Herbal Tea Gets The Green Light

Like coffee, green tea will induce some amount of thermogenesis in the human body through its caffeine content. No-one will drink coffee for its weight-loss possibilities, though, partially because the average coffee drinker will add sugar and/or milk and partially because it’s such an established part of many people’s day anyway. From a scientific point of view, however, there is another good reason that people favour green tea for weight loss. This is the fact that green tea contains a high level of what are known as “catechin polyphenols” - clever little antioxidants that have all manner of health benefits which go beyond weight loss. They have also been shown to lessen the signs of ageing, and have certain antibiotic properties.

Certain green teas have also been seen to have an effect on the body’s release of carbohydrates, resulting in the burning of fat and more constant blood-insulin levels. Of course just drinking green tea won’t see you losing weight at a noticeable pace. Unfortunately, you can’t just eat what you want and then drink green tea, but as part of a sensible diet it can make a real difference. Even if you don’t lose any weight for whatever reason, the other attendant health benefits of drinking green tea make the practice worthwhile.

The practice of drinking green tea for weight loss is without question gaining currency, although its effectiveness is debated. Some people say that misinformation is rife, with the idea persisting that green tea in isolation will solve people’s weight problems. However, the same is true of any scheme to lose weight. Nothing will work in isolation to make the weight just drop off. Diets such as the SlimFast plan make very clear that no simple scheme exists to drive weight loss without significant input from the dieter. Clearly it is naïve to expect a simple, immediate result from just one thing, and the most important phrase to remember is “as part of a calorie-controlled diet”. What is certain is that, if you drink green tea and watch what you eat, the results will come, particularly alongside a decent physical exercise plan.

Go Green For Weight Loss

It is accepted that in order to lose a pound over a week of dieting, the dieter must cut down their calorie intake by 3500 calories. This sounds like a lot, even when you break it down over the course of seven days – 500 calories a day amounts to a full meal in some cases, which is a lot to cut out of your daily diet. That being said, if you look at your daily diet you can always find a few calories to cut out here and there – whether it be by replacing chips with rice, using light salad dressing, or replacing white bread with a more wholesome alternative.

Drinking green tea has been talked about as a way to aid weight loss, and it certainly has its place. A process known as thermogenesis – whereby the human body produces its own heat – can give the body an extra boost, and Japanese scientists have discovered that drinking five cups of green tea a day will lead to a person shedding up to 80 calories. Now, the mathematicians out there will have figured out that, at a rate of 80 calories per day, it would take nearly 44 days to drop a pound. But looking at your diet, ask yourself – is there something in there that could be replaced by green tea?

Many people, for example, will have a few glasses of Coke a day. As one 250ml glass of Coke contains 105 calories, if you drink five glasses of Coke a day the total calories from that amounts to 525. If you were to replace those glasses of coke with cups of green tea, the overall difference would be an impressive –605 calories per day, which adds up to –4235 a week, a loss of one pound with a bit to spare. It needn’t be Coke that you cut out, of course. For you there may be something else that you feel you could happily say goodbye to. It’s up to you to find what you can cut out, make the change and enjoy the benefits.