group was given a green tea extract that contained 50
mg of caffeine. The second group received a placebo and the
third group received 50mg of caffeine – but not from green tea.
During the course of the study, the participants ate the same
diet and had the same level of activity.

The participants who took the green tea extract had at least a
41% greater expenditure of calories than the other
participants, even the ones who took the caffeine. So, while we
do know that caffeine stimulates the metabolism, green tea
obviously has other fat burning properties, as well.

Other studies have echoed these findings. One study indicated
that lifelong tea drinkers tended to be of a healthier weight
overall than those who did not drink tea regularly.

Of course, green tea is not a magic pill. To reach and maintain
a healthy weight you must make changes to your diet beyond just
adding tea. In addition, you'll need to get exercise to burn
calories and build muscle.

However, a faster metabolism is what we're all striving for. As
we age, our metabolism naturally slows down, so anything that
can help us improve it is welcome, indeed.

By incorporating green tea to increase our metabolism and
weight bearing exercise to compensate for the muscle loss that
we also experience as we age, we can keep ahead of those pound
that normally pile on as we get older.

Over time, no doubt there will be more studies that help us
pinpoint exactly how green tea promotes thermogenesis and how
we can harness its power to help with our growing obesity
problem. But, in the meantime, green tea is a wise addition to
your diet for many reasons.

Green tea's anti-oxidants have also been shown to prevent
diseases, including high cholesterol, heart disease and high
blood pressure. All of these diseases are ones that plague the
overweight.

Drinking green tea may help your fight to stay healthy by
helping you lose the weight – but also by getting a jump start
on minimizing weight related medical conditions.

Try adding green tea to your diet to help lose pounds naturally
and reduce any weight related health concerns that have shown up
along with those extra pounds.

Even though more research is needed, you can be assured that
you're doing something positive for your overall health – and
quite possibly you'll notice it in your waistline as well.

About The Author: Marcus Stout is President of the Golden Moon
Tea Company. For more information about tea, green tea and wu
long tea go to http://www.goldenmoontea.com