Green Tea - Weightloss Champion or Another Fad Diet?

One of the hottest beverages for weight loss today is green tea. At first dismissed as a fad when reported to act as a great dieting agent, research is starting to prove that there's more to the green tea weight loss relationship than meets the eye.

Part of Asian life for over 3,000 years, green tea is still drunk today (up to three cups a day). The beverage is reported to act as an antioxidant, even able to repair cell damage caused by outside influences, thus reducing the risk of cancer. Research has discovered it possesses anti-microbial properties, which helps fight infection and that green tea also reduces inflammation in the human body.

It may sound hard to believe, but take the Japanese population of Okinawa , who enjoy some of the longest life spans in the world which they attribute to drinking large amounts of green tea.

So the beverage is healthy, but will it really help you slim down? The story behind green tea and weight loss is simple; green tea is full of caffeine, which helps weight loss by boosting your metabolism and suppressing your appetite. The drink is even reported to burn 78 calories per day, which equals out to over 28,000 calories per year. Since it takes 3,500 calories to burn one pound of fat, that's a loss of eight pounds in one year!

Some say green tea has fat burning capabilities; supposedly the beverage contains digestive enzymes that interfere with your body's ability to digest and store fat. Another way in which green tea is though to work is through ' catechin polyphenols,' chemicals that interact with its caffeine content and create a thermogenic effect in the body (where the body burns fat and releases it as heat, rather than chemical, energy).

No matter how effective green tea may be at promoting weight loss, drinking gallons of it will never slim down an overweight or obese body. Successful, healthy weight loss is only achieved by reducing your caloric intake and upping your exercise level. But if you include green tea in conjunction with a balanced, nutritious eating plan and fitness program, a simple, steaming cup of tea might be a good ally in the battle to lose a few pounds.

© The Pink Fridge Online Magazine 2008 - Weight Loss

Contact | Disclaimer | Sitemap | Advertising |  Subscribe in a reader