Green Tea Weight Loss Is More Powerful Than You Know

You probably noticed that many popular diet pills use “green tea” or “green tea extract” as one of the ingredients in their diet and weight loss formulas.

Even though diet pills are sometimes dangerous and contain other unhealthy ingredients, there’s a reason they use green tea. Green tea helps you lose weight. Green tea has been scientifically proven to burn calories and block fat absorption.

 Green Tea Burns Fat

Food, including sugar and fat is synthesized into a substance called “triglyceride” in the liver and small intestine. It's then carried into the bloodstream to other tissues in the body.

Triglyceride is used as source of energy for life support and physical activities, and is very necessary. The problem comes, when there are excess amounts of triglyceride, because then it’s turned into fat, which subsequently causes obesity.

That’s where green tea comes in. It contains high amounts of polyphenols which activate the enzyme that is responsible for dissolving excess triglyceride. In the long run, this means that green tea effectively aids in burning fat.
Green Tea Stimulates the Metabolism & Accelerates Weight Loss

Green tea contains powerful antioxidants called catechin polyphenols that are responsible for many of the health benefits of green tea. One of them in particular, epigallocatechin gallate (or EGCG for short), has been found to stimulate the metabolism and accelerate weight loss.

EGCG, along with the caffeine in green tea, stimulates the central nervous system and causes fat to be released into the blood stream for the body to use as fuel. This process of fat being used for energy is called “thermogenesis”. It provides extra energy, sheds excess water, and also helps to burn body fat.

Although caffeine alone can stimulate the metabolism this way, it’s important to note that researchers found that the combined ingredients of green tea were much more effective at this process than just caffeine by itself.

Green Tea Helps You Exercise Longer

Everyone knows how important exercise is to losing weight. It burns calories, increases your energy, and builds muscle which in turn boosts your metabolism even higher. The catechin polyphenols in green tea appear to stimulate the use of fatty acids by liver and muscle cells. This subsequently reduces the rate that carbohydrates are used and allows for more endurance and longer exercise times. In fact, a study using green tea extract on lab rats increased the amount of time the animals could swim before becoming exhausted by as much as 24%.

More endurance means more exercise, which means more calories burned, and it all adds up to more pounds lost for you.

Is there any scientific proof? YES, there are scientific and medical studies done on tea and weight loss. Let’s look at a few of the more important ones.

Weight Loss and Tea : Animal Studies

The majority of scientific studies are done on animals before proceeding to human tests. Of course one of the major drawbacks of animal testing (besides the pain caused to the animal) is that results vary between animals and humans. Still, animal studies are a good indicator of green tea weight loss human results and remain an unfortunate part of science.

Animal Study #1
Lab mice of approximate age/weight were divided into five groups and fed a high-fat diet. One of the groups received green tea extract, another group received green tea extract and exercise, and the rest of the groups received varying levels of exercise with no green tea extract.

After 15 weeks of experimentation, researchers found that simply taking green tea extract alone caused a 47% reduction in body weight gain. The effect was greatly multiplied with exercise with a stunning 89% reduction in weight gain.

Study Conclusion: Green tea burns fat and is especially effective when combined with exercise.

Animal Study #2
To test the anti-obesity properties of green tea, a group of lab rats were given green tea instead of drinking water for three weeks. Scientists noted that green tea reduced the weight of the animals' fat tissue without any change in food or water intake. Tea also significantly reduced cholesterol and fatty acid levels.

Green tea promotes fat burning and reduces cholesterol

Animal Study #3
Lab rats and mice were put on high-fat diets, with some given the most abundant green tea catechin, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), in a pure form. The study showed for the first time that supplementation with EGCG, “influenced fat tissue” and abolished diet-induced obesity.”

Study Conclusion: “EGCG should be considered as a valuable natural treatment option for obesity.”

Although there aren’t any long term studies about tea and weight loss, the studies that have been done are extremely promising.

Human Study #1
Thirty-eight healthy Japanese men were divided into two groups and fed the same diet. One group consumed a bottle of tea containing 690 mg catechin antioxidants per day. After 12 weeks, body weight, BMI, waist circumference, body fat mass, and subcutaneous fat area were significantly lower in the green tea extract group than in the control group.

Study Conclusion: Catechin antioxidants in green tea reduce body fat and help control obesity.

Human Study #2
Ten healthy Japanese men were randomly assigned to receive a dose of green tea extract plus caffeine, just caffeine, or a placebo. On the days the men received the dose of green tea extract plus caffeine, they expended significantly more energy and burned more calories than on the days they received just caffeine or placebo.

Study Conclusion: Green tea contains ingredients (besides caffeine) that stimulate thermogenesis and burn fat.

Recent scientific studies have been confirming something that the Chinese have known for over 4000 years…Green tea is one of the healthiest things on the planet.

What does that mean exactly? Well, more and more evidence shows that green tea is packed with a whole host of health benefits. Even moderate consumption of green tea can give you these positive effects. Here are just a few things that green tea can do:

All teas come from the same plant (Camellia sinensis), and can be grouped into four main types: white tea (which arguably could be called green tea), green tea, Oolong tea, and black tea.

Tea type is determined by a process called oxidization. We’ll spare you the boring details, just know that the more oxidization a tea undergoes during processing, the darker it becomes. Heavily oxidized tea is very dark with more flavors and more caffeine. Green tea is unoxidized. This means it has less aroma and caffeine, but it retains much more of its powerful nutrients and antioxidants.

Flavor & Variety

Green tea has fewer flavors than Oolong or black tea, but that doesn’t make it any less delicious. Its flavor is best described as “fresh” and “light”, and is wonderfully refreshing over ice (you don’t need to drink it hot!). Speaking of flavors, there are so many different varieties and flavors of green tea that it would take a lifetime to try them all!

One of the more exciting and well known benefits of green tea is its ability to aid in weight loss. Along with giving you an extra energy boost, green tea stimulates the metabolism while simultaneously blocking fat absorption.

You should know that there are some weight loss claims about green tea that haven’t been properly tested by scientific studies. But nevertheless the evidence is adding up. There’s certainly enough for us to confidently say that green tea should be the beverage of choice for anyone who’s trying to lose the pounds.

Green Tea’s Health Benefits

In 2006, a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that tea is a healthier choice than almost any beverage, including water. Yes, you read that right…Green tea is healthier for you than pure water!

Not only does green tea hydrate the body like water does, it also provides nutrients and powerful antioxidants that protect against a wide variety of ailments such as: diseases, cancer, strokes, heart problems, viruses and more.

Brewing & Drinking Green Tea

So now you’re sold on the idea of drinking green tea (of course!), and you want to know where to start. That’s easy. Green tea is cheap and readily available. You can get it in teabags, or, if you’re serious, as loose leaf tea. Brewing it is easy, and you can drink it instead of your morning coffee or over ice as a refreshing replacement for unhealthy soft drinks.

Check the back of the bottle of many popular diet pills and you’ll see “green tea” or “green tea extract” listed as one of the ingredients.

Diet pills are often dangerous and packed with other unhealthy ingredients, but there’s a reason they use green tea. Green tea helps you lose weight. Of course it won’t be “20 pounds in one week” or other nonsense that marketing companies like to claim, but green tea has been scientifically proven to burn calories and block fat absorption.

Green Tea Burns Fat

Food (including sugar and fat) is synthesized into a substance called “triglyceride” in the liver and small intestine. It is then carried into the bloodstream to other tissues in the body.

Triglyceride is used as source of energy for life support and physical activities, and is very necessary. The problem comes about when there are excess amounts of triglyceride, because then it’s turned into fat which subsequently causes obesity.

That’s where green tea comes in. It contains high amounts of polyphenols which activate the enzyme that is responsible for dissolving excess triglyceride. In the long run, this means that green tea effectively aids in burning fat.

Green Tea Stimulates the Metabolism & Accelerates Weight Loss

Green tea contains powerful antioxidants called catechin polyphenols that are responsible for many of the health benefits of green tea. One of them in particular, epigallocatechin gallate (or EGCG for short), has been found to stimulate the metabolism and accelerate weight loss.

EGCG, along with the caffeine in green tea, stimulates the central nervous system and causes fat to be released into the blood stream for the body to use as fuel. This process of fat being used for energy is called “thermogenesis”. It provides extra energy, sheds excess water, and also helps to burn body fat.

Although caffeine alone can stimulate the metabolism this way, it’s important to note that researchers found that the combined ingredients of green tea were much more effective at this process than just caffeine by itself.

Green Tea Helps You Exercise Longer

Everyone knows how important exercise is to losing weight. It burns calories, increases your energy, and builds muscle which in turn boosts your metabolism even higher. The catechin polyphenols in green tea appear to stimulate the use of fatty acids by liver and muscle cells. This subsequently reduces the rate that carbohydrates are used and allows for more endurance and longer exercise times. In fact, a study using green tea extract on lab rats increased the amount of time the animals could swim before becoming exhausted by as much as 24%.

More endurance means more exercise, which means more calories burned, and it all adds up to more pounds lost for you.

So the weight loss enhancing qualities of Green tea alone aren’t enough to make you ditch the coffee and soft drinks? Take one look at this gigantic list of health benefits that come from drinking green tea and you’ll want to say goodbye to java for good.

Protects Against Cancer & Diseases

Green tea is packed with potent antioxidants called “polyphenols” and “catechins”. These are remarkably efficient at fighting free radicals, which are nasty little toxins responsible for causing cellular damage, disease, aging, and cancer.

Promotes Healthy Skin & Prevents Wrinkles

The same free radicals that cause cancer and disease also attack skin cells and contribute to signs of aging in the form of wrinkles and skin spots. Green tea finds and terminates these free radicals and helps promote healthy, smooth skin.

Fights Aging

Along with fighting the signs of aging, green tea also helps with less obvious forms of aging as well. A Japanese University study found that drinking more than 2 cups of green tea per day slashed the odds of cognitive impairment in elderly patients by 64%. That’s an amazing number, and really demonstrates the power of green tea against cognitive impairment, memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Enhances Mental Focus

Green tea contains mild levels of caffeine which has a stimulating effect on the nervous system. That’s not so amazing by itself, but...Green tea also contains the amino acid L-theanine, which is found almost exclusively in the tea plant. Theanine affects the brain’s neurotransmitters and increases alpha brain-wave activity. In simple terms this results in a calmer, yet more alert, state of mind.

Boosts the Immune System

Speaking of theanine, a 2003 study by the Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that theanine may help the body’s immune system when fighting infection. The study compared coffee drinkers to tea drinkers and found that the production of anti-bacterial proteins was up to five times higher in the tea drinkers, an indicator of stronger immune response.

Another study, published in the November 2005 issue of Antiviral Research, found that one of the catechin antixoidants in green tea (EGCG) dramatically inhibited influenza virus replication. Yep, that means that green tea fights the common flu too.

Promotes Oral Health

Researchers at the University of Illinois in Chicago found that polyphenols in Green tea inhibit the growth of bacteria that cause bad breath. These antibacterial properties also help the teeth and gums. In fact, a Japanese University found that regular consumption of tea strengthened participant’s teeth and helped to prevent tooth decay.

Other Benefits of Green Tea

Starting to get an idea of the amazing health benefits of green tea? There’s a lot more too. Here are a few things that green tea can do that we haven’t mentioned so far:

A study, which began in Japan in 1994, followed 40,530 adults for up to 11 years. It found that women who drank 5 or more cups of green tea a day had a 23% lower risk of dying…from any cause!